By Seneca

Frankly, President Obama does not seem like he was fully prepared to be President. His hubris may have gotten the best of him. He ignited real hope and became lucky: Hillary Clinton became overconfident, GWB became a bane as a lame duck, and John McCain self-destructed. Ergo Obama became the man. Like a true liberal, he relied on his brilliance and elite thinking with good intentions for being elected. This has now wrought him calamity. In politics, it can be most unforgiving.

Where is President Obama’s Carville or Rove or Atwater or kitchen cabinet like Reagan’s California friends and influential backers or even Carter’s Hamilton Jordan to be his path finder as the American political swamp begins to devour him? Obama, being a loner by nature, is now, as President, up against the forces of economic and political troubled waters. Who in his Cabinet or White House is taking hits for him?

The wrath and smite of an aggrieved people will shortly visit him unless Lady Luck returns. The sadness is his latent failure may beget or unleash the might of ugly extremists with all their mean-spiritedness, intolerance, bigotry, nativism, uncharitable attitude all wrapped around the flag and the visceral language of religious and patriotic righteousness. This is beginning to sweep aside even the responsible fiscal and security conservatives. Obama is no FDR, who was more a political animal of his day: a doer who surrounded himself with seminal thinkers at a time of dire crisis. Even President Lincoln, the self-educated loner at a horrific time, relied on his military chiefs to move forward to save the Union. His leadership flowed from the simplicity and genius of his words which reassured and guided his people. Whereas, President Obama sees himself as a true Athenian actor on a stage full of Wagnerian menaces and Cassandra-like shadows and at best some misguided Panglossian spirit.

Obama is not a disappointment. Perhaps he symbolizes a national frustration that the world is not an American ideal but a brutish reality. The Latino failure to understand the current national crisis will prevent us from being able to survive the impending vortex. Immigration as a litmus test and a primary political metric increasingly appears to be misplaced by many of our Latino leadership. For instance on Tuesday, Representative Gutierrez was arrested in front of the White House to protest the record number of deportations the Obama administration has executed. This kind of political statement in the middle of an economic meltdown may make it appear that we are singularly focused on immigration. Yet in this hour when the ship of state begins to list dangerously, where are the voices of our Hispanic chieftains on jobs, education and the general welfare? Their silence is impressive in opining on the national debt debate while the latest Pew Report alarmingly announces that Latinos have lost 66 percent of their wealth! This devastating statistic is clearly proof that our community is in a deep depression and not a recession. The hope can only be when and if our elected and non-elected leaders in fact open their mouths that they will readily improve the silence. The sound must be one of true LEADERSHIP not just cheering on the mismanagement of the nation.

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I still am of the opinion that McCain could have better qualified his initial statement. If he doesn’t have evidence that can be released to the public about who started the massive fire, he shouldn’t try to place blame publicly.

Randy Parraz, who was the Democratic candidate challenging McCain last year, offered this:

“He could have said that Boy Scouts of America started this fire. When you claim that there’s substantial evidence, you need to be able to produce that and he did not do that.”

And even if this current massive fire was started by an undocumented person, a case probably could be made for immigration reform that allows the US to better track who enters the country. If an immigrant can cross at an official point of entry, there would be no need to start a fire for warmth.

The Phoenix New Times summed it up pretty succinctly here:

“Keep in mind that Senator McCain was asked generally about Arizona’s current wildfire epidemic, and he generally answered that these argued for a “secure border” due to all of these illegal border crossers setting fires.

Right. As if building the “dang fence” would somehow stay Sand Land’s triple-digit heat, low humidity and the wind itself, leaving the yearly plague of forest fires a bitter memory.”

What are your thoughts? Does Senator McCain make any more sense on this issue today?

“There is substantial evidence that some of these fires have been caused by people who have crossed our border illegally,” McCain said. “The answer to that part of the problem is to get a secure border.”

Now it is entirely possible that border crossers light fires to keep warm, but with dry conditions and the typical spring/summer heat in Arizona, I’m not so sure that anyone would need to light a fire during this time of the year. I could be wrong, but for John McCain to make this kind of assertion without offering any evidence, he obviously panders to a certain type of Arizona voter and doesn’t do anything to elevate the immigration discourse. Just this week President Obama extended the deployment of National Guard troops to the border, and border crossings have been on the decline in recent years. So McCain’s point that the border is not secure isn’t even very valid at this point.

I do want to note that there are some suspects who are being questioned about the wildfire, which investigators think may been been started by an abandoned camp fire. However, if you read the report about the fire investigations, there is no mention of immigrants legal or otherwise.

I think that Daniel’s efforts are worth highlighting because he could have very well be asked to show his papers in his homestate although he is a naturalized citizen. SB 1070 created an environment where someone who has witnessed a crime, like Daniel did, could be asked about his immigration status if the officer suspects that the person is in the country illegally. Again, we get back to the issue of what would make an officer suspect that someone is in Arizona illegally. But currently, the immigration provisions of SB 1070 have been blocked by a federal judge, yet they could go back into effect depending upon the actions of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Also worth noting is that Daniel Hernandez is openly gay. Hernandez is also a member of the City of Tuscon’s Commission on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Issues. Arizona’s two senators, McCain and Kyl, were against the repeal of the controversial “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. I will readily admit that I’m not too familiar with all of the arguments about why a military person could not serve successfully side by side with a gay colleague, but I would gladly have someone as brave and composed under pressure as Hernandez was in reacting and approaching the gunfire on Saturday to save the Congresswoman in my corner. The point is that Hernandez was composed, calm, and competent while under pressure, but yet his own Senators opposed a policy that would allow him to serve in the military openly just because of his sexual orientation.

Finally, Daniel Hernandez doesn’t think that he’s a hero, even though his acts were most heroic. At a time when our society rewards some Americans for doing nothing particularly exceptional (see the latest reality TV stars or even Bristol Palin for example), it’s refreshing to see a young person with a sense of humility and selflessness. We need more of this “help thy neighbor” spirit in these tough times, and Daniel exemplies this.

“Because the bill has a much better chance of passing in the lower chamber, staging the House vote first would “give a little more push” to the Senate version, according to a Democratic aide familiar with the debate.

The measure is not expected to pass the upper chamber, where lawmakers shot down a similar measure in September and where 60 votes will be needed to defeat a Republican filibuster. But by insisting on the two separate votes this week, Democrats are hoping to draw a clear and very public distinction between themselves and Republicans on the topic of immigration reform — in part as a way to court the ever-growing voting bloc of Hispanic Americans.”

The prospect of a GOP filibuster isn’t deterring DREAMers and other advocates from reaching out to Republican lawmakers who have supported the bill in the past, including Senator McCain, who lived up to his “McNasty” moniker when approached by DREAM activist Gaby Pacheco shortly before the Thanksgiving recess. You can read about how McCain treated Pacheco here.

“The idea, born of frustration over the party’s inaction on immigration reform and fears that as a voting bloc they’re a political afterthought, Latino leaders have discussed the idea among themselves locally and in conference calls with colleagues across the country.

The unlikely model for the movement they would like to launch is the Tea Party — not in substance, of course, but in its grass-roots organizational style. Acknowledging the source of their inspiration, Latino leaders have dubbed the proposed movement the “Tequila Party.”

These Hispanic leaders have noticed that while the Tea Party has had spotty electoral success, it has called attention to its concerns and values and put the establishment on notice.”

The idea of a third party to help push issues beyond where the Democratic and Republican Parties stand, especially in regards to immigration, is a valid one. However, I’m not so keen on the “tequila party” label, which carries with it many of the existing stereotypes and feelings about our community and its relationship to the alcohol industry. So I would consider another name for this movement.

The notion that the current two party system isn’t working well for Latinos has been explored before on this blog. Most recently, Pablo Manriquez covered it in his piece, Latinos Vilified by Republicans and Ignored by Democrats. And of course, in some states like California, nearly two-thirds of Latino likely registered voters identify as Democrats, but they are pretty evenly split in terms of identifying themselves as liberals, middle of the road, or conservatives. So even in Nevada’s neighboring state, there might be some room on the political landscape for such a third party to better represent our community’s needs.

My inclination is to make the grassroots third party group more of a competitor with the traditional issue organizations such as the National Council of La Raza and LULAC. This could be a starting point to really challenge the existing groups and leadership that we have. The Latino issue organizations are largely funded by corporate monies, and recent studies show that many in the community don’t even know who leads them. Furthermore, this could allow the independent grassroots group to play both parties in more local races, meaning if there is a GOPer who is more moderate or amenable to the community’s needs, the grassroots group could funnel resources there. I sense that right now the third party group would more likely be pushing Democrats though given that so many in the GOP have switched to more hard-line positions on immigration (see Senator McCain for example).

What are your thoughts on the “tequila party” idea?

Dear Mr. President,

My name is Lizbeth Mateo and I am undocumented. On May 17th, on the 56th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, I, along with Mohammad Abdollahi, Yahaira Carrillo and two others, became the first undocumented students to risk deportation by staging a sit-in inside Senator McCain’s office in Tucson, Arizona, to demand the immediate passage of the DREAM Act. As a result of that sit-in we were arrested, turned over to ICE, and we now face deportation.

I came to this country when I was fourteen-years-old from Oaxaca, Mexico.  It was the late nineties and Mexico was, and is still, facing one of the worst socio-economic and political periods in recent history. For my parents – a taxi driver and a stay-at-home-mom that were struggling to make ends meet-  it was clear that they would have to choose between seeing their children starve and get sick, or risk it all, leave everything behind and relocate the family to Southern California with hopes of a better future. In 1998 we moved to Los Angeles and have lived here, since. 

Their choice and sacrifice paid-off.  I didn’t only become the first one in my family to graduate from high school, but a couple of years ago I became the first one in my family to graduate from college. I graduated from California State University, Northridge and I am currently in the process of applying to law school. My dream is to become an attorney and defend the most vulnerable in the courts of law.

Life as an undocumented student has not been easy, it’s been filled with tough choices and a lot of uncertainty. At one point I felt like the only way to fulfill my dream of higher education was to leave my family behind and go back to Mexico. But California had become my home and so I chose to stay despite the uncertain future ahead. Against all odds I enrolled in college, and it was there that I first learned about the DREAM Act. From the moment I heard about this piece of legislation I decided to work hard and advocate for its passage. It’s now been seven years since that day and the DREAM Act has yet to become a reality.

Despite overwhelming support, Congress has been unwilling to pass the DREAM Act. It is because of that inaction that earlier this year I had to decide whether committing civil disobedience would be worth the risk of being forcibly separated from my family, and deported to a place I no longer consider home. I made a choice, forced in part by the lack of courage from our leaders in Congress and inspired by your call to change, the “change [that] will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time.” Just as I had chosen to work on your campaign inspired by what you said, that “we are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek,” I also chose to face my fears, to risk it all, to seek that change, and sit-in so that the DREAM Act could stand alone.

Some say that destiny is not a matter of chances but one of choices. My life and that of my fellow Dreamers has been filled with tough choices, some made by us and some made by others on our behalf. Two months after five of us chose to risk it all for our futures, because we knew that without the DREAM Act we had no future, twenty-one others chose to risk it all for a dream that belongs to us as much as it belongs to our families, our communities, and our home – the United States of America.

I firmly believe that we have made the right choice – to stand up for what we believe in and to try to fulfill the promise of the great American Dream that brought us here in the first place. I firmly believe that we, the undocumented youth, are standing on the right side of history. Now I ask that you stand with us by making the right choice. Help us pass the DREAM Act immediately. Help us free our DREAMs, which have for too long been held hostage to political rhetoric and insensitive choices by a few that have yet to recognize the potential that we have as young, educated people.

Mr. President, staying strong and facing my challenges with courage and dignity while I wait patiently is no longer an option, it’s no longer a choice I can make because I played the last card I had, and my time is running out. I put my life on the line in order to have a chance at a future out of the shadows. Now the DREAM Act is the only chance I have to stay home. Please help us pass the DREAM Act so that no more youth have to risk it all by putting their lives on the line.

Sincerely,
Lizbeth Mateo

The “DREAM Now” letter series is inspired by a similar campaign started by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network for the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.  The letters are produced by Kyle de Beausset at Citizen Orange with the assistance of America’s Voice.  Every Monday and Wednesday DREAM-eligible youth will publish letters to the President, and each Friday there will be a DREAM Now recap. 

1. Sign the DREAM Act Petition
2. Join the DREAM Act Facebook Cause
3. Send a fax in support of the DREAM Act
4. Call your Senator and ask them to pass the DREAM Act now.
5. Email kyle at citizenorange dot com to get more involved

Below is a list of previous entries in the DREAM Now Series:

Mohammad Abdollahi (19 July 2010)
Yahaira Carrillo (21 July 2010)
Weekly Recap – Tell Harry Reid You Want the DREAM Act Now (23 July 2010)
Wendy (26 July 2010)
Matias Ramos (28 July 2010)
Weekly Recap – The CHC Has To Stand With Migrant Youth Not Against Us (30 July 2010)
Tania Unzueta (2 August 2010)
Marlen Moreno (4 August 2010)
Weekly Recap – The Ghost of Virgil Goode Possesses the Republican Party (9 August 2010)
David Cho (9 August 2010)
Ivan Nikolov (11 August 2010)
Yves Gomes (16 August 2010)
Selvin Arevalo (18 August 2010)
Weekly Recap – Latino, LGBT, Migrant Youth, and Progressive Bloggers Lead For the DREAM Act (20 August 2010)
Carlos A. Roa, Jr. (23 August 2010)
Myrna Orozco (25 August 2010)

On July 20th, 2010, I was arrested in the office of Senator John McCain fighting for the DREAM Act.

I am one of the thousands of students who would qualify for this legislation. I was brought to the United States at the age of four and have been here ever since. I consider myself to be a good student, and I always strive to be a good example for others. I have been waiting for the DREAM Act to pass since it was first introduced in 2001, and this year I decided that I couldn’t stand by and wait another year. I decided to fight for my DREAMs.

I can no longer watch as politicians gamble with my future and the futures of my friends, family, and even strangers who are in the same position as I am. This is why I, along with 20 other DREAMers, decided to take action and fight for what we believe is right; thus, we decided to conduct sit-ins at various senators offices and urge them to take action on the DREAM Act. We can not stand by as another class of outstanding students graduate without being able to fulfill their DREAMs.

I have been taught that America is the land of opportunity, yet I have been denied the opportunity to contribute back to society and continue with my education. I put my life on the line by participating in this action but I strongly believe it is worth it, because all I’m asking for is an opportunity to DREAM.

Because of the sit-in I have to return to Washington DC for my trial on October 1st, 2010. During the trial I will continue to fight for what I believe is right. I need to be able to make it back to DC for this date, however, I’m running out of funds. Please help me continue my fight so that I can make it back to DC for my trial on October first.

If I can’t make it by then, I’ll have a warrant for my arrest and the risk of deportation will be higher. I don’t want to go back to a country that I don’t know. America is my home, the country I would fight for, the country I would die for. Please help me remain with my family and friends. Please help me stay home.

Thank you so much for your contribution,

Myrna Orozco

NOTE: You can help Myrna by donating here:

The “DREAM Now” letter series is inspired by a similar campaign started by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network for the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.  The letters are produced by Kyle de Beausset at Citizen Orange with the assistance of America’s Voice.  Every Monday and Wednesday DREAM-eligible youth will publish letters to the President, and each Friday there will be a DREAM Now recap. 

1. Sign the DREAM Act Petition
2. Join the DREAM Act Facebook Cause
3. Send a fax in support of the DREAM Act
4. Call your Senator and ask them to pass the DREAM Act now.
5. Email kyle at citizenorange dot com to get more involved

Below is a list of previous entries in the DREAM Now Series:

Mohammad Abdollahi (19 July 2010)
Yahaira Carrillo (21 July 2010)
Weekly Recap – Tell Harry Reid You Want the DREAM Act Now (23 July 2010)
Wendy (26 July 2010)
Matias Ramos (28 July 2010)
Weekly Recap – The CHC Has To Stand With Migrant Youth Not Against Us (30 July 2010)
Tania Unzueta (2 August 2010)
Marlen Moreno (4 August 2010)
Weekly Recap – The Ghost of Virgil Goode Possesses the Republican Party (9 August 2010)
David Cho (9 August 2010)
Ivan Nikolov (11 August 2010)
Yves Gomes (16 August 2010)
Selvin Arevalo (18 August 2010)
Weekly Recap – Latino, LGBT, Migrant Youth, and Progressive Bloggers Lead For the DREAM Act (20 August 2010)
Carlos A. Roa, Jr. (23 August 2010)

• Randy Parraz, the Latino candidate for the Democratic nomination for Senate in Arizona, finished last. I commend him for trying, but it will be interesting to watch Rodney Glassman challenge John McCain, who ended up winning his primary after facing a tough challenge from a more conservative J.D. Hayworth. I actually met Glassman last month at Netroots Nation, and I must admit that he’s a pretty charming guy. Glassman likes to remind all of the Latinos that Congressman Grijalva and Dolores Huerta have endorsed him. I can’t wait to see him juxtaposed to McCain. Hopefully, they debate just so we can have that visual of the young, energetic Glassman next to the cranky, nearly 74 year old McCain. But Glassman still has an uphill battle.

• A report recently came out by the Center for Responsible Lending that shows in California, Latinos borrowers constitute nearly half of all foreclosures in the state. The Central Valley has the highest concentration of foreclosures. I had blogged about the foreclosure crisis in relation to the Latino community last year in a two part blog post here and here if you are interested.

• Last week, Mario Obledo, one of the founders of MALDEF and then Governor Jerry Brown’s head of the California Health and Welfare Agency during the 1970s died of a heart attack at age 78.

• President Obama is scheduled to be in El Paso, Texas on August 31. Given the President’s increasing deportation rate and militarization of the border, I see how this event could be an opportunity for the community to voice concern.

Randy Parraz entered the Democratic race in late April challenging the establishment candidate Rodney Glassman right after SB 1070 was passed. Parraz has a history in community organizing, working in labor and civil rights. He assisted in establishing the National Strawberry Commission for Workers Rights for strawberry pickers and was recently the Arizona State Director for the National AFL-CIO.

The Arizona Bilingual Magazine has a pretty comprehensive biography of Randy Parraz in its July issue. One point that I think is compelling about Parraz is that he has the academic credentials to go toe to toe with the establishment pols. Worth noting:

“Who is Randy Parraz? The quick answer to this question is that Parraz is the real deal, a civil and labor rights activist who has a proven record of fighting for our community.

There’s something about making your mama proud, about seeing her filled with pride after all her hard work for your future pays off at your college graduation. Randy graduated not just once, but three times from the nation’s top universities!

After completing his undergraduate work at UC Berkeley, Randy went to get his law degree from one of the most prestigious law schools in the nation, the Boalt Hall School of Law at Berkeley. As if this wasn’t enough, Randy then attended and graduated from the nation’s top school, Harvard University, with a Masters degree from the John F.Kennedy School of Government.

It was at Harvard that Randy Parraz first met Cesar Chavez, and little did he know how much his future work would continue what Chavez had started. Even though a world of wealth awaited someone with such a distinguished educational background, with degrees from both Berkeley and Harvard, Randy decided to use his knowledge to fight for justice for the hard-working American.”

In recent weeks, Parraz has been gaining in the polls with a large portion of Democratic voters still undecided. As of a few weeks ago, polling in the primary race between Glassman and Parraz was considered a dead heat.

However, given the current political climate in Arizona and the surging popularity of Governor Jan Brewer who signed into law SB 1070, which Parraz does not support, he’s going to have an uphill climb if he wins tomorrow to fight for this senate seat in the general election. A recent Rasmussen poll shows Governor Brewer ahead of her opponent by over 15 percentage points and 66% of Arizonans supporting the controversial immigration law. I was able to communicate with the Parraz campaign and ask them how they anticipate overcoming this challenge should their candidate win tomorrow, and I was offered this by Parraz’s campaign manager Michael Trujillo:

“While SB 1070 polls well, that has more to do with people not knowing what the law really means. Further, those who do support SB1070 do so tacitly, but immigration isn’t their top issue. It’s not even in their top 5 typically. Compare that to those who oppose SB 1070. These voters have immigration reform as one of the top 2-3 issues – so they are more motivated to turn out. In this group there are a lot of voters not being polled – those who do not have land lines, young people, etc – and these numbers are not insignificant.

McCain used to get 40-50% of Latino voters, that number will be shot down to 10% if Randy is the nominee.

The real issues are jobs and education – two issues that McCain can’t even talk about – his track record of 24 years of lackluster attention to AZ has come to bite the state in the rear-end. Those who voted for a Maverick in 08 are turned off by the say-anything-do-anything candidate that McCain has now become.

Once a sponsor of CIR [comprehensive immigration reform], even dismissing the notion of a border fence three years ago, he switched to a hardline stance on southern border security. McCain supported the repeal of DADT, but in May he promised to filibuster any changes in policy – despite recommendations from top military officials that DADT harms our military’s effectiveness. McCain used to be a champion for climate legislation. He’s backed off that. And finally, the same McCain who sponsored legislation to reign in the influence of money on elections has spent $20M on his primary campaign alone.

Randy will be campaigning energetically in every town between now and Nov, turning Independents and Republicans disgusted with McCain and the direction of their party into Parraz voters.”

So keep your eye on this race tomorrow, and if you are in Arizona (or not), feel free to chime in and let us know what you think about this primary. If you want to hear more about Randy Parraz, I encourage you to check out these clips below: