Latinos "Hugely Disappointed" With Richardson

Bill Richardson's withdrawal from his commerce secretary nomination Sunday didn't just leave a major gap in the new administration, but it also sorely disappointed Latinos who view the New Mexico governor as their most prominent representative.

"We are hugely disappointed. It's a stunned community out there," said Janet Murguía, president and CEO of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[CarlosQC]

Stop this falseness right now.

Latinos are from southern European heritage like Hispanics are from Spain.

Bill Richardson is a mixed Native man of Mexican heritage. Janet Murguia is a Native woman as well. They won't admit their race of course, because they want to fit in.

Latino and Hispanic are fake identities. We are forced to be part of a group of several races just to content the racist vision of the US government, that if you have certain looks or surnames, then you all belong to the same ethnicity.

I am a Native man, I do not care about Latinos nor Hispanics.

[hamchunk]

Richardson (and La Raza, which is given a much higher appreciation than it should because it is a quasi-racist organization) should stop pandering to the extreme elements of Hispanic/ Latino politics. Not all Latinos support illegal immigration, which seems to be his one overarching goal for his Hispanic constituents.

[Hagrid]

I too, am disappointed.
It seems that every time we have a Latino male that looks like he could be a national leader, he seems to fly too close to the sun.
There are many, Cisneros of San Antonio and Villaragosa of LA are just two that could have made us all proud, but sadly they were caught sans trousers.

[jcwtts1]

Hold on hold on. This case against Richardson is at least partially fabricated. He is going to get cleared here. The US Attorney in New Mexico refused to run partisan investigations, Karl Rove had him fired along with the 8 other USAs. The replacement for New Mexico and for So Cal are the ones running this "investigation"

Keep you chin up we're going to win this fight and Richardson will be a part of the administration.

J

[Nuttshell]

I'm a black woman married to a Latino working in NM state government so I understand the disappointment. I believe this whole incident stems from another corruption scandal involving the case that got US attorney David Iglesias fired. (Background: David Iglesias, a fine US attorney, was building a case against the former NM State Senate Pro Tem, Manny Aragon. Aragon was a very corrupt, powerful and influential pol here in NM. He and his group of cronies got caught taking kickbacks from the architect/builder of the Metropolitan Courthouse. Recently all pleaded guilty. Iglesias was trying to get the goods on Manny et al but not fast enough for Heather Wilson and Pete Dominici who wanted charges announced before the 2006 election. Iglesisas didn't feel he had a strong enough case yet. The WH had him fired.)

Now - I think the Bush Admin went after Richardson assuming him to be corrupt like ole Manny. I've done several state procurements and I'm skeptical that Richardson was involved in giving a state contract to this company. Many businesses in and out of this state contribute money to politicians. They have to disclose and how much. Unless there are memos and/or recorded phone calls, I don't see much of a case. I never let the higher ups influence the vendors I selected. I'm not saying it can't happen, but I will reserve judgment. It was wise to withdraw Richardson's name until this blows over out of an abundance of caution.

[Trollstakeyourmeds]

I am a Leo. My father is a Leo. I lived with, and almost married a Leo. P.E. Obama is a Leo, as is Bill Clinton. I can state, without hesitation, that the thing Leos pride themselves most on, is loyalty. Both to their friends, and from their friends. Richardson might have thought that he did Obama a service by turning his back on his long-time friends, (the Clintons) and supporting President Obama. What he actually did though, was show Barack that he was opportunistic, rather than "loyal" to the team that gave him his political start. The initial "slap" from Obama came in offering Senator Clinton the position that I'm sure Richardson thought was his for the asking. The second slap was "recommending" that Richardson withdraw himself from the one position that Obama DID offer him. Priceless. Way to go, Pres. Obama. Now just hang tough on your Panetta appointment. This is YOUR administration. Appoint who you want and who you have decided that you can work best with. We're facing a heap of trouble and need the best minds to get us out of this fix.

[glorialovelace]

I have always been a Bill Richardson fan, and I'm sorry to see that a possible conflict of interest has resulted in embarrassment to him as well as to PE Obama.

A proper, and thorough vetting process might have prevented this. And who was in charge of Richardson's vetting for VP ...? Caroline somebody...?

[Melissa]

Obama insists on loyalty and knew he was not going to get it with Richardson. If he threw Hillary under the bus, he would do it to Obama in a heartbeat.

[SailFree]

Why are Hispanics disappointed? Richardson had already shaved off his macho beard and porked up considerably. Wouldn't that be presenting a stereotyped image?

[glorialovelace]

Perhaps somebody should send Governor Richardson a copy of Governor Huckabee's diet book.

[wm1066]

Any one else notice a trend with Obama that he doesn't stand up for his people? He just cuts them loose. He did it with someone on his staff that had made an off comment about Hillary during an interview in Ireland(?) this last summer.
Hey Obama, loyalty is a two way street! I voted for you but will you also find it expediant to deep six me if push comes to shove? We have seen how you chose Warren over your gays supporters.

[glorialovelace]

I believe the difficulty is that while Richardson may well be exonerated, the process may take a longer time than Obama can afford to wait to fill that position. I don't think it's a question of loyalty, but rather of practicality.

[dginki]

No. I have not noticed a trend. If I am the one in charge and you do something that makes me look bad, you will go. Plain and simple. Obama is not your boy.

[wm1066]

"Obama is not your boy"????? . Please explain that remark!
You need to proof your own post before you send it.

[redhot200822]

Which Latinos? Legal or Illegal?

[hamchunk]

Exactly. Illegals wanted him in any position at the federal level in order to bring about the so-called "comprehensive immigration reform", which is nothing but an amnesty for criminals.

[barackobama4prez]

as a black woman, i'm disappointed as well. but i am a believer that things happen for a reason.

[loveobamas]

I agree.

[iwantpie]

co-signing

[BarackDaVote]

Latinos are hugely dissapointed because Richardson did an HONORABLE AND SMART THING.....??????

Are you serious?

[karela]

I'm very disappointed too. I thought Richardson would have done a great job at a time when we really needed him. I was enthused about having the Latinos represented in the cabinet. I think Richardson is a great guy and I've been impressed with much of what he's accomplished in New Mexico. I hope that we haven't lost one of our best people over something that isn't a legitimate reason.

[goflo]

As a Latino, I'm not that disappointed.

[CalexenderJ]

Latinos STOP with the identity politics. Yes I understand the desire to see more representation of your ethnic group within the administration BUT that has to come secondary to competence. Few people have argued that Obama isn't trying to pick the best people for the job. Yes his picks (as virtually everyone's are) may be skewed towards people he has prior history with, but it's ridiculous to suggest that he's snubbing this community or that community. So there are now only two latinos in the cabinet SO WHAT? As long as the cabinet is competent who cares??? Now the smart thing to do would be to pressure Obama to fill the undersecretary positions and staff positions with Latinos so that in 4 or 8 or 12 years the most qualified people to hold cabinet posts would be Latinos, but it's crazy to suggest that Obama fill his cabinet with Latinos, at the expense of finding the best people for the job.

[arspar183]

Jeez Louise......seems every Dem constituency is P O'd at Obama except us black folks.
women bean counters are mad at only 5 women in the cabinet
Hispanics are mad
progressives are mad because his cabinet is too moderate
the lbgt community is mad at pastor warren selection
goodness gracious land sakes alive people let's all take a deep breath and relax
but i';ll be P O'd if Obama doesn't put a hoop up in the rose garden

[swo68]

Build 'em up so you can tear 'em down.

[DuPageDem]

Nothing "moderate" about a room full of Bush and Clinton has-beens. They're right-wingers, pure and simple.

[vjoseph]

YAWN

[Grunty1]

Don't believe it. Remember that during the primaries, Obama had a black problem, a Latino problem, a jew problem, a white mountain dweller problem, a slightly-overweight retired teachers problem, etc, etc, etc.