Reid Gets No GOP Support For Resolution Honoring Hispanic Media

For the past week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's office has been looking for a Republican co-sponsor for an utterly non-controversial resolution honoring the legacy and role of Hispanic media.

None came, his office confirms. On Tuesday, Reid introduced and passed a resolution designating October 25 through October 31, 2009, the "National Hispanic Media Week" in honor of the Latino Media of America. The Nevada Democrat was joined by Sens. Robert Menendez (New Jersey), Mark Udall (Colorado) and Kirsten Gillibrand (New York) -- all of whom are Democrats.

The resolution was your typical no-thrills, superficial fare that often takes up Senate business. Just last month, for instance, North Carolina's Republican and Democratic senators (Richard Burr and Kay Hagan, respectively) introduced a resolution congratulating "the High Point Furniture Market on the occasion of its 100th Anniversary as a leader in home furnishing" (a thrilling legislative breakthrough).

In the case of the current resolution, however, there are obvious political sensibilities at stake. The Hispanic community, which has felt demonized by harsh anti-immigrant rhetoric from congressional Republicans and conservative media personalities, has gravitated further and further from the GOP tent. By declining Reid's efforts to sign on to a rather milquetoast resolution, the party may only exacerbate the alienation.

When a similar resolution honoring Hispanic media was introduced and passed in 2005, former Sens. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) and Mel Martinez (R-FL) attached their names to the list of co-sponsors. And that was two election cycles before it became abundantly clear that the Republican Party was losing serious ground among Hispanic voters.

UPDATE: Democratic Senators Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico and Michael Bennet of Colorado also signed on to Reid's resolution, I'm told.

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Comments

[Erzsebet Gilbert]

Let's face it: Latinos and Hispanics are the newest ethnicity against which Americans feel allowed to hold blatant prejudice. Nobody seems to mind the cultural and economic marginalization of the Hispanic community and its immigrants (though they'll still be dumb enough to think that culture doesn't go past tacos).
And the conservative refusal simply to honor and recognize the value of Hispanic media is one more facet of this racism.
Listen, nobody's asking you to learn Spanish. But it would probably be good for you, in case you ever seek a life beyond poverty in a nation both hostile to your ancestry, economically ravenous, and "the land of opportunity." How threatened do the Republicans feel?

[ThreeCrows]

Maybe the Republicans would be better served if they would have pass a resolution honoring their lawn keeper or nanny or day laborer or hotel maid or.....

[JBVT]

Ahh,

Just a bunch of Puerto Ricans!

[CarlosQC]

Most Puerto Ricans are Black.

[realsocialist]

let me get this straight, they want to honor the 60 to 70 k teabagers and ignor the Hispanic
community. They must think they are not American because their skin is brown.

[CarlosQC]

Hispanics are white mostly. Brown people are Native Americans mostly, even if we speak Spanish we are not from Hispania.

[Fremon]

We all have to realize that the Republican party's narrowing base is being held hostage to racists and white ignorants. They have nothing and want their "country back" white hooded sheets and all. What next, bathrooms and water signs in public places saying "whites" and "all others"?

[indi1216]

agreed and fanned.

[Manhattanite]

Good work GOP! Keep on ignoring demographic trends. It will insure that you stay out of power for the next two decades.

[CarlosQC]

I am not bothered by this. My first language is Spanish and I am Native American I am not Hispanic, but I am aware that most media in Spanish in the US are really bad. From the press, TV, radio and internet outlets that I know in DC, NYC, LA, Miami, Houston, etc. tend to be really mediocre to the point that I would never recommend anyone to expose their children to such content.

What could "the legacy and role of Hispanic media" be? Hispanic refers to Spain and Portugal for instance.

If we talk about the media in Spanish in the US, they have more defects than strengths and most of them are White-owned anyways. Usually they present a limited or manipulated information, they are racist, intolerant, with a Eurocentric content, bad TV programming, mediocre press, trashy radio, really bad commercial music, sexist and macho mentality, violence, old bad US flicks badly translated, etc.

Seems to me that the role of "Hispanic" media in the US is to keep poor, working class people in a conformist and stupid state of mind. With very good few exceptions, most of that media needs to reconsider their role among our Native, Afro and European communities who speak Spanish.

Instead of wasting time and resources trying to honor bad media, Senator Harry Reid should focus to get the GOP support for Health Care and Immigration Reforms.

[darthmaul]

Here is an exception. "Latino USA" which airs every Sunday in my area. It's an intelligent program with excellent content.

The republicans would support the Hispanic Media Resolution, if all of the Hispanic Media was run by rich middle aged white men. You know just like the republican senate members!

[CarlosQC]

None of the "Hispanic" media acknowledges the fact that we are not Hispanic, but many racial and cultural groups that speak Spanish, they group us together as if we were ONE community, which is not true.

Based on this discriminatory concept, Blacks, Whites, Asians, Natives, etc. all peoples who speak English should be classified as Anglos, period.

The day when the media in Spanish in the US actually presents our Native American communities, our African descendant communities, Europeans (not only Hispanics), Asians, Arabs, etc. perhaps the level of quality in their productions may improve. I hope to see that!

[Aaror]

Hmm,
This is a big contrast to what I heard when the local cable company decided that Univision was the best channel to cancel. I am not saying you are wrong, it was a while ago, and maybe Univision has gone downhill (I wouldn't know, I am mono-lingual), but surely there are some latino media figures who have done good work and inspired people?

[Fremon]

I am bi-lingual in English and Spanish (mother Cuban/father central American). Before I am pigeon holed I hold an MBA (Berkeley) and a former Naval Reserve officer (3 years active duty). Just to clarify further my brother retired was a Col. in the Army reserve and the other was drafted. You are correct that many Spanish language shows are fairly juvenile and some others really try to reach out with informational programs to spanish only speakers. What one has to contrast them is to many of the bad and juvenile english language that english speaking America enjoys that occupy cable and other stations. Granted I would like to see more stations in spanish like PBS, C-Span, Book Channel, History Channel, Discovery channel, etc. but that will probably come in time. As for now there are growing pains until there will be large enough numbers to watch these shows in spanish. The problem will be that by then most of these wanting to view better channels will be fluent in english. As I am retired, I work with younger hispanic children in CA trying to improve their english speaking and writing skills instilling in them that that is the path to progress and a better life in the US.

[SeaShell226]

We will remember this when it comes time to vote...
.

[wisdomisthekey]

breaking news: republican won't vote to honor hispanic media, but will support a resolution honoring tea party protester with obama is a nazi signs.....next up a republican resolution declaring fox news as" fair and balanced".

[Pillar-of-Autumn]

This seems like a really crafty political maneuver. Its a basically meaningless resolution, that does not carry with it any obligations for the senate at all. Republicans are going to look like simply hispanic-phobes for not going along. Heads Dems win, Tails Republicans lose.

[gs-425]

almost as useless as the 'teabagger' resolution. This in nothing more than a ploy to marginalize one party or the other. Any reasonable person can see that.

[atretrioeciii]

Yes it is a ploy, and as long as Republicans keep ignoring a large part of American society, that is growing larger every day, it will keep being attacked in this way. If only one republican had signed on this conversation would be taking place. Useless yes. Pointless no.

[atretrioeciii]

oops. Meant to say that if only one republican had signed on this conversation would NOT be taking place.

[timberdoodle]

Not being an American but being an interested party to current events within the Country it is very difficult to understand how a political party that exhibits so much hate, bigotry and biased towards every segment of society other than the rich and powerful manages to garner 30% support.

[yemaya]

Because in America there is about 30% that have hate, bigotry and bias towards others.

[MurrayAbraham]

I don't have anything against Hispanic media but ... what the hell is this resolution meant for besides wasting everyone's time?

[atretrioeciii]

It's meant to show that the republican party has no respect for the hispanic population.

[fireW]

Of course the cons aren't racist. Just ask them. They've said so & therefore it must be true . . . Right . . . .

[Leigh49]

How low can the GOP go? No mas!

[Richter]

Yet one more reason for Hispanic voters to say "Hasta la vista" to the GOP.