Robert de Posada, the former GOP operative behind this fall's controversial "Don't Vote" ads aimed at Latinos in Nevada and California, tells The Lookout that he has heard "rumblings" of this movement among national Latino leaders.
"The Tequila Party is a great concept to basically say, 'You know what? This blind support for you is coming to an end,'" De Posada says. "If you are perceived as someone who will never vote for a Republican, then you're screwed," because Democrats will take you for granted, he says.
[Video: President Clinton: We should all listen to the tea party movement]
In the midterm elections, 64 percent of Latinos voted Democratic, and in Nevada, analysts agree that Latinos' votes were responsible for Sen. Harry Reid's re-election.
Reid promised to bring the DREAM Act -- which would let youths who were brought into the country illegally gain legal status if they join the military or attend college -- to a vote in the current lame-duck session of Congress. But some Democrats, and the vast majority of Republicans, are shunning the legislation, which once garnered significant bipartisan support. Juan Hernandez, Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain's former volunteer director of Hispanic outreach, told reporters Monday that the White House and Democrats are not showing enough leadership on the issue.
Republicans are leading the charge against the legislation. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) claims some criminals will qualify for legalization (which immigration advocates dispute). A weeks-long hunger strike by dozens of University of Texas students has failed to convince Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-Texas) to renew her earlier support for the DREAM Act, her spokeswoman says.
The Tequila Party is still just talk for now, as no Latino leader has publicly backed the scheme. But De Posada says their silence makes sense, as they will want to be sure they have a fully formed plan before they risk angering allies in the Democratic Party. "They'd better be prepared when they come out swinging," he says. Frank Sharry of the pro-immigration reform group America's Voice, says he doubts the Tequila Party will ever actually get off the ground. "I do think Democrats should worry because the arguments for the Tequila party are persuasive to me...The frustration is understandable," he says.
It's curious that Latino leaders are looking to the tea party for organizational inspiration, since many tea party groups supported Arizona's tough immigration law and other enforcement measures. More than 85 percent of Hispanics back comprehensive immigration reform, including a path to citizenship, according to a recent poll, and 80 percent disapprove of Arizona's immigration law.
As some Latinos ponder a symbolic break with the Democratic Party, the GOP is more aggressively trying to attract coveted Latino voters ahead of the presidential election. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is co-sponsoring a conservative Hispanic Forum, which he has publicized this week on his Hispanic issues news website The Americano. According to the forum's agenda, terrorism and national security are a major focus.
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Meanwhile, the American Action Network and American Action Forum -- outside conservative political action committees led by former Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) -- have formed the Hispanic Leadership Network, which is co-chaired by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a proponent of comprehensive immigration reform. Coleman told The Lookout that the group will not take an official stand on immigration reform.
The trigger for the Tequila Party may be if Democrats again fail to deliver on comprehensive immigration reform
"It would definitely induce us," Fernando Romero, president of the nonpartisan Hispanics in Politics, told the Sun. "We would have to do something at that point to get ready for 2012."
(Photo of Chicago resident Magda Castaneda protesting the tea party: AP)
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