“Come Latino! Sit at my table! I prepared a taco for you. You can wash that down with some Malta. Relax while I put on some ranchero.” If you heard these words from a non-Latino, you’d probably be offended. As a diverse people living in America, generalizations are one of the worst ways to describe us. Yet, a similar event occurs every day at the great table that is American democracy. In spite of our diversity, is it often assumed that politically, Latinos want to sit on the left, and those who do otherwise are often considered misanthropic outsiders. In reality, the contrary is true; to be a conservative Latino is to stay true to one’s values as a Latino and as an American.
Latinos who have sided with the conservatives in the Republican Party have been hounded as traitors. Recent articles in this very magazine have called into question the ethnic loyalties of the newly elected Latina governor of New Mexico and a congressmen from Illinois. The flawed argument of both these respectable authors is clear: because “politician X” takes “conservative stance Y,” “politician X” is a sell-out.
Latinos are not monoliths, so taking a conservative stance is not the antithesis of being Latino. Many of us were raised with Christian values that taught us to respect life in all forms, so it’s only natural we would feel inclined to support the H.R.3: No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act. Like members of every other group in the country, many of us want to be rich one day, so one can’t blame Hispanic Chambers of Commerce for opposing anti-business legislation. Finally, most of us arrived in the United States legally or were born here, so please excuse us for insisting that others arrive here the same way.
Let’s face the reality, the number of Latinos in public office is growing. Many of them are Republicans, and they weren’t just elected by Anglos. The Dallas Morning News highlighted a study that showed that more than half of the state’s Hispanics identified themselves as conservatives. Politicians like Marco Rubio and Susana Martinez are not anomalies, they are the future.
In my university days, I was vice president of the Brooklyn College Young Republicans as well as a member of the college Hispanic Society. I was happy with my participation in both groups, and the only people who gave me grief about being a Hispanic Republican were individuals whom I would never associate with regardless. I am a Latino, I am proud to be American, and when we break bread together, I refuse to sit towards your left.
About Eric J Cortes
LMAO @ “In reality, the contrary is true; to be a conservative Latino is to stay true to one’s values as a Latino and as an American.”
HAHAHAHA.. Really?
LMAO @ “In reality, the contrary is true; to be a conservative Latino is to stay true to one’s values as a Latino and as an American.” <— you lost all credibility there!
Correct Eric: being conservative does not make you “not Latino”, as I’m part Cuban and have more conservatives in my family than you might ever imagine. My dearest grandmother was a full-on rght-wing Republican most of her (American) life.
But the dinosaur-age perspectives that the Republican Party embrace are just not progressive enough for me; consider the roots of the recession we are still climbing out of…Dubya’s squandering of a gigantic surplus and healthy economy, and forgive me if you are a “creationist,” but let’s fast-forward a bit to the present day…
Eric, your points contradict one another. In one paragraph you state “[we] are NOT monoliths.” Then you go on to say, “… to be a conservative Latino is to stay true to one’s values as a Latino and as an American.” If your statement stands true, than we are in-fact a monolithic group of conservatives, correct?
Also, I am Latino but I am not conservative. So, am I not staying true to my values?
J
Right on, Eric. Nothing infuriates me more when left-wing Hispanics denigrate or marginalize Hispanic GOP politicians simply because they are on their right, either in general or with regards to immigration policy.
Because there are more and more rising Hispanic GOP stars in office, the Left are getting more desperate. Nowadays they shrug off or cast as irrelevant any GOP politician with a Cuban or Puerto Rican background, labeling them as not being “true” Latinos. Why? Because those groups aren’t involved in the immigration debate. This view belies two things in their thinking: 1) they self-perpetuate the stereotypes that all illegal immigrants are Hispanic and 2) Being an immigrant or child of immigrants is an inherent part of Latino identity.
On the second point, by that logic, Mexican/Central/South American immigrants seemingly have more in common with the descendants of Irish, Asian, and southern European groups than they do with Cubans and Puerto Ricans! It’s madness, and all the Left does is exacerbate the racial and ethnic divisions they supposedly despise.
What good are Latino GOP “stars” if all they do is turn around and espouse anti-immigrant views and support the anti-Latino and anti-immigrant policies that the GOP openly pushes? These people can break off and form their own ethnic group, or nationality, or whatever, they are USELESS to the Latino community as a whole.
I’d take that taco.
hey chuck why don’t YOU fast forward to the present day… Bush isn’t president anymore, buddy. Neither is he the head of the Republican party.
Jon.. that’s a silly point. It’s not a contradiction to state what is reality, and then state what should be someone’s position according to rational thought. Obviously we’re not a monolithic group of conservatives because plenty of latinos vote for the commie athiest party. And finally, NO, you’re not staying true to your values as a Latino. Maybe you have other values that make you whatever it is you are, but they are likely not aligned with traditional Latino values. orale!
damn, did you even read the article? or do you just copy and paste from democratic talking points? Homeboy LAID OUT why Latinos should be conservative. Why don’t you try responding to them? Just because the Democrats don’t ask you to use your rational faculty in politics doesn’t mean you shouldn’t at least attempt it when reading conservatives.
You’re gonna have to define conservative. Putting being Latino or not, conservatives don’t have a clue of what they really believe in, or at least they think they do but they’re just being manipulated by Big Corp, Latino or otherwise. On one hand conservatives want small government but at the same time they want the government to police abortions and marriage. The tea Party was suppose to be for lower taxes for everyone, and liberty and fairness, yet when their taxes were lower they still complain. They want to balance the budget but tax bonuses for Corp without being pay for is OK. What is your concept of fairness, I guess would be my question. Citibank had its more profitable year in 09 and pay $0 taxes, Yes $0, nada. How is that conservative. Furthermore although Latinos are very religious in general, why don’t you look at Latin American countries and see how much they have they unified religion and state, very little. Conversatives will be happy if the country was run as a Christian Church.
Now as a Latino, I have no problem if another Latino disagree with me politically, I’m an ultra liberal, you wanna debate policy I’m front and center. The difference is that conservatives leaders like Haley Barbour is undoubtedly a racist, but yet your Latino GOP have not call them up on it, the same goes to Angle, as a candidate she was the one who didn’t differentiate between legal and illegal, she came out as anti-Latino, where was Rubio there?
And most importantly, most first generation Latinos did not come here legally, they became one. From Mexicans to Argentineans. And the birth rights most of us enjoy now are the product of that sacrifice and struggle.
And For those who say Puerto Rican and Cubans don’t have the same immigration sensitivities of the rest of us, let me tell you, the two biggest champions of immigration reform in congress are Puerto Rican, Congrassman Gutierrez and Velasquez and on the Senate Senator Menendez who’s Cuban.
I’m sorry but I read the article and there’s no rational nor substantive points as of why Latinos should be conservative. Was it immigration? he did not express his conservative immigration point of view, he just stated conservatives don’t like undocumented immigrants. Was it the anti-business policies, well he did not mention what policies and why they are bad for us. It hard to respond to this post, because there isn’t concrete points with actual substance, there is simply opinions with no backing which is usually the way conservatives operate anyhow.
Its very hard for a lot of hispanics and other minorities to understand how can some hispanics be republican and conservative and its even hard for me to grasp but I realize everyone is entitled to belong to which ever they choose. I also notice a lot of republicans are in a higher income bracket and this influences your choices a great deal. I disagree with many of their policies and find their pov in reference to abortion very hypocritical you want smaller govt yet you think you have the right to tell someone what to do. I’m a moderate and my life experiences have influenced this and I don’t identify with anything on the right. The problem with a lot of these republican latinos is they get a little bit of education a better income better home and they forget who they are and where they come from and I can’t see how you would be for policies that hurt the latino community? I get the sense you act as if you’re above ppl and that’s wrong. I think the traits I mentioned above is what angers latinos not so much conservative thinking
In the end of the day, you can’t be born with the political affiliation. A Latino or anyone else has the right to reject the ways of their tribe. Don’t matter anyway, all that Rep/Dem distinction is lip service. They’re all the same at the end of the day.
Thanks for the shout-out
I find it interesting though that rather than simply saying “Latinos can be and are of many different political backgrounds,” your stance instead seems to be “Being conservative is actually being MORE TRUE to your Latino roots — so there, Taco Eater!” How is that any more open-minded or evolved than my stance? At the end of the day do we all know Latinos are a rainbow of colors, beliefs, and idelogies? OF COURSE! But don’t mislabel me as promoting stereotypes simply because I don’t turn a blind eye to statistical realities that support the idea that there ARE political patterns ascertainable by ethnicity.
And, I wouldn’t neccesarily label someone as “un-Latino” because they are a Republican, or because they are Pro-Life, etc, but I WOULD call them traitorous if their agendas and directives undermine many Latinos, as those of conservative republicans frequently do. Regardless of your personal stance on things like immigration, you can’t deny that it DOES indeed affect a great many in the Latino community (and other communities). Same goes with poverty, lack of access to affordable health care, equality in the classroom, etc. Latinos consistently fall on the bottom of those totem poles (not ALL Latinos of course, but a disproportionate amount) and I don’t feel conservative republican measures do anything to help those situations — and sometimes they make it worse. Thus I cannot in good conscience purport a political party whose words and actions go against a particular group of people, to be a good representative of those people.
But even if I disagree with your message, the article was well-written and an interesting read — kudos on that!
Great article Eric. I support and applaud your position.
“Marco Rubio and Susana Martinez are not anomalies, they are the future.”
Amen! Thank you for this, Eric! Glad to know I wasn’t the only one who thought the things you wrote about.
where’s that taco again?
Great post, Eric. It is important to get this perspective across, although politically I don’t agree with you, I will defend your right to express your ideas and respect them. You are one cool dude, bro.
Surprised you didn’t include the “rising Republican star” PRican Governor Luis Fortuño. Maybe that was a good idea since Gutiérrez is kicking his ass all over the floor of Congress these days.
Although I completely disagree with your ideas on immigration. As a Puerto Rican-born American citizen, I was blessed to have been born into America, and believe that true comprehensive immigration reform needs to happen, not Arizona. How can you reconcile that as a Republican? Just curious to know how you think that issue becomes more front and center.
My point of view is not a cut-and-paste. If you can only call names, what’s the point, soopermexican? Right wing republican Latinos are useless to me and to many of us in the Latino community. Our traditional values include helping our immigrant families, regardless of arbitrary “Legal” immigration status. Anti-immigrant Latinos might as well change their designation to Martian-American, as they are harmful to the Latino community.
I believe in legal immigration and will not support “anyone” breaking the law. Even, if that person is of my same gender,sexual orientation or ethnicity. Untill the law changes, it is what it is.
Thanks to everyone who read and posted on this article. I had a busy week and will try to personally respond to your comments as soon as I get a chance. I love you all and I am grateful for all of the commentary on it, especially the critical comments. We all need people to challenges us intellectually, and you all have done that. Some things I’d like to clarify for the record:
1. I am not a registered Republican (anymore).
2. I am not, nor have I ever, been a birther.
3. I voted for Obama and will vote for him again in 2012.
4. I am a proud, card carrying, union member.
5. In spite of critiques of my article’s tone, I am not an arrogant person in real life.
Thank you all for reading.
Thanks for reading Jorge. Hopefully my next lighthearted article about siestas will gain my credibility back in your eyes. One day.
Thanks for reading Charlie. I am not, not have I ever been a creationist. I believe in science, religion, and hope. As a fun fact for the day, the Catholic Church accepted the “Big Bang Theory” before prominent Atheists did. Food for thought.
Thanks for the feedback Jonathan. That’s not what my reasoning is. My argument is more that Conservative Latinos are good Americans.
Thanks for the compliments.
Are anti-illegal immigration policies really anti-immigrant policies?
Thanks for reading. I agree with you, Latino GOP members should call racism when they see it, especially in the Republican party.
Thanks for reading nycgirl. I see abortion not as a big government issue, but as a life issue. To me, abortion is killing a child, so I see no hypocrisy there.
“The problem with a lot of these republican latinos is they get a little bit of education a better home and they forget who they are and where they come from….”
I respectfully disagree with you. My grandparents were farmers and manual laborers. My father shined shoes on the streets of NY. See! I didn’t forget that! (Haha) I believe in societal advancement.
As for your point “I get the sense you act as if you’re above ppl and that’s wrong.” I don’t. In life I am an extremely humble person, and I have friends and family from all walks of life that I break bread with on a regular basis.
Nancy. Good point. Sorry if I was a little too harsh with your article. Sometimes a little hyperbole can spark a discussion. We agreed beforehand (shhh… don’t tell the readers
) that I would take an stance that’s the opposite of your article.
“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Why can’t we teach each other how to fish instead of depending on the government for our daily meal. What’s wrong with a little societal advancement instead of dependency?
Thanks. I enjoy reading all comments. Critical ones make you think more.
Thanks for reading Julio.
My personal opinion, regardless of which political party the Board of Elections may have me registered with, is that legal immigration needs to be made easier. I feel as if allowing the flow of undocumented immigrants to continue into the country unabated is bad for America. I am not taking this stance from any point of view of national or racial superiority. I think that having a permanent underclass of undocumented is harmful because it creates a permanent underclass (a la sharecropping). The process of getting quality workers here needs to become more streamlined and easier so that can continue to have our economic needs met while still having handle on who is coming into our country. I have no clue if and how that reconciles with Republican Party ideologies.
Thanks Kitty.
If you support what Republicans are doing to Latinos and people of color, then you are “an arrogant person in real life” or their employee.
Hey guess what, I don’t give a crap if I’m “useful” to you – you can continue to be a “useful idiot” to the left. I will support the institutions and policies of the America that offers so much for Hispanics that they’re literally dying to get over here. Meanwhile you and your mindless ilk will continue to denigrate and destroy the cause of so much happiness, prosperity and opportunity for people of all colors. Good job, pendejo.
If you can only call me names, I guess that speaks to your depth on this and any other matter, “sooper”.
It’s very interesting, when a conservative says this, what exactly do you mean in economic terms. What are the programs you so much oppose or at least think are preventing people from learning how to fish. Is it Social Security, Medicare, Food Stamps? I’m just curious. I’m also curious that if liberal and their government intervention is bad, then what are the conservatives’ initiatives that are teaching people how to fish?
Hispanic Republicans are not the future. Latin@s in general are people of their own free will, to say Latin@s are either left or right, perpetuates a dichotomy that continues to marginalize us. Latin@s are traditionally voting Democratic because the Democratic Party’s stance is not a hateful one.