Political Diversity in the 2008 Race for President

Sitting here looking at all the news accounts of the race for President in 2008 it struck me that one party is inclusive of all and the other is strictly limited to the color of your skin and your males only country club membership status. Over at the Republican side of the race we have a bunch of rich white guys or political elitist including my own former Governor Mitt “I’m stinking rich” Romney and the honorable Senator John “I’m a water boy for Bush” Mccain.

Looking at the field of candidates from the Democrat’s it looks like the Rainbow coalition from all corners and all possibilities of the American experiment. Reverend Jesse Jackson should be proud of this group. There is of course a woman, an African American, a Hispanic American, and of course a true blue blood Southerner all racing for the top of the heap that is the Democratic Party.

With America being the melting pot of people from all over the world I tend to prefer the politics of the Democrats. It makes me feel worthy as a member when I see a political party that takes all kinds of people and accepts all people just for the simple fact that they are a person of value no matter what your lot in life is. Any race, creed, sexual orientation, or not having a country club membership is okay with them and that works for me. Which brings me to the point of this piece. America is a melting pot and in that pot is a huge Hispanic community that is assimilating itself to the ways of America. Just being Hispanic does not automatically make you an illegal alien to this nation which I am finding that more and more political opinion writers assume which is very wrong in my humble opinion.

Richardson looks to mobilize Hispanics
By Associated Press
Saturday, February 24, 2007

WESTON, Fla. - For the Broward County Democratic chairman, Bill Richardson’s presidential campaign has meaning far beyond how well the New Mexico governor fares against better known 2008 rivals.

Richardson represents two important growth targets for the party, said Mitch Caesar: He is Hispanic and from a Western state once considered solidly Republican.

”The challenge will be for him to show not just that he’s the Hispanic candidate, but that he can mobilize that base,” Ceasar said. ”His ability to do that will be measured and considered by all candidates in the future.”

Richardson planned to speak at a Broward Democrats’ dinner Saturday night.

Joe Garcia, executive vice president of the nonprofit NDN Network, formerly known as the New Democratic Network, said Richardson is ”what the new Democratic Party will look like” as it works to attract Hispanics and make inroads in the West.

”I think he offers tremendous opportunity for the growth of the party in areas where the party needs to grow,” the Miami activist said. - Boston Herald

Much like the Irish did when they first came to this country in great numbers and assimilated and worked the system politically till they were the dominant forces in local, state and federal politics the Hispanic community is doing the same and I applaud them for it. My reason for this opinion is that they are not only tackling the racial attitude against them but they are using the system that the negative attitude is coming from and changing it one seat by one seat at a time.

What is more impressive is that it is not just immigrants or citizens with ancestors in just one nation making this change possible but a community of people from many nations such as Mexico, Puerto Rico, Honduras, Guatemala, Ecuador, Panama, Columbia and the list goes on and on.

Along comes this Governor of New Mexico that thinks he has a chance in the race and where the so called leaders of the race cast him aside he has more to offer than any of them combined. I’m speaking of none other than Governor Bill Richardson. If you want to know what he thinks about the war in Iraq and the problems we as a nation face with Iran or North Korea when it comes to developing nuclear technology all you have to do is read his amazing position in the Washington Post titled Diplomacy not war with Iran…

A better approach would be for the United States to engage directly with the Iranians and to lead a global diplomatic offensive to prevent them from building nuclear weapons. We need tough, direct negotiations, not just with Iran but also with our allies, especially Russia, to get them to support us in presenting Iran with credible carrots and sticks. - Washington Post

Governor Richardson has peaked my interest in his candidacy for President in the Democrat filled field of possible suitors for the White House. Granted Barack Obama has that rock star appeal and Hillary has the party machine behind her but for this voter it comes down to substance and not just mouthing the words that people want to hear.

Papamoka

*****America for Richardson.Org has linked to this post

Other folks talking about this issue...

No Quarter

American Street

Liberal Values

The Burned Over District

Of course my own piece on this issue at The Gun Toting Liberal

Technorati Tags:bill richardson, democrats, rainbow coalition, jesse jackson, hillary clinton, barack obama, 2008 election, republicans, mccain, gore, biden, nuclear technology, iran, iraq, north korea, united nations, diplomacy, washington post, boston herald, gun toting liberal, american streets, burned over district, bush, cheney, axis of evil, conservatives, isolationists, liberal values, military, usmc, usn, usaf, usa, uscg, secretary of state, negotiations with korea, baghdad
Generated By Technorati Tag Generator