What's the deal with "The Latino Coalition"? (with Video)

Hi all, I hurt my back the other day (all better now), so had time to watch more C-SPAN than normal. I caught the end of a group's announcement of endorsements for the November elections. The recorded date was 10/3/06. The group is The Latino Coalition.
More after the fold...but please be warned that it is a *tad* long.

They had a large screen that showed the endorsed politician's face while reading their names. (The readers were Hector Barreto and I think Susan Alvarado) This is a youtube of the portion of the presentation that I saw. You will notice that they showed George Allen's face, but forgot to read his name. Allen is not a stranger to The Latino Coalition, however.



I of course would not think that all people who identify themselves as Latino would agree across the board on political candidates or parties, but some of their endorsements caused me to look further into this group. Specifically, their endorsements of Joe Lieberman, George Allen and Rick Santorum. I am not familiar with this group, so tried to track down information on them. So this diary is two things. A request from Kossacks who may know more about this group to share that information...(history, motivations, any juicy gossip), and a presentation of some information I was able to cobble together from internet searches.

**********

The Latino Coalition endorsed both Democratic and Republican candidates on their announcement at the 2006 Small Business Economic Summit in Washington, DC. They also endorsed Diane Feinstein of California, Bill Nelson of Florida and Hillary Clinton of New York, for example. But, while I could not find any reference to this endorsement on Feinstein's, Nelson's or Clinton's Senate campaign websites (maybe it is there, but I could not find it), it is very prominent on the campaign websites for Lieberman and Allen. I did not find it referenced on Santorum's site, but it might have conflicted with his "No Amnesty" message splashed over his main page. Santorum does support CAFTA, however, which The Latino Coalition also supports.
(Here is their press release about CAFTA)(.pdf)

So, I did some quick internet searches on The Latino Coalition. The Latino Coalition (TLC) was established in 1995, and it has had their domain name since at least 2001. Most of what I have found on TLC has been their own press releases, and blurbs on the websites of people mentioned in their press releases.

While I did not find it listed as an actual statement on their website, at the end of their press releases, they state,

"The Latino Coalition is a non-profit, non-partisan organization based in Washington, D.C. TLC was established to address policy issues that directly affect the well-being of Hispanics in the United States..."

Peace Corps Online refers to the Latino Coalition as a right-leaning think tank in Washington. I guess both statements can be correct...but from looking into the group, it is hard for me to come to the conclusion that they are in fact non-partisan. When they endorse Democrats, it appears like window dressing to back-up their "non-partisan" claim.

I have looked over their archive at the titles of their press releases. Here are some samples (Warning, they are really into .pdfs):

*Latino Leaders Praised President Bush for his Courageous Proposal to Reform Immigration
*Latino Groups Endorse President George W. Bush
*Statement by The Latino Coalition on the improper political discourse at the Radio City Music Hall fundraiser for John Kerry
*The Latino Coalition Endorses Schwarzenegger for Governor Urge Hispanics to Support the Recall of Governor Davis
*The Only Controversy Regarding Miguel Estrada is His Race
Interestingly, I have found no outrage from The Latino Coalition concerning the "Republicans' blocking of Hispanic Circuit Court nominees Jorge Rangel, Enrique Moreno and Christine Arguello, who were prevented from getting a hearing or a vote." If The Latino Coalition has been around sice 1995, they should have issued statements, but I have not located any yet
*Hispanic Leaders Urge Congress to Pass Permanent Repeal of the Death Tax
*Latino Leaders Urge Congress to Stop Frivolous Lawsuits


You can see them all as well. After my quick perusal, their press releases are in favor of some items important to many Latinos, but most appear to really be in support of business interests or Republican interests. Other than their yearly candidate endorsements, Democrats do not appear in a positive light in TLC press releases. Their archives do not go past 2001, so I cannot easily compare how they viewed Bill Clinton, BTW.


**********

Other information or opinions I have come across:

*This article claims that other Latino grass roots groups were not really familiar with The Latino Coalition

*TLC Endorsed Alberto Gonzales for U.S. Attorney General

"'Judge Gonzales is the perfect choice for the next U.S. Attorney General,' said TLC President Robert Deposada. "The Judge has been an instrumental part of the legal efforts to boost the war on terrorism and keep America safe and secure, while upholding the highest standards in government ethics."

*"No one can seriously question the integrity and the qualifications of Judge Gonzales"

*In May, 2004, TLC hosted a reception for Bush to discussSocial Security and changes he would like to see enacted. But there is a specific George Allen angle. *Raising Caine refers to TLC as an astroturf organization George Allen is using to show that he received Latino endorsements.



Here is some information about TLC Board members mentioned in their resent press release:

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TLC Chairman Hector Barreto
Hector Barreto, TLC Chairman, was appointed by Bush as the 21st Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration on July 25, 2001. Link1 Link 2

But, Barreto resigned in April 2006 "after a tenure marked by criticism of the agency's response to the Sept. 11 terror attacks and the Gulf Coast hurricanes." Barreto was invited to become the Chairman of TLC on April 25th, 2006.
Coincidentally, TLC Condemned Congresswomen Velazquez'scall for the resignation of Hector Barreto in December 2005.

WaPo in an earlier editorial stated"..we'd like to nominate Hector V. Barreto, chief of the Small Business Aministration, as 'the next Michael Brown.' "

"The Carpetbagger Report" says that Hector Barreto is a former Republican fundraiser (no confirming citation on page)

"The New Republic Online" names Barreto Bush's 6th worst hack.

Political contributions found for 2004 Only has donations to Republicans listed, but nothing for the current cycle.

**********

TLC President Robert G. de Posada
Spoke in favor of the nomination of Miguel Estrada to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals

Has some philosophy in common with Grover Norquist

Appears to support the recent Medicare changes.

"This federal program will have a real and measurable impact in helping countless Latino seniors obtain access to affordable prescription medicines," said Robert G. de Posada, President of The Latino Coalition. "We look forward to working with Senator Dole and to encourage Latinos to sign up for the benefit."".

He supports the National Uniformity for Food Act of 2005 You remember this...it creates a Federal labeling standard on foods, that will undermine more stringent state regulations. It is supported by grocers and food manufacturers, and opposed by The Sierra Club, various state Departments of Agriculture , consumer groups, Union of Concerned Scientists, etc...

Here are some recent campaign contributions.
Only George Allen listed...

**********

TLC Vice Chairman Susan Alvarado
She is a partner in the firm Alvarado and Bennett. From the website:
"Alvarado & Bennett is a government relations consulting firm dedicated to the task of connecting our business clients to appropriate levels of the federal government to the mutual benefit of each. " (code for lobbyist?)

Here are some of their clients.

Her Lobbyist Profile from opensecrets.org

According to her firm's website, Susan was :
floor assistant to Assistant Minority Leader Ted Stevens, during the years 1976 through 1980.
Ms. Alvarado then served Vice President George H. W. Bush as his assistant for legislative affairs, coordinating his Capitol Hill office, and serving as his liaison to members of the House and Senate.
In 1988, Ms. Alvarado was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to the United States Postal Service Board of Governors.

Susan Alvarado stated "President Bush knows and understands the Hispanic community better than any other President before him."

Concerning the TLC endorsement of Alberto Gonzales as U.S. Attorney General,

"Judge Gonzales personifies the American Dream," said TLC Vice Chairman Susan Alvarado. "We agree with President Bush when he called the Judge a man of sharp intelligence and sound judgment. The son of poor migrant workers, Judge Gonzales will now become the nation's top law enforcement officer. What a great story for our young children. He is truly a great role model."

Here are some of her recent campaign contributions.
(Lots of love for Ted Stevens and George Allen)

Here are some of her partner's (William P. Bennett) recent campaign contributions.
More love for Stevens and Allen. (Maybe someone knows why there is a -900 and +900 on 10/26/05 for the "Friends of George Allen" contribution)

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Well, that about covers the main points I was able to find out about this group. Seems a little long, but for those interested, the links provided may be helpful. Please contribute any info you have on them. I do not know why I became so interested from the little clip on C-SPAN that I saw, but I guess I was intrigued by any group that would endorse Feinstein, Clinton, Santorum and Allen....That is one big-ass tent!
There are many groups that have known biases, but unless you looked for information on TLC, I don't think that most people who hear that "The Latino Coalition" supports this or that will know the background of their board members or what issues are really important to them.

•  Tip Jar

  Even if you want to troll rate because this is long, boring, useless, etc...
  Please tip for all of the HTML I had to do to make it somewhat readable ;)

  by EvilPaula on Wed Oct 11, 2006 at 05:00:06 PM PDT

  •  I read this after the diary roundup so I missed

    the opportunity to tip you, but this is a FANTASTIC diary, a great piece of blogging investigation, and I thank you for it.

    by concernedamerican on Fri Oct 13, 2006 at 06:11:49 AM PDT

•  Good work Paula

  Political education and power structure analysis get drowned out by the cheerleading around here a lot of times I'm afraid.  However, getting this on the record and into the database is good.  Sooner or later something will happen involving this outfit, and you have the documentation done.

  I notice how they used "endorsements" of sure to win Democrats as "bipartisan" window dressing for the fact that they back Republicans (and Connecticut for Liebermans) in the competitive races.

  by ActivistGuy on Wed Oct 11, 2006 at 05:08:10 PM PDT

•  Great job....

  Look like a sham from the get-go. This group no more represents Hispanics than, ... um, ... the Repuglian Party.

  by Hornito on Wed Oct 11, 2006 at 05:24:37 PM PDT

•  Nice job.

  Who would troll rate this? This diary involved some serious work. Good on you.

  by Pager on Wed Oct 11, 2006 at 05:27:30 PM PDT

•  Thanks for the comments

  This is my 3rd Diary, but my first real Diary...real meaning that I spent some actual time on it.
  Knowing that people read it and can see its use makes me feel like I didn't waste half of my day-off.
  So thank you!

  by EvilPaula on Wed Oct 11, 2006 at 05:41:05 PM PDT

•  Great diary, Paula

  If you don't mind, I'll forward it to my latino friends and relatives who just might be taken in by some of this propoganda.

  by mariachi mama on Wed Oct 11, 2006 at 06:17:33 PM PDT

  •  Wow

    Thanks.  I hope that it provides more info.  Since researching this group, I have heard Jim Gibbons (R), running for Governor of Nevada, tout his endorsement from The Latino Coalition.
    If I did not catch their stint on C-SPAN, I would not have known what that really meant.

    by EvilPaula on Wed Oct 11, 2006 at 06:46:16 PM PDT

•  "Hispanic Business 100" Overwhelmingly Democratic

  Great Diary.

  The Latino Coalition emerged as a counterweight to the Hispanic Congressional Caucus, which Hispanic RightWingers (mostly in Miami) denounced as part of the Democratic Party.

  As to the leanings of Hispanics, almost all (over 90%) of my friends from college are Democrats.

  Here's another datapoint that you may find interesting.  According to Hispanic Business, which has been VERY friendly to the GOP in recent years, over 50% of the "Hispanic 100" considered themselves Democrats, while less than 24% GOPers.

  -----------------------------------------

  http://home.businesswire.com/...

  The political leanings of this year’s influentials were decidedly more to the left than in previous years, highlighting Hispanics’ growing dissatisfaction with the Bush administration on issues such as education, the economy, foreign policy, and immigration. Fifty percent of survey respondents identified themselves as Democrats, while 23.5 percent were Republican and 14.7 percent were independent.

  The Hispanic Business 100 Most Influential Hispanics were selected based on their accomplishments over the past year, their influence in prominent corporations, and their ability to inspire and motivate other Hispanics to advance professionally. The list includes current and emerging national leaders who are either well known themselves or hold key positions in prominent U.S. organizations. The list will be published in the October issue of Hispanic Business magazine and on its companion Web site, http://www.HispanicBusiness.com.

  ------------------------------------------

  by PatriciaVa on Wed Oct 11, 2006 at 06:33:09 PM PDT

  •  Thank you for more info

    especially about the "...counterweight to the Hispanic Congressional Caucus."

    by EvilPaula on Wed Oct 11, 2006 at 06:47:49 PM PDT

•  Latinos Like...

  Orlando Bosch.

  Luis Posada-Cariles.

  Mas Canosa.

  Anastasio Somoza.

  Ken Salazar.

  Where people get this wacky idea that there's some necessary or natural connection between any particular ethnic identity and Democratic, liberal, or dare I say it, progressive political views is one of the great mysteries.

  It's like the bliss ninny paternal twin of Klan style racism.

  by greenskeeper on Wed Oct 11, 2006 at 06:37:36 PM PDT

  •  Well, I do not assume that all Latinos think

    Politically alike, my issue was this group calling themselves non-partisan.

    The "non-partisanship" they are showing appears to be mere window dressing.  Any political donations I could tract down are for Republicans or Republican causes.  Their press releases overwhelmingly support republican causes.

    How many people, in reality, will see their (TLC) press releases?  But the one time I saw an event that The Latino Coalition participated in, they present the appearance of supporting politicians on both sides of the aisle.  But this is an exception to the rule.

    by EvilPaula on Wed Oct 11, 2006 at 06:57:34 PM PDT

  •  Where do people get the wacky idea that this

    diary expressed any such views?

    The point is that TLC is a stealth group of Puke supporters who masquerade as nonpartisans.

    Bosch?
    Cariles?
    Canosa?

    We don't need to discuss Cuban extremists to know that Hispanics vary in political "views" if you can call these men's actions "views."

    How nice of you to include a Democratic senator's name on that list.

    I won't even pretend to make sense of your Somoza reference. The diary is about an American political group in this century, not about a failed Nicaraguan dictatorship from the 1970s.

    by Xapulin on Fri Oct 13, 2006 at 06:37:31 AM PDT

•  Big GOP contributors

  Michael Shear’s Post article today about George Allen’s cowboy boots and roots (which I thought really made Allen look foolish) mentioned in passing that “a group called the Latino coalition” had endorsed Allen.  That would be this Latino Coalition: http://www.thelatino...  Note the head of it – Hector Barreto.  As the Latino Coalition website says: “Hector V. Barreto was unanimously elected Chairman of The Latino Coalition in August, 2007 after serving five years as the Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration. His appointment to head the SBA by President George W. Bush was unanimously approved by the United States Senate on July 25, 2001.”  http://www.thelatino...  $3,000 given to Bush-Cheney, according to the FEC?  So, a Republican pol is head of this “Coalition.”  The Coalition endorsed Bush over Kerry.  http://www.latinopun...  

  Susan Alvarado, a lobbyist from Alexandria, is the group’s VP.  Let’s look at her contributions. http://www.campaignm...  Friends of George Allen, Republican Party of Virginia, Tom Davis, Ted Stevens, the scandal ridden Northern Lights PAC – and that’s just in 2006.  In 2004 she gave $2,000 to Allen.  She’s been giving money to Allen since 1999.  
  http://herndon1.sdrd...

  Treasurer—Sal Gomez of Denver CO.  $1,000 to George Allen back in March 2006.  Heavy supportere of Marilyn Musgrave, Bush-Cheney, Wayne Allard, Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Duncan Hunter, and over $5,000 to the National Republilcan Congressional Committee.

  Secretary, Dr. Rene Rodriguez, Miami FL.  His FEC records show contributions to Bush-Cheney and the RNC.

  First board member – Robert de Posada, Graham WA.  Contribution to somebody named – George Allen!  $1,000!  Second board member, Juan Carlos Benitez—contributions to Mel Martinez, Fairfaxc County Republican Committee, and this nicely named committee – Majority Commission to Keep Electing Republicans Fund.

  Could it be?  George Allen is so desperate for visible "ethnic" support that he has to stoop to using an Astroturf organization?  

  By the way, two of the Coalition's main money supporters are Altria and RJR, the tobacco firms, which have heavy GOP ties.

  So they did support some Dems, but that's an old trick to look impartial.  Most of the Dems they picked are waaaaay ahead -- so any endorsement isn't going to affect their races.

  It's an astroturf group.

  by PM on Wed Oct 11, 2006 at 06:57:37 PM PDT

•  Great Diary

  Wish I had seen this in time to recommend and to tip your search skills. I love to read diaries like yours. Noticing small things, taking the time and making the effort to do the research to connect the dots, and then sharing is the best part of DK. Thanks.  

  by Ckntfld on Thu Oct 12, 2006 at 09:24:00 PM PDT

•  The Latino Coalition is Conservative Astroturf

  And here's the proof:

  The domain is registered to:

  Sullivan & Mitchell PLLC
  1100 Connecticut Avenue NW #330
  Washington
  20036

  That name is associated with  the AstroTurf group Progress For America

  Here's the sourcewatch.org info on the PFA.

  And for the final nail in the coffin I found an executive summary prepared by Sullivan & Mitchell PLLC for the American Conservative Union Foundation.

  And I quote:

  • The campaign finance reform ‘campaign’ is controlled and financed by liberal Democrats: wealthy soft money donors to the Democratic party and candidates, liberal foundations and Democratic operatives.
  • The campaign finance reform network is a massive national network of liberal organizations, projects and activities that is extremely well funded.
  • Since 1996, the campaign finance reform ‘campaign’ has raised and spent more than $73 million: $67.3 million by national organizations and at least $6 million at the state and local level.
  • Funding the campaign finance reform campaign are a core group of liberal foundations who also finance other ultra-liberal organizations and causes, such as: abortion rights, anti-business/anti-corporate environmentalism, gay and lesbian rights, drug legalization, and gun control, among others.

  At the end of the document they say you can get the whole thing from www.conservative.org or by contacting Cleta Mitchell, Esq., Sullivan & Mitchell, P.L.L.C.

  Now go out there and spread the word!

  by Hiro on Thu Oct 12, 2006 at 09:55:17 PM PDT

•  Republicans among us

  I take the opportunity afforded by this thread to introduce myself as a newly-minted member of Daily Kos (hopefully this is not against established protocol); I registered last August before going on a long vacation abroad, before UIDs reached 100 thousand and after lurking for a long while and eventually becoming a fan. Let me say that I generally share the overall goals of this site regarding the dire need of returning the Democratic Party to power before the republicans shred this country to pieces.

  Without hijacking this thread, let me add, on a personal info vein, that I am a Latino immigrant who became a citizen as soon as I could after the necessary ordeals. I became a citizen because I believe that if I enjoy the privilege of living here I should also take on the responsibilities and duties of citizens, among them, of participating in the political process.  I have always voted for the democrats, and some of the most painful moments of my life had a republican cause: the elections of Giuliani and Pataki, for example. Professionally I am a sociologist with two masters, the last one of them as a result of an ABD, life-threatening tragedy.  I am currently unemployed and in the process of starting my own business, after looking for a job all over the place, without success, in this marvelous place called New York City.  Last, but not least, a word of advice: my English was acquired second hand, so please be indulgent with any grammatical and syntactical errors I may make here or in the future.

  In any case, coming back to the topic, I happened to catch the CNN broadcast by the Latino Coalition, I think it was yesterday or the day before.  I was interested because I usually collect data on Latinos for my information database and last year (I think) I had downloaded a survey by this entity that seemed interesting, but which I have not studied yet in depth to form an opinion.  I was surprised yesterday by two things that led me to reach the same conclusion some of the posters here have reached: that this is a republican or at least, a republican-leaning outfit.  In presenting the data, they showed the low regard- low scoring of Latinos on questions related to some aspects of policy (the specific details escape me) and then they analyzed them as “opportunities for republicans.”  Then they went on to the political endorsements and I was aghast at the republicans they did endorse, as have been mentioned.

  Let me add that although I also know many Latinos who are democrats, I know that many are republicans (and I’m not necessarily talking about Cubans.)  To add to the discussion, let me quote the following from a survey published by the CUNY Grad Center:

  “In critical states which shaped the outcome of the 2000 presidential elections such as Florida, New Mexico, and Colorado, a higher Hispanic registration and voting rate could have changed the results of the election. When they are released, the data for the 2004 election will be interesting to observe for comparative purposes in light of the fact that the Republican presidential candidate is estimated to have received 43% of the total Hispanic vote. These votes may have been the decisive margin of George W. Bush’s victory in the three above states.” (“Hispanic Citizenship, Registration, and Voting Patterns in Comparative Perspective during the 2000 Presidential Elections” (No date) Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies, Graduate Center, City University of New York.”)

  Thanks to EvilPaula for calling attention to this institution.

  by Mangrove Blues on Thu Oct 12, 2006 at 10:22:46 PM PDT

  •  I would be surprised if all Latino voters

    saw things the same way.  It is a very diverse group.  Some within the U.S. borders before there was a U.S., some newly arrived, and from many different countries with diverse histories.

    The Latino Coalition should just state that they are pro-business and be done with it.

    by EvilPaula on Fri Oct 13, 2006 at 01:22:34 AM PDT