Every day I walk to work, I stop by the newsstands and see what the L.A. Times and New York Times and L.A. Weekly are saying on their frontpages.
Since I live in Los Angeles, I also get a chance to peruse the major Spanish newspapers, including La Opinion and Hoy. I've managed to gain a working reading knowledge of Spanish and some limited speaking ability in my time here, and what I found yesterday surprised me.
Folks, as we've all concentrated on how Bush betrayed conservatives with the Miers nomination, we've forgotten that Hispanics were counting strongly on Bush nominating Gonzales or Estrada.
This ain't pretty. How does a screaming topline headline reading "Supreme Hispanic Disappointment!" sound to you?
That's right. That's what was on the frontpage of
La Opinion, which only happens to be the most widely read Spanish-language newspaper in the United States, and not openly partisan so far as I know.
Please keep in mind, as multiple articles point out, that Bush teased Hispanics with mentions not only of Alberto Gonzales, but also Miguel Estrada, Maria Callahan, and two judges from the New Orleans Fifth Circuit (wouldn't that have been a wise political move?), Emilio Garza and Edward C. Prado.
Here's a snippet from the article--in the original Spanish for those who can read it, with my weak translating skills below:
Washington, D.C. Diversos grupos hispanos externaron su decepción porque el presidente George W. Bush "desaprovechó" la oportunidad de hacer historia al nominar al primer latino o la primera hispana a la Suprema Corte de la Nación.
John Trasviña, vicepresidente de asuntos legales y de política pública del Fondo Mexicoamericano para la Defensa Legal y la Educación (MALDEF), declaró a La Opinión que "nos decepciona que el presidente Bush haya desaprovechado otra oportunidad de nominar a un latino capacitado a la Suprema Corte".
La decepción, aclaró, "no es que se trate de Miers... nos decepciona el proceso" y el hecho de que Bush haya pasado por alto a varios candidatos latinos que según Trasviña gozan de los requisitos para ser jueces supremos.
Sobre Miers, agregó, saben muy poco y las próximas semanas tanto MALDEF como otros grupos se dedicarán a escudriñar su historial. Miers no tiene ningún tipo de experiencia como magistrado y por ende es más difícil determinar qué opina sobre diversos asuntos.
partial translation:
Various Hispanic groups revealed their disappointment because President George W. Bush "failed to take advantage of" the opportunity to make history by appointing the first Latino male or female to the nation's Supreme Court. John Trasvina, vice-president of legal subjects and public politics for the Mexican-American Foundation for Legal Defense and Education (MALDEF), declared to La Opinion that "we were disappointed that Bush missed yet another chance to nominate a Hispanic to the Supreme Court.
The disappointment, he declared, "doesn't have to do with Miers...the process disappointed us"...Miers has no experience as a judge and it is most difficult to determine how she will decide on various subjects.
The article goes on to mention concerns about her stance on various issues near and dear to Hispanics, including legalization of illegal immigrants--it's not just the judge. Unacculturated Hispanics are just as worried about their issues with the Supreme as we are with abortion and gay rights.
And it's not just MALDEF:
El grupo Hispanos por un Poder Judicial Justo (HFJ) lamentó que Bush haya pasado por alto a los hispanos en esta segunda oportunidad.
translation: The group Hispanics for Fair Judicial Power (HFJ) lamented the Bush passed over Hispanics in this second opportunity.
And this organization:
El ex presidente del Consejo Nacional de La Raza (NCLR), Raúl Yzaguirre, dijo que la acción de la Casa Blanca al no nominar a un hispano "es una bofetada a todos los altamente calificados jueces hispanos que sirven en los tribunales federales a través de la nación".
translation: The ex-president of the Consejo Nacional de la Raza, Raul Yzaguirre, said that the White House's action not to nominate a Hispanic "is a slap in the face of all the highly qualified Hispanic jurists who serve in federal courts across the nation."
But wait, there's more:
How about the League of United Latin-American Citizens (Liga de Ciudadanos Latinoamericanos Unidos) (LULAC), expressing their anger?
There's the Grupo Latino del Congreso, whose vice-president is our own Linda Sanchez, also expressing disappointment.
And the La Asociación Nacional de Funcionarios Latinos Electos y Designados (NALEO), declaring themselves "disappointed and bothered."
And it's not just this article.
There's this article in La Voz.
And this article in Diario CoLatino.
It's in just about every major Spanish-language newspaper out there.
And it's on the Internet. Yahoo Espanol's news story--unfortunately I couldn't find the link today, but you can find the initial text by googling "suprema corte miers"-- began:
La decisión de George W. Bush de postular a Harriet Miers a la Corte Suprema
irritó a los hispanos que esperaban se designara al primer juez de su origen al...
translation: George W. Bush's decision to nominate Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court irritated Hispanics who were hoping that the first justice of their origin would be designated to the Supreme Court...
There is major disappointment out there, folks. It's just not showing through in the English news media. But it's there.
And if Republicans don't think this will significantly hurt any gains BushCo made with Hispanics in the last six years, they need to buy another clue.
It's been under the radar, but Bush has been stringing Hispanics along just as surely as he's been stringing conservatives and pro-lifers.
The Hispanic population knows that immigration is going to be a big election issue, and they want some reassurance that they won't be left out to dry by Republicans--and Bush knows it.
He has toyed with legislation that never passes. He has catered significantly to them in both elections, even speaking Spanish at times.
And he has toyed with nominations.
And he has disappointed them. Every time.