Yesterday, old-school Latino groups got upset when a new-school Latino group tried to get shit done. Today, they’re still at it.
[Latino Victory Project] president Cristobal Alex ... called the initial Castro comments a “direct, personal and political attack badly disguised as policy, and meant to sink one of our top Latino leaders as a potential Vice Presidential pick.”
“These attacks are unacceptable and we’re not going to take them any longer,” he said.
The Latino Victory Project is dedicated to electing Latinos to office, and if we measure their effectiveness by results, they suck at their job. Luckily, I don’t measure their effectiveness by results, since the lack of a deep Latino officeholder bench is caused by systemic reasons far too numerous and complex than any one organization to fix or address. When the only Latino Democrat in the Senate is a crook, we have a problem. When we lack a single Democratic Latino governor, we have a problem. When few Latinos are elected to the House outside of explicitly drawn majority-Latino districts, we have a problem.
The fact that someone with a resume as thin as Julian Castro is supposedly “one of our top Latino leaders” is a problem.
But here’s the thing—if we want a Latino on the presidential ticket, we have to establish that bench first. We can’t glom on to the first half-assed Latino politician as though he’s our only hope, because Castro is a lightweight currently unsuited for a presidential ticket. He was major of San Antonio? Big deal, particularly since the city has a weak mayor, and is actually run by the city manager. That’s why the mayor only gets a salary of $4,000. Because really, there’s not much to do. And whatever the merits of HUD, it ain’t no springboard to a presidential ticket. Given time and more seasoning, that will hopefully change. But we can’t create experience out of thin air.
So attacking Castro on policies he pursues as secretary of HUD are absolutely fair game. And pointing out that he’s ill-suited for any presidential ticket, anytime soon? Well, as a Latino, it is imperative for me to make sure we don’t make that mistake. In other words, those attacks are absolutely acceptable, and they’ll continue so long as he’s mentioned as part of the VP sweepstakes.
Meanwhile, the Latino Victory Project should refocus on its job—to help more Latinos get elected to office, help build that bench, so that next time we’re in this position, we have a wealth of Latinos with the credentials and experience to run on a presidential ticket (and preferably, at the top of it).
Meanwhile, an umbrella organization of Latino groups publicly claims it doesn’t plan to oust Presente.org, Buzzfeed sticks to its storyline that behind the scenes, it is trying to do just that:
“One article that raised particular concern alleges that [National Hispanic Leadership Agenda] Board members have stated that NHLA “plans to kick out” one of our members. This statement is false and not an official position of the NHLA,” the email read in part, while calling for unity from the groups.
But while NHLA has sought to avoid a public spat over the issue, privately it has told members the executive committee wants to deal with Presente “quietly and forcefully,” a source within the organization said.
The anger has been that Presente “used the good office and good reputation of other NHLA members as cover to attack Latinos and attack other Latino organizations,” the source said. “That they’re going to put an end to.
Is the source claiming that Presente uses the NHLA as “cover to attack Latinos”? Before yesterday, I had never even heard of the NHLA, that’s how relevant they are as a public-facing organization. Likely, the organizations facilitates behind-the-scenes coordination among its groups. So the notion that Presente would be trading on its “good office” to launch attacks is ludicrous on its face. I doubt Presente has ever mentioned NHLA in any of its public communications. My google searches certainly came up empty.
Fact is, these old-line Latino organizations have latched on to Castro out of desperation to see one of their own on a presidential ticket, regardless of Castro’s actual credentials. I share that desperation! But I also know that a Sarah Palin- or Dan Quayle-like Latino on the ticket would significantly set back our cause.
But in the midst of all this hubbub, one thing is still clear—none of those old-guard Latino groups have countered Presente on the merits of their attack on Castro. Apparently, he is untouchable, regardless what he does. And of course, that is ridiculous.
Otherwise, we’d be seeing those guys endorse and embrace Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz. But even for them, there are things more important than raza, except, apparently, when it comes to Julian Castro.
