“Latinos can decide the presidential election. Latinos can decide the future of the nation,” says Hector Sanchez, the Executive Director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement. “They need us to win the White House.”
The League of United Latin American Citizens launched an initiative Wednesday to mobilize Latino voters in the 2012 election. The only thing missing is a presidential candidate for the the community to rally around.
“Candidates for president have failed to address issues of concern to the Hispanic community,” National LULAC President Margaret Moran said during a press conference Wednesday.
Brent A. Wilkes, LULAC’s executive director, points to George W. Bush as an example of how a candidate should reach out to the Latino community. Bush ran on the platform of “compassionate conservatism,” supporting the creation of temporary work visas for illegal immigrants, appointing Latinos like Alberto Gonzales to key cabinet positions and inviting Mexico’s President Vicente Fox to address Congress in a quest to develop a comprehensive immigration policy.
“We need a Bush Republican,” Wilkes says. “He was familiar with what was important to Latino voters. He’d worked with Latinos when he’d been the governor of Texas.”
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