Hispanic group still out of touch with those who defeated immigration bill

Washington Times:

The nation's largest Hispanic advocacy group says it must come up with a strategy to combat "a wave of hate" its leaders say came from talk radio's efforts to sink the Senate's immigration bill.

"That had an extraordinary impact in the Senate, and as a nation, I don't think we should be comfortable with the fact that the United States Senate responded to what was largely a wave of hate," Cecilia Munoz, the National Council of La Raza's senior vice president for research, advocacy and legislation, told The Washington Times after meeting with NCLR affiliates to talk about a new strategy.

Stung by the collapse of the immigration bill in the Senate last month, NCLR leaders and members at the group's annual convention in Miami Beach, which began yesterday, say they will have to start a campaign to register and mobilize voters, to warn against crossing the line in the debate and to force lawmakers to take a clear stand on what they are willing to tolerate.

"I think we have to shine a light on it," Ms. Munoz said. "At the end of the day, we believe people need to take sides, that you can't stand on the sidelines, especially if part of what is motivating the actions of the United States Congress is not really about the public-policy debate, but is about their discomfort with Latinos."

NCLR's convention continues today with addresses by the two leading Democratic presidential candidates, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois.

With Hispanics already considered a key swing voting group, both Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama are trying to win those voters for themselves in the primaries and for Democrats in the general election.

Meanwhile, NCLR is trying to make sure more Hispanic voters are to be won over in 2008. The organization held a workshop to help legal permanent residents begin the citizenship-application process, and 200 immigrants were lined up before the door opened yesterday morning, organizers said.

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If these guys think it was hate on talk radio that sunk their bill, they were not paying attention to what their opposition was saying and they are likely to make the same mistake again. What sunk the bill was a lack of trust in the credibility of government to enforce the law against illegal immigration. This lack of trust was based on experience, not prejudice. Until these people can be persuaded that those who want to change the law are serious about enforcement, they will see continued opposition. Attempting to shape the debate as one between bigots and the enlightened is not going to change minds or help their cause.