I get the sense that many conservatives spent the early portion of the decade biting their tongues, and digging manicured nails into tender, uncalloused palms whenever Bush cozied up to Vicente Fox, or otherwise attempted to woo the Hispanic vote. Now that That One has nominated One of Them to the Supreme Court, however, they can at last heave a sigh of relief, heft the Wiffle bat, and beat that piñata until the candy flows like blood.
Hispanic 101 [Heather Mac Donald]
NYU history professor Jonathan Zimmerman deconstructsthe category “Hispanic” in today’s LA Times. Richard Nixon gave it a push in 1970 in the ever-green hope of attracting Latinos to the Republican party:
“All Spanish-speaking Americans share certain characteristics — a strong family structure, deep ties to the church, which makes them open to an appeal from us,” wrote one GOP campaign strategist on the eve of Nixon’s 1972 presidential reelection bid.
Whatever the truth of the observation in 1972, let’s review the myth of the redemptive Hispanic today. Fifty-three percent of all Latinas under the age of 20 have been pregnant at least once, virtually always outside of wedlock.
Today’s GOP would really prefer you rotund, milky-boobed, baby-making sluts not vote for them. But if you must, at least get an abortion first. No, wait –!
An official with the Pew Hispanic Center recently recounted to me the gang violence and ubiquitous teen pregnancy in his former high school on the east side of Los Angeles.
In this rumble, our chief weapons are fear, stereotype, and anecdote!
Such social facts do not help California’s budget situation.
It’s because teenagers with Spanish surnames are fecund that we require a 2/3 majority to pass a tax increase in this state.
Zimmerman amusingly calls Sonia Sotomayor “one of the most qualified nominees in the history of the Supreme Court,”
Yeah, the idea of putting a Latina on the Supreme Court is a lot like the concept behind that “dogs playing poker” painting: charming, but absurd.
Posted by scott on June 12th, 2009
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