Harry Reid Plays the Race Card - Campaign Rhetoric Expected but Reid Crosses Line - Insulting Hispanics - Opinion

Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) has finally crossed the sanity line – in a recent press conference, Reid decided it was time to court the Hispanic Vote doing the only thing that somehow made sense to Harry – play the race card and “own” an ethnic group – Quote: “I don’t know how anyone of Hispanic heritage could be a Republican!”

Apparently, if one is of Hispanic decent (such as this author), then one must be a Democrat! – In much the same way as women must be Democrats (or they are not feminists) or African-American’s must be Democrats (or they are “Uncle Toms”) – there are limits to claiming “ownership” of one “group” or another – and, although Hispanics voters trended towards Obama in 2008, they trended towards George Bush in 2004 – in other words, Hispanics are capable of making their own choices, as are women or African American’s without being told by Harry Reid, (or the union bosses, or teachers owned by union bosses, or the media) that if one is a certain color, or of a certain ethnic heritage, one must get in line with a particular political party – shades of “The Gangs of New York” – Rent the movie – brief synopsis, How the political ward bosses used Irish Immigrants as cannon fodder during the Civil War, signing them up to vote for a particular party, then sending them off to war – in other words, taking advantage of a specific “immigrant” group, “claiming ownership”, “consolidating power”, and well, taking advantage of an individuals heritage. (The movie is available on Amazon or EBay; however, it is extremely violent.)

Here’s a fact: Republicans and Democrats are political parties that are open to members from all backgrounds regardless of race, ethnicity or gender. Martin Luther King, Jr. for example, chose to be a Republican, (although his family his split on this bit of history along “partisan lines”), the first African American elected to the U.S. Senate by popular vote was a Massachusetts Republican, Edward Brooke. Up through the 1960’s, the party that decried racism from its roots in the Civil War – the Republican Party – which opposed the racist and pro-slavery, then pro-segregation party – The Democrats. Apparently, little has changed when Mr. Reid declares that a “group” basically belongs to his party.

The labor movement changed the public perspective by “progressively” fighting for Civil Rights and associating the same action with a particular political party. That said, the one man who did more for Civil Rights than any other sitting in the Oval office, who worked tirelessly with Republican’s to get it pushed through a hostile Congress was one, much maligned, Lyndon Baines Johnson, a Democrat from Texas. Therefore, both political parties can lay claim to “notables” who fought for the basic rights of American’s regardless of race or ethnic heritage.

For more information on African American’s and the Republican Party visit the National Black Republican Association here . For a different take from Mr. Reid’s on Hispanics and which political party some might prefer visit the California chapter of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly here read Linda Sanchez article on why Hispanics are not patronized by Republicans.

It is time that “ownership” (or truly exploitation) of any particular group, for political purposes, be ended – there are African American’s, Italian’s, Irish, Hispanics, Asians – all United States Citizens, who chose the political party that most closely aligns with their own personal political beliefs. To answer Harry's question regarding Hispanics in particular: Hispanics are deeply religious, holding family values, pro-life, and pro-business, they are politicians, doctors, lawyers, housewives, teachers, small business owners who are not defined by being “Hispanic” rather, defined by their own personal goals. They are also Libertarians, and Democrats, by personal choice. As a group, Mr. Reid, Hispanics are not “sheep” to follow blindly and tow a prescribed and contrived Political Party Line that since one is Hispanic, one must be a Democrat. It is an insult and one deserving of an apology.