Dem to Obama: Push immigration or I’ll tell Latino voters to stay home

lilbawler2001 · 08:32 AM

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A congressman from the president’s home state is threatening that he will urge Latino voters to stay home this November if the Democratic Party does not make a concerted effort to pass comprehensive immigration reform.
Rep. Luis Gutierrez (Ill.) is arguably President Barack Obama’s biggest Democratic critic in Congress. And he’s not fond of Obama’s top advisers at the White House, either.

Some Democrats have felt little urgency in pursuing the controversial issue, partly because they see no risk that Hispanic voters will bolt the party for the GOP. But Gutierrez says they are missing the real political consequence of inaction.

“We can stay home,” Gutierrez said in an interview with The Hill. “We can say, ‘You know what? There is a third option: We can refuse to participate.’ ”

For Gutierrez, a former cab driver first elected to represent Chicago in 1992, the shift from close Obama ally to ornery critic has been stark. The lawmaker was one of the former Illinois senator’s earliest campaign supporters, and — as Gutierrez is quick to note — he stuck by Obama even as many Hispanic leaders rallied around Hillary Rodham Clinton in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary.

When Gutierrez talks about his old Chicago neighbor, he speaks of “anger, disillusionment, dissatisfaction” and “betrayal.” He says Obama has failed to keep his campaign commitment to immigration reform, and he decries what he calls an “enforcement-only” policy in which the administration has deported more undocumented immigrants than in the final year of the George W. Bush administration.

Gutierrez says Latinos have lost patience with Obama, and he predicts an “escalation” of activism aimed at forcing immigration reform to the fore of the party agenda.

“We’re going to make it uncomfortable for the Democratic Party,” Gutierrez said, adding that immigration advocates would step up the pressure by drawing lessons from the movements for civil rights and women’s suffrage. “There’ll probably be civil disobedience. There will probably be a number of different actions. What we have to do is we have to break through this wall of silence, because we’re invisible.”

Gutierrez noted a number of positive gestures from the White House, including an invitation for him to attend a bill-signing for a jobs measure that, he said, “I had nothing to do with.”
“I don’t think I even co-sponsored it. Why did they invite me?” Gutierrez wondered, before answering his own question. “After he signed the bill, [Obama] came up to me, he said, ‘Hey Luis, I appreciate your support. We’re going to work on comprehensive immigration reform.’ ”

http://thehill.com/homenews/house/93...s-to-stay-home

Love that guy.

Another article about him

Quote:

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has set the dues bar for the Financial Services subcommittee chairman at $250,000 this cycle. But as of Jan. 21, Gutierrez hadn't contributed a dime.
It's not the first time he has been in arrears with the DCCC. On Oct. 20, 2008, Gutierrez was among 33 House Democrats who were singled out in a memo leaked to the press that highlighted members who had given 50 percent or less of their DCCC dues. At the time, Gutierrez had only given 20 percent of his quota.

But after a recent meeting with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Gutierrez said he will pony up.

In an interview with The Hill, Gutierrez said, "I am going to do it this time because I saw a little more twinkle and brightness in the Speaker's eyes when she [was talking about immigration reform.]"

Gutierrez, an ardent proponent of immigration reform, said that the Speaker has not changed her strategy of making the Senate go first on immigration. However, she indicated that she would help move the bill through Congress.

"I saw a difference in her," Gutierrez said.

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/...-his-dccc-dues

Jelly Bean Lover · 04-20-2010, 09:44 AM

More evidence that Gutierrez is the only politician who is a statesman when it comes to immigration reform. I swear, if immigration reform ever passes, I will be loyal to him for the rest of my life.

swordfish · 04-20-2010, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jelly Bean Lover

More evidence that Gutierrez is the only politician who is a statesman when it comes to immigration reform. I swear, if immigration reform ever passes, I will be loyal to him for the rest of my life.

Count me in.

dreamberry · 09:51 PM

Voting is far better than not voting. Why would you stay home and not vote? Do we really want to risk having a candidate that is against immigration? We need to go out and vote, now more than ever.

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Dem to Obama: Push immigration or I’ll tell Latino voters to stay home