SPECIAL NOTE: On this particular blog entry the OROG will have to have Google Chrome and the most recent up-date of the Adobe Flash Player in order to see the clip of Miriam Martinez's you-tube television news interview. It is very brief.
For all those OROGs and passing visitors who know that El Gringo Viejo is a daft and deranged old curmudgeon preaching lunacy to empty pews, please consider the following. It is a phenomena that has been pregnant for quite a while, and the time of birth is approaching.
For all those OROGs and passing visitors who know that El Gringo Viejo is a daft and deranged old curmudgeon preaching lunacy to empty pews, please consider the following. It is a phenomena that has been pregnant for quite a while, and the time of birth is approaching.
The two Latin folks who have recently changed into the Republican line-up down here along the border are each interesting personalities who bring interesting re-design into the political complexion. For many years, since around 1933, the Lower Rio Grande Valley has been in a Rip Van Winkle slumber. Texas was a Confederate State. All issues were settled in the Democrat Primary. Local elections for State Senator, State Representative, County Judge, County Commissioners, Sheriff, Tax Assessor Collector, County Court at Law Judges, Constables, and even State District Judges, District Clerk, and District Attorney were settled in the Democrat Primary Election. There was never much surprize when the vote total for the Democrat Primary exceeded substantially the vote total for the General Elections.
Texas voted Republican for President in 1928, because the liberal elitist Hoover was thought to be a better choice than the conservative Democrat Smith. That was because Texans were afraid that Smith might be forced to kiss the Pope's big toe and require that everyone else in America do the same. After that, the "conservative" Texans committed serial dumbass by voting for Roosevelt four times and Truman once. Then things became dicey. Eisenhower gained Texas's electoral college delegation twice, thereby creating the first wiggle in the Wall. Kennedy barely carried the Republica Texana, by 42,000 votes in 1960. Nixon almost won the State against Hubert Humphrey and George Wallace in 1968 and then carried it by 2 X 1 against McGovern in 1972.
After that time, local Republican activity began to spread. The stale Democrat Party had drifted left into the hot-pink zone of the political thermometer. The conservative Democrats who had souls were tired of the other Democrats who would vote for McGovern and then mumble and stumble around about "the nigras"....people who were either Klanners or so lazy and stupid that they believed the Klanner Way, but were too cheap to buy the robes and shoe the horses.
So, each day, each hour, in small towns, in large cities, in rural areas the White folks who were philosophical conservatives but had tired of the bifurcated, dysfunctional Democrat Party that was simultaneously dedicated to hating "nigras" and loving socialism...neither faction representing in any way their true orientation....began to move into active Republican membership and participation. Jim Collins, George H.W. Bush and others were being elected to the United States Congress in the late 1960s, and local races were being contested...IN THE GENERAL ELECTION...in many places throughout the Republic (of Texas). The gates to "Fortress Democrat Texas" finally broke down completely in 1976 when Ronald Reagan challenged some dolt in the Republican Primary for President of some foreign country called The United States, and the Republican Primary turnout almost arrived at the level the the Democrat Primary. From that time on, it was downhill for the Democrats.
Read more: Local, Politics, News, District 41, Miriam Martinez, Dolly Elizondo, Upcoming District 41 Elections, Hidalgo County Democratic Party, Bobby Guerra, November Ballot, Primary Election, Jumping Around from District to District, Guide Candidates through the Election Process, District 41 Candidate Switches Political Party, Hidalgo County, Texas
“Inequality”, Miriam Martinez said, is what prompted her to make the difficult decision to change parties and become a Republican before the upcoming District 41 elections.
New to the political game, Miriam Martinez said she has seen her share of ‘dirty politics.”
From day one, when she ran as a Democrat in District 40, Martinez said she never received help from the Hidalgo County Democratic Party.
"The treatment that I got from Dolly Elizondo was pretty unfair," Martinez said.
Once the redistricting maps were finalized, Martinez was pushed into District 41 and pitted against democratic newcomer Bobby Guerra.
"I saw a lot of abuse of power and my chances weren't equal,” Martinez said. “It was not an equal playing field."
The change would give Martinez a chance to push through the primary election and get on to the November ballot.
"I feel confident that now there is opportunity for whoever runs in District 41." said Martinez
Action 4 News took Martinez’s claims to Dolly Elizondo, chairperson for the Hidalgo County Democratic Party.
She said Martinez is using them as a scapegoat because she has been jumping around from district to district.*
Elizondo told Action 4 News, it is her job to guide candidates through the election process and said she did offer help to Martinez in the beginning.
*The statement by Dolly Elizondo of the Hidalgo County Democratic Party is patently misleading and purposefully incorrect, except the part about "in the beginning". When she found out that Miriam was more like a Mexican Partido de Accion Nacional type of "hispanic", Miriam became personna non-grata. Besides, the search had already ended in favour
of a Planned Parenthood, pro-welfare "hispanic".
In these times, we have gone back to the future. Except in certain severely "urban" situations, almost all local issues are settled now in the Republican Primary. Southernmost Texas is an exception where the Latins have been led into the dark-alley, dead-end of a party that vigourously attempts to enslave as many as possible into the non-English speaking, public assistance environment.
The business community, until very, very recently enjoyed the prosperity brought on by the prison building and the slavery to food stamps, AFDC, Section 8, free lunch, breakfast, snack, and summer meals, Head Start, utility subsidy, public housing, medicaid, etc. The schools are proud to produce illiterates who have to be supported by the dole, and they are proud of their baby-mother programs.
But, this is Texas....this is America....and even this diabolical plan put forth by the Democrat elitists to segregate the brown, unwashed inferiors from their private clubs and subdivisions did not really work. There was, is, and always will be a self-sufficient colonial and immigrant group of Latins in South Texas. By the end of the 1850s that group was totally outnumbered by the English-speaking arrivals. Only pockets, like Laredo, Rio Grande City, Roma, Benavides, and a few other demographic islands were composed of a majority of Spanish-language people. Almost all the Latins in those days were either white or almost totally white in terms of racial origin. These people remain, and, in spite of the best efforts of the Democrats, there are still those of the immigrant group who follow the path to Americanism. One can review the casualty lists from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Oddly, since many of the people who came into southernmost Texas were from Republican areas of the North in the United States, the frontier became a pocket of Republican people surrounded by Democrats in the northern 90% of the State, and God knows what in Mexico. The political environment was, in any regard, a marble-cake of intriques betwixt Republicans and Democrats, Latins and Anglos, with alliances for and against each group swirling like two tom-cats fighting inside of a tornado.
Finally, after the Good Government League (Republicans) almost made Hidalgo County and other places safe for Democracy and destroyed the A.Y. Baker machine in the 1930s, everything seemed to be in order. But never underestimate the power of Hudson Valley Elitists. Franklin Roosevelt and his lackeys, like Lyndon Baines Johnson pretty much re-extended the Democrat control throughout Texas and into the frontier, with the "Recovery" and the WPA and the New Deal. Texas developed the "two-party Democrat Party", combining conservatives and socialists in one political party. God help us.
Finally, after the Good Government League (Republicans) almost made Hidalgo County and other places safe for Democracy and destroyed the A.Y. Baker machine in the 1930s, everything seemed to be in order. But never underestimate the power of Hudson Valley Elitists. Franklin Roosevelt and his lackeys, like Lyndon Baines Johnson pretty much re-extended the Democrat control throughout Texas and into the frontier, with the "Recovery" and the WPA and the New Deal. Texas developed the "two-party Democrat Party", combining conservatives and socialists in one political party. God help us.
When the New Deal didn't work, they tried World War II, and that seemed to help. Although Hidalgo County lost over 350 dead in that War (of a population of 140,000) it did change a few things to the better. Active Latin participation in the electoral process through the GI Forum, the Catholic War Veterans, and the like was good, but they tended to group off into the Democrat area of the spectrum, where almost all remained until recently.
NOW, FINALLY TO THE POINT:
Miriam Martinez is an advertising agency owner of some note here in Hidalgo County. She is from Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico. She has worked with UniVision and TV Azteca in Miami and New York. She has studied in the best schools in Reynosa and Monterrey and has university degrees in business and related topics. She emigrated to Texas several years ago as a legal resident alien. She recently gained her American citizenship and has been a productive member of the community for a significant period. She wanted to go into politics, but after several attempts to register with the Democrat Party as a candidate for State Representative from the 41st district, she finally gave up and filed as a Republican. It was the Democrats fear that she would run in a 3 to 2 Democrat district and then change parties, banking on her good works to change the attitudes in her district to the point that she would then be able to make the district Republican from the inside out. The district is approximately 90% Latin.
Miriam is an attractive girl, very sharp, and has laid out a platform of continuation of the Texas policy of no state income tax, no increase in the sales tax, and a freeze on increased State expenditures of any kind. She has a Roman Catholic catechism, and is known as a true and honest person. Oddly, she might be a little too pretty and a little too stylish....but then again, maybe not. She has Ricardo Montalban English and the poise of class and social grace by birth and breeding that will serve well in combat. The Democrats will come after her with hammers and tongs (sickles?), but the times...they are a'changin. Remember the fat little butterball "nobody", grandson of the Democrat Icon Sissy Farenthold, who destroyed Solomon Ortiz in the general elections of 2010 for United States Representative. Ortiz was a 16 term incumbent. A Latin Democrat in a 3 to 1 Democrat district running against a tubby Republican Episcopalian. They slimed Farenthold up one side and down the other with lies and demagoguery of the worst sort....and they lost.
District 41, primarily centered in McAllen....almost entirely lower-middle class, upper middle class, skilled blue-collar, and a few rich folks would seem to be a Latin district that would be correctly represented on the Republican side of the aisle in Austin.
Enter now also State Representative J.M. Lozano, also an emigre' from Mexico, was a legal resident alien, applied for and was granted naturalized American citizenship, and serves effectively as a State Representative before the Texas Congress for a district located in Cameron County, Texas. The district is about 90% Latin, and has a ratio of about 4 to 1, Democrat over Republican. Once again however, the district has a large concentration of lower-middle class, high-skill blue collar, and upper-middle class Latins...a dangerous mix. These are not the pamper throwers. These are the human beings...the ones in the National Guard, in the Army, and those who are quite as bright as those of us in the Army...in the United States Marines. These are solid Latin folks who have considerable pride in their ancestry and origins and who have no difficulty in resolving that with being fully integrated and self-supporting in the American scheme of things.
AUSTIN, Texas — State Rep. J. M. Lozano said Monday he will switch parties and become a Republican, making him the second South Texas lawmaker to abandon the Democratic Party in what has traditionally been a blue corner of the state.
In a phone interview, Lozano said he plans to formally announce his decision Thursday in Austin and in his home district, which includes Kingsville and stretches along the Gulf Cost to the Rio Grande Valley, near the border with Mexico.
The move further pads the GOP House supermajority, giving the Republicans 102 of 150 seats. But the Legislature is not set to meet again until next year, meaning his switch will matter only if Gov. Rick Perry calls a special session — something Perry says he has no plans to do.
Elected in 2010, Lozano filed for re-election as a Democrat on Nov. 30, just three days after the filing period opened. A second filing period has begun, however, after a legal battle over the Texas redistricting maps delayed the state's primary until May 29.
Lozano's district was altered significantly by maps drawn by the Republican-dominated Legislature, but those maps may change again based on the forthcoming decision of a federal court in Washington. The Texas Democratic Party says no other Democrat has filed to challenge Lozano.
Lozano said his decision had less to do with redistricting and more to do with his support of oil and natural gas exploration, his opposition to abortion and other conservative convictions popular with his constituents.
Lozano spokesman Craig Murphy said Lozano was persuaded to switch following conversations with George P. Bush, nephew of former President George W. Bush.
"My job now is to let the Hispanic community know that our values are welcome in the Republican Party," he said.
Lozano becomes the third Democratic state representative to change parties in less than 18 months. In December 2010, Rep. Allan Ritter of Nederland, east of Houston, became a Republican, as did Rep. Aaron Pena, who represents the Rio Grande Valley community of Edinburg.
Pena has since announced he's not planning to seek re-election this year, however, after he said the redrawn voting maps made it impossible for a Republican to win in his district.
South Texas has traditionally been a Democratic stronghold, but Lozano said the state party leadership ignored the issues most important to him. The owner of a trio of chicken wing franchises, Lozano was born in Mexico and became a U.S. citizen at 6.
He said he was persuaded to change parities after a conversation this week with George P. Bush, the founder of the Hispanic Republicans of Texas political action committee. He is also the son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and nephew of former President George W. Bush.
"We talked about everything, our lives and how there's this misconception out there that the Republican Party is not welcome to Hispanics," Lozano said.
The Texas Democratic Party called Lozano's decision "unprincipled and cowardly."
"Just 15 months ago, Lozano was elected to office as a Democrat. The instant things got tough, Lozano jumped ship and joined a party that has betrayed his constituents," Chairman Boyd Richie said in a statement. "He's proven he has no core and stands for nothing but his quest to grab and hold power."
Press Release - Lozano
AUSTIN, Texas — State Rep. J. M. Lozano said Monday he will switch parties and become a Republican, making him the second South Texas lawmaker to abandon the Democratic Party in what has traditionally been a blue corner of the state.
In a phone interview, Lozano said he plans to formally announce his decision Thursday in Austin and in his home district, which includes Kingsville and stretches along the Gulf Cost to the Rio Grande Valley, near the border with Mexico.
The move further pads the GOP House supermajority, giving the Republicans 102 of 150 seats. But the Legislature is not set to meet again until next year, meaning his switch will matter only if Gov. Rick Perry calls a special session — something Perry says he has no plans to do.
Elected in 2010, Lozano filed for re-election as a Democrat on Nov. 30, just three days after the filing period opened. A second filing period has begun, however, after a legal battle over the Texas redistricting maps delayed the state's primary until May 29.
Lozano's district was altered significantly by maps drawn by the Republican-dominated Legislature, but those maps may change again based on the forthcoming decision of a federal court in Washington. The Texas Democratic Party says no other Democrat has filed to challenge Lozano.
Lozano said his decision had less to do with redistricting and more to do with his support of oil and natural gas exploration, his opposition to abortion and other conservative convictions popular with his constituents.
Lozano spokesman Craig Murphy said Lozano was persuaded to switch following conversations with George P. Bush, nephew of former President George W. Bush.
"My job now is to let the Hispanic community know that our values are welcome in the Republican Party," he said.
Lozano becomes the third Democratic state representative to change parties in less than 18 months. In December 2010, Rep. Allan Ritter of Nederland, east of Houston, became a Republican, as did Rep. Aaron Pena, who represents the Rio Grande Valley community of Edinburg.
Pena has since announced he's not planning to seek re-election this year, however, after he said the redrawn voting maps made it impossible for a Republican to win in his district.
South Texas has traditionally been a Democratic stronghold, but Lozano said the state party leadership ignored the issues most important to him. The owner of a trio of chicken wing franchises, Lozano was born in Mexico and became a U.S. citizen at 6.
He said he was persuaded to change parities after a conversation this week with George P. Bush, the founder of the Hispanic Republicans of Texas political action committee. He is also the son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and nephew of former President George W. Bush.
"We talked about everything, our lives and how there's this misconception out there that the Republican Party is not welcome to Hispanics," Lozano said.
The Texas Democratic Party called Lozano's decision "unprincipled and cowardly."
"Just 15 months ago, Lozano was elected to office as a Democrat. The instant things got tough, Lozano jumped ship and joined a party that has betrayed his constituents," Chairman Boyd Richie said in a statement. "He's proven he has no core and stands for nothing but his quest to grab and hold power."
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| Representative J. M. Lozano announcing his change to Republican and his candidacy for re-election |
Efforts are underway to try to convince Aaron Pena, who changed parties from Democrat to Republican during the last session, to file again in his new district. But he seems recalcritrant, almost as if "My wife says I have to go back to practicing law and making some money." was a true statement. State Representatives and Senators in Texas make about 7,200 dollars/year and certain basic considerations (800/month for a domicile if they live 90 miles from Austin...things like that. It's a pretty spare piece of bone by US Congress standards). Republicans have to be ultra-extra-double careful as well about their private relationships and campaign funding because a Republican will be filed on by the Travis County DA and convicted of a serious misdemeanor or felony....for following the law...while a Democrat will never be charged....Tom DeLay is an example. This is not a joke.
There is an exception. Kino Flores, a Democrat, was charged and convicted of misappropriation and improper gifts and improper handling contribution of campaign funds. Oddly, he was a South Texas Latin Democrat who freqently broke ranks and/or actively helped pass Republican sponsored legislation. It was known that the Democrat leadership was out to get him and that they did not consider him to be a "real Hispanic". He had done nothing except a lesser form of what all the hard-core Democrats did, do, and are still doing.
Now you know the rest of the story. And the background of the Story.
El Gringo Viejo
El Gringo Viejo
