Besides being an electrifying leader, I personally believe that if Congressman Tony Cárdenas can work his way into the democratic leadership he will work effectively with Latinos on both sides of the aisle. That would be a game changer. At the risk of sounding cynical, the facts are that republicans continue to drift sharply from our agenda and the democrats have failed us repeatedly. We need new leadership on both sides and we need to work together – plain and simple. In that regard, it’s becoming clear that Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D) from San Fernando, CA is taking his game to the next level. The former REALTOR® (and colleague of NAHREP’s Foundation Chairman Jerry Ascencio) is quickly emerging as a major power player in the House of Representatives. Cárdenas took over as chair of the Hispanic Caucus’ Bold PAC in 2016 and promptly increased the PAC’s fundraising six-fold in his first year. He is on track to raise $10M in 2018 to help elect candidates – many of them Latino – to congress. The Bold PAC backed the 2016 campaign of Catherine Cortez Masto, the first Latina elected to the United States Senate. One prominent pollster said that if the Democrats take back the House in 2018, Cárdenas would have his fingerprints all over it. NAHREP was first introduced to Congressman Cárdenas when he spoke at the NAHREP National Convention in 2012 as LA City Councilman and on the verge of his first election to Congress. I believe Tony is definitely one of the people who we need to make that vision a reality. A nice article about Tony’s rise is here.
Almost everyone, including Democrats, were expecting last Tuesday’s midterm election results to heavily favor Republicans. Many predicted a “red wave” where they would pick up 50-60 seats in the House and 3-4 in the Senate. Joe Rogan said the red wave that is coming will be like the elevator doors opening in the horror film The Shining.
For most people, there is little upside to writing about the January 6th hearings, but as you probably know by now, I don’t worry about those things. We all must stand for something. The hearings have almost everyone taking sides before a single witness is called. Democrats believe that the events of January 6th were a calculated effort to undermine our democracy by demolishing two of the most sacred tenants of our nation, free elections, and the peaceful transition of power.
Most people consider themselves either a conservative or a liberal. I think if we forget political parties, which flip their positions on things all of the time, and instead focus on the actual definition of what it means to be a conservative and what it means to be a liberal, we might be able to temper the emotional reactions some of us have with political discourse.