GOP Tastes for Latino Flava Satisfied

We’re tired. We’re probably not as tired as candidates who lost their races last week, but we’re pretty flippin’ tired. Besides the election fatigue, we’re writing this week from San Antonio, Texas, where the National Communication Association is having its annual conference (which, interestingly enough, is conspicuously lacking in discussion of race and political communication – are they leaving it all up to us?). Stephen is a fish out of water here, being a political scientist. There is an unsettling pseudo-humorous disdain for political scientists among communication scholars. We’re not exactly sure what that’s about (but Charlton has some theories). Anyway, we’re hopeful that Stephen will make it back to Chicago in one piece. If not, Charlton will post a heartfelt eulogy here next week.

We’ve been filling our substantial bellies with Hispanic food all week, and it seems that the GOP is equally hungry for some Latino “flava.” While we don’t have the time or energy to do a lot in this space this week, we wanted to address the recent announcement that U.S. Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) will take over as “general chairman” of the Republican National Committee. We’re sensitive to the implication that any time a minority is appointed to a high-profile position it constitutes tokenism, but this revelation reeks of a 21st Century J.C. Watts scenario. Martinez, who is the only Republican Hispanic member of the Senate, emerged on the national scene two years ago. While the same can be said of Barack Obama, contrasting the two men’s charisma and potential for national prominence is an exercise in futility. To paraphrase the famous words late Senator and vice-presidential candidate Lloyd Bentsen, “You, Mr. Martinez, are no Barack Obama.” Further, the position as general chairman does not require Martinez to give up his Senate seat, as the day-to-day operations will be handled by Mike Duncan.

The GOP is clearly sending a message to Latino voters. In 2000, Republicans did well with Latino voters, but they only pulled about 30% of the Latino vote this year. With conflicting views on immigration, as well as the rest of issues that caused voters to vote Democratic this year, the signal sent by the Martinez appointment is that the Party is not only interested in having Latino support, but that they are willing to put such efforts front-and-center. Does this mean that they are abandoning their wooing of the black vote after three prominent black Republicans failed to win statewide seats last week? It’s possible. But what is clear is that the GOP leadership will have to do at least as much soul searching as the Democrats had to do two years ago.