George Prescott Bush, the Hispanic Vote and the GOP

George P. Bush is running for the Land Commissioner in Texas, and he has my vote.  George P. also carries a name that is both an advantage and a disadvantage.  That was probably never more obvious than when he served an eight month tour in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.  During that entire time he worked under an assumed name.  No one in his outfit knew he was the nephew of President George W. Bush—to do so would have magnified the danger for both him and every man in his unit.   George Prescott Bush is the son of Florida Governor, Jeb Bush; nephew of President George W. Bush; grandson of President George H. W. Bush.

The 38 year old Bush speaks fluent Spanish.  That is no surprise.  His mother, Columba Garnica Gallo, was born in Mexico.  Yet Bush is the first person to tell you that Latinos are not a homogenous bloc.  They are individuals, and while you can apply some broad commentary on Texas’ Mexican-Americans as a culture, you are wrong to think they do not think and act for themselves. 

To quote from Will Weissert of the Huffington Post, George P. Bush is a unique blend of Republican royalty and Hispanic heritage.  Therein lays an interesting political wrinkle.  Gilberto Hinojosa, head of the Texas Democratic Party, is derisive when discussing Hispanic Republicans.  He makes it clear that just because you have a Mexican mother doesn’t mean you can count on the support of the Hispanic community.  Yet he is the first to say that Letitia Van de Putte, candidate for Lt. Governor, has added gravitas due to her Latina roots.  Mr. Hinojosa can’t have it both ways. 

Personally, I believe two things.  One is that the Hispanic culture in this country wants what the Republican Party offers.  I have lived among enough people of Mexican heritage to know that pride, dignity, and respect for education, family and faith are high value targets for them.  They believe in hard work.   They are willing to sacrifice so their children will have a better life. 

The second thing I believe is that the Republican Party has not been selling what America’s largest growing minority is buying.  We should be working to facilitate the goals of upward mobility.   Republicans are the only political group that actually wants minorities to become vested members of the upper class.  What we want is a nation of educated, savvy, economically fit consumers who see government as their servant, not their milk nurse.  This is not a simple goal, but we better start moving toward it in an aggressive way.   By the time my grandchildren are in charge of this country (and probably me, salted away in some indulgent nursing home!) our largest, “minority” group will be Latinos.  Whether from Cuba, Mexico, Central or South America, we are going to have a politically hungry subset of voters who do NOT want to be part of a vassal state populated by perpetual victims, hopelessly locked to big government in a symbiotic relationship. 

Republicans have a much better message than, “…give us your vote and we will increase the minimum wage.”  We want to turn people into the business owner, not minimum wage employees.  To do that we have to be willing to invest in quality education, fight for laws that encourage business and competition, and remember that taxes are for providing needed services, not income redistribution.  Republicans do not like being victims.  We don’t like being, “handled” or, “managed.”  And we really admire people who feel the same way. 

Let’s work for the Hispanic vote y mantener la fe.