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La Raza’s faith in the two-party system was dealt a shocking blow with the defeat of Senate Bill 170. The tuition equity legislation went down to defeat on a 16-18 vote as Democrats from Aurora, Hesperus, Wheat Ridge, Littleton (Tancredoville) and Thornton “voted against the bill.” When the interests of brown children are placed on the table, it seems that old attitudes and platitudes seem to surface with an intense backlash.
The American myth and its corollary, the Puritan ethic, believed by those from the south who come to work and seek out a better life have been shattered. The image of paved gold streets is again tainted with the stark reality that draconian attitudes are difficult to obliterate. The aspirations and future lives of thousands of undocumented children will be affected. Democrats proved the old adage stated by famed leader Rudolfo “Corky” Gonzales that the two-party system “is like a monster with two heads eating out of the same trough.”
The political muckrakers should be exposed, especially if they show up strutting in the barrio wearing guaraches, guayaberas and sombreros while gorging on mamacita’s tacos during Cinco de Mayo or better yet, during voting season. What they have ostensibly done is expose the continued wave of imigraphobia that has become rampant, as they listened to their constituents and voted accordingly. Maybe we should listen to our constituents and get them out of office. That would require some wrangling from strong leadership in the Democratic Party. The question is do we have that kind of leadership, someone willing to take the party on. Historically, disloyalty to the party has its repercussions.
The doors of opportunity have been shut again. It comes at a time when countless hours have been spent to restore faith in a system that uses the Latino vote as my mother used to say, “A su coveniencia.” The loss of faith in the system has history behind it. From the canneries, mines, packing houses and fields in South Texas to Southern California and into Northern Colorado, the vote meant nothing. It was an exercise in futility as conditions remained the same for la Raza irrespective of who was in office.
This defeat comes at a time when social demographers predicted that Latinos would be a strong force in partisan politics. There is no doubt that Latinos played a fundamental role in the election of Barack Obama. This defeat comes at a time when Obama’s Secretary of Education was in Denver Public Schools, as DPS administrators were bragging about their innovative practices. I wonder what he thinks now, especially since Latina/o “push out” rates are increasing in numbers.
I spoke with my confidant who asked a profound question, “Why should Latino kids negatively affected by this decision go to school?” They have no future. The incentive to prosper will wither away. There is an apparent contradiction. How can you hope to build an educated work force with strong civic leaders without complimentary policies that ensure their success? Broken promises and broken covenants are hard to repair.
The final ray of hope will fall in the hands of national legislators
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