Pinthouse Pizza
Concerned Over Lack of Organized Hispanic Opposition to Nomination
RECEIVED Fri., Jan. 28, 2005
To the editor,
For those who can remember the principled and determined opposition of the Congressional Black Caucus and the NAACP (among others) to the nomination and subsequent confirmation of black arch-conservative Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court 14 years ago, the muted response of prominent "progressive" Latino civil rights organizations to the cabinet nomination of former Texas assistant executioner-in-chief Alberto Gonzales stands in sharp contrast. Take the National Council of La Raza, which claims to be the largest constituency-based Hispanic rights organization (35,000 members). NCLR issued a press release early in the confirmation process on Nov. 10 titled, "NCLR welcomes nomination of Gonzales to serve as attorney general." The statement reveals that NCLR is "very encouraged by the Gonzales nomination" and goes on to laud Gonzales as "accessible and reasonable." The death row inmates whose 57 appeal denials Gonzales rubber-stamped before they landed on Gov. Bush’s desk probably wouldn’t see eye to eye with NCLR. Beneath Gonzales’ mild-mannered exterior lies a hard man of "principle" who refuses to admit that the criminal justice system can ever be wrong. Gonzales represents a scary departure from the rule of law to a world where those designated "evildoers" get their just deserts, Constitution be damned. Yet NCLR seems prepared to meet Gonzales with roses rather than tomatoes.
Consider, too, the position of the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the "Mexican-American NAACP." In a carefully worded press release issued very late in the confirmation game (Jan. 19), MALDEF has "questions and concerns" about Gonzales, stating blandly that they stand ready to work with him but cannot support him. This stance is obviously preferable to NCLR’s fawning but is hardly a call to arms. Where are the demands for a truly reasonable Hispanic nominee, acceptable both to his people and to the nation as a whole, one not tainted by conflict of interest, contempt for the Geneva Convention, and a refusal to publicly condemn torture? Even his much reviled predecessor John Ashcroft condemned torture under senatorial questioning, and yet Gonzales is unwilling (unable?) to do so.
NCLR and MALDEF have clearly bowed to political expediency, each in their own way conceding to what is now known as "the Washington consensus" – go along to get along. In their attempt to not appear "obstructionist" in their approach to this atrocious nominee, they forgot the interests of the people they claim to represent. Hispanic-Americans deserve equal representation in all areas of the executive branch and not just a single, awful cabinet appointee.
For those who can remember the principled and determined opposition of the Congressional Black Caucus and the NAACP (among others) to the nomination and subsequent confirmation of black arch-conservative Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court 14 years ago, the muted response of prominent "progressive" Latino civil rights organizations to the cabinet nomination of former Texas assistant executioner-in-chief Alberto Gonzales stands in sharp contrast. Take the National Council of La Raza, which claims to be the largest constituency-based Hispanic rights organization (35,000 members). NCLR issued a press release early in the confirmation process on Nov. 10 titled, "NCLR welcomes nomination of Gonzales to serve as attorney general." The statement reveals that NCLR is "very encouraged by the Gonzales nomination" and goes on to laud Gonzales as "accessible and reasonable." The death row inmates whose 57 appeal denials Gonzales rubber-stamped before they landed on Gov. Bush’s desk probably wouldn’t see eye to eye with NCLR. Beneath Gonzales’ mild-mannered exterior lies a hard man of "principle" who refuses to admit that the criminal justice system can ever be wrong. Gonzales represents a scary departure from the rule of law to a world where those designated "evildoers" get their just deserts, Constitution be damned. Yet NCLR seems prepared to meet Gonzales with roses rather than tomatoes.
Consider, too, the position of the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the "Mexican-American NAACP." In a carefully worded press release issued very late in the confirmation game (Jan. 19), MALDEF has "questions and concerns" about Gonzales, stating blandly that they stand ready to work with him but cannot support him. This stance is obviously preferable to NCLR’s fawning but is hardly a call to arms. Where are the demands for a truly reasonable Hispanic nominee, acceptable both to his people and to the nation as a whole, one not tainted by conflict of interest, contempt for the Geneva Convention, and a refusal to publicly condemn torture? Even his much reviled predecessor John Ashcroft condemned torture under senatorial questioning, and yet Gonzales is unwilling (unable?) to do so.
NCLR and MALDEF have clearly bowed to political expediency, each in their own way conceding to what is now known as "the Washington consensus" – go along to get along. In their attempt to not appear "obstructionist" in their approach to this atrocious nominee, they forgot the interests of the people they claim to represent. Hispanic-Americans deserve equal representation in all areas of the executive branch and not just a single, awful cabinet appointee.
Sincerely,
Charles Bierley
Charles Bierley