As we talk about Latino or Hispanic politics in this election year, most automatically draw a link between this particular racial-ethnic identification and a liberal political orientation. A Latino social policy agenda is generally assumed to reside within a liberal New Deal framework. Latinos in general may be socially conservative on a number of issues, but the majority support an activist government, are willing to pay more taxes for increased services, and support government expansion of the social safety net and affirmative action programs. The fact that President Obama has, according to the polls, the support of roughly two-thirds of Latino voters, reflects a real political connection, not just superior campaigning.
The 2003 fight over the very conservative Miguel Estrada's confirmation as a federal appeals court judge was controversial because it gave rise to the question: Who is a Latino or Hispanic?
Representing what was then the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (PRLDEF) -- now named LatinoJustice PRLDEF -- I was caught in the middle of the controversy, summed up by Byron York in his February 6, 2003 National Review Online article, "Dems to Miguel Estrada: You're Not Hispanic Enough": READ MORE
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