Texas Democrats have failed to harness the great potential of Latino voters. We need to change that, but I'm not for sure how.
In Texas, in general, it is very hard to get people to participate in much of anything, with the exception of Austin. For example, OWS had good participation across the country, but in the forth largest city, Houston, had hardly any participation. With all the draconian budget cuts in our state, there were only a handful of protests.
I do have some hope with Julian Castro. I wasn't too familiar with him, so I looked him up and found an interesting article about him in the NYT:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/09/magazine/09Mayor-t.html?_r=1
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A lot of very smart people, not all of them in Texas, see Julián Castro as the favorite to fill the leadership void. Julián really stands out, says Raúl Hinojosa-Ojeda, an associate professor of Chicano and global studies at U.C.L.A. There are other talented young Hispanic politicians around, but few have his stature or national potential. Hes from San Antonio, but hes very much admired in California. Hes like Obama one of us, but someone who also comes out of a broader American experience.
Castro has all the assets to become the next favorite son, is how John A. Garcia, a political-science professor at the University of Arizona, puts it. He has an elite education, which has given him a national network, and a quiet, serious public persona that appeals to a lot of younger Hispanic voters, Garcia says. People look at him and say, Finally, we have somebody who wont screw up. Of course, hes still young, and he might be too good to be true, but if I were betting on the next national Hispanic political leader, Id bet on Julián.
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We have a way to go, for sure. I do know we need a leader to foster enthusiasm and participation with Latinos, and Democrats in general, here in Texas.
I'm open for any suggestions and will do whatever I can to help change our state to a beautiful shade of blue. I know we can do it