Texas Monthly article: Grand Opportunity Party
Via Quorum Report :
The Republicans and George W. Bush won a record share of the Hispanic vote in November—and that ought to scare the Democrats to death
THE CRITICAL BATTLE FOR THE HISPANIC VOTE, and all it portends for Texas and for America in the years to come, has its roots in a meeting at the Capitol in the fall of 1998. Karl Rove, the political adviser to then-governor George W. Bush, summoned Lionel Sosa, the head of a San Antonio advertising agency that specialized in marketing to Hispanics, to talk about how Bush’s reelection campaign could generate a big Hispanic turnout. Rove was already thinking ahead to a presidential race in 2000, and he saw an opportunity to prove to Republicans outside Texas that Bush had the ability to win over a traditionally Democratic constituency. The meeting was scheduled for one hour. It lasted three. Bush had three goals. First, he wanted the highest percentage of the Hispanic vote of any Republican candidate in Texas history. Second, he wanted his message to be emotional and bilingual—“un nuevo día,” “a new day.” Last, he wanted the campaign to be a road map for Republicans, starting with himself, to effectively target Hispanic voters in the future.”
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If anyone has any doubts about the Republican Party’s long term goals and their ability to carry them out, just read this article. When you are done, join us in helping organize Latinos for Texas, a grassroots political group dedicated to the political participation and broad prosperity of all Hispanics in Texas.
