Rousing a Sleeping Giant

[redqueen]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/DN-teenvote_25tex.ART.North.Edition1.24e2213.html

Rousing a sleeping giant

Trying to harness the passion ignited by the immigration debate, Latinos embrace tech-savvy youths to lead voter registration and citizenship drives

12:00 AM CDT on Sunday, June 25, 2006
By MICHELLE MITTELSTADT / The Dallas Morning News

Frisco teenager Manuel Rendon may be the face of the future as Hispanic leaders try to translate the energy and passion from this spring's pro-immigrant street rallies and student walkouts into tangible – and lasting – political gains.

The 18-year-old and friends he's made through LULAC's youth program hope to get thousands of Hispanics in the Dallas area to register to vote through the "My Vote Plus Five Makes a Difference" initiative they launched recently.

And national, state and local Hispanic leaders are looking to such young people, savvy in harnessing MySpace.com and text messaging, to mobilize a population that's in some cases been hesitant to embrace citizenship and participation in the political process.

Some have tied recent immigration rallies, like this one May 1 in Kiest Park, to a surge in voter registration and citizenship. 'This has been the missing link that we've been looking for, this mass mobilization,' Latino leader Arturo Vargas said. "The kids are inventing a new paradigm," said state Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas.

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It seems to me that those who claim that the Democratic Party's stance on immigration will hurt our chances of regaining power in Congress this fall are not paying close enough attention to developments like this.

[stepnw1f]

1. Of Course They Aren't

They are the same folks that didn't want a fillibuster on Alito as well, I'm sure. And the same that thought Howard Dean was a bad choice.

[redqueen]

2. The "let's keep our powder dry" choir...

Yeah, just trying to help others to realize that it's worth their while to tune them out.

:hi: