LF: A Young (George P.) Bush Works to Nurture Hispanic Roots Within the Republican Party

Title: A Young (George P.) Bush Works to Nurture Hispanic Roots Within the Republican Party
Source: The Texas Tribune (The New York Times)
URL Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/04/u ... re-hispanic-roots.html?_r=2&hp
Published: Mar 4, 2012
Author: JULIÃN AGUILAR
Post Date: 2012-03-04 12:37:01 by Hondo68
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Keywords: Hispanic Republicans of Texas, seeds of the Bush family, already been dubbed â€œ47.â€
Views: 1516
Comments: 1

The seeds of political ascension for a member of the Bush family may have been planted in an Austin eatery whose name conjures up images of Janis Joplin jam sessions.

After Election Day in 2006, George P. Bush — the son of former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida and the nephew of former President George W. Bush — met with a friend at Threadgill’s to discuss how to propel more Hispanics within the ranks of the Republican Party.

More than five years later, Mr. Bush, who along with two siblings was dubbed one of “the little brown ones” by his grandfather, former President George Bush, is in Austin discussing how the 18-month-old Hispanic Republicans of Texas Political Action Committee, which he co-founded, moves ahead after redistricting.

“There really wasn’t an entity that was focused on the campaign finance element of Hispanic outreach, nor was there really an entity that was doing the blocking and tackling and mechanics of educating Latinos to actually run for office,” Mr. Bush, a 35-year-old lawyer, said of the PAC’s genesis.

Its board, including lawyers, former aides to government officials, advertising executives and a professor, is working to reach a traditionally blue-collar demographic. Mr. Bush said that is part of the message.

“They represent the American dream and are less than a generation from very humble origins,” Mr. Bush said of the board members, who have endorsed candidates from myriad backgrounds.

“This organization is also meant to be aspirational, and I think the Hispanic community is aspirational,” said Mr. Bush, whose mother is from Mexico.

Democrats say the PAC faces an uphill battle.

“They are delusional if they think they’re making any inroads with Latinos,” said Rebecca Acuña, a Texas Democratic Party spokeswoman. “In Texas, there are 668 Democratic Hispanic elected officials to the 60 in the Republican Party.”

Though Mr. Bush is careful when speaking about his own goals, he says he is inextricably linked to politics. For now, however, he is content with his role with the PAC.

His future political success could hinge on how Republicans move forward on specific issues. He supports portions of the Dream Act, and also calls himself a George W. Bush Republican on immigration reform.

“That is essentially securing the border, placing an importance on that,” he said. “In terms of folks already here? Figure out a way where they can be taken out of the shadows and contribute to society and provide an opportunity to contribute and pay their fair share.”

Mr. Bush said he wishes he spoke more Spanish, his first language, but it has faded from his life because of a lack of practice. He advocates that Hispanics in America learn English.

“Whether we like it or not, it is the language of commerce in our country,” he said. “That is not meant to be in a dispirited tone.”

Mr. Bush knows speculation about his future will persist. In some circles he has already been dubbed “47.” The talk is flattering, he said.

“I’d love to keep the door open,” he said. “Politics is in my blood.”

He must be pretty hard to get along with,too. When he graduated from law school his family got him a job with a top Houston law firm with serious Republican connections,and he didn't last a year before he was taking a job at another law firm with family connections. Supposedly the move was because the local congresswoman there was going to retire and Jorge Prescott (or is it Pablo?) Bush was going to run for her congressional seat in order to grease the skids for a future presidential run. They even bought him a blonde trophy wife. I guess him being brown and the country going brown was supposed to be his free ride into the WH.

There has been two congressional elections since then,and I still ain't hearing anybody calling him "congressman".