State Representative Pete Gallego to Deliver Democratic Hispanic Radio Address

Texas State Representative Pete Gallego will deliver the Democratic Hispanic Radio Address this Saturday, June 24, 2006. Gallego will discuss how while Hispanic elected officials from all around the country met this week, the Republican Party was working against the law that made it possible for all of them to get to where they are. Gallego will also contrast the Republican Party's failed leadership with the Democratic Party's vision for a new direction for America.

The audio of the address will be heard through local Univisión Radio, Latino Broadcasting Company, Radio Fórmula, Radiovisa, Radio Bilingüe, and CNN en Español Radio affiliates after 11:06 a.m. ET on Saturday.

The audio, embargoed until 11:06 a.m. ET on Saturday, can be downloaded here.

The translated text of the address in English appears below:

Good morning. This is State Representative Pete Gallego, Chairman of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus in Texas, and a proud Democrat.

I speak to you this week from Dallas where I joined more than one thousand other Hispanic elected officials this week for an annual conference looking at critical issues such as education, immigration, the economy, and the Voting Rights Act.

Although the gathering was bipartisan, over 90 percent of Hispanic elected officials are Democrats. That's a staggering number, due in no small part to the values we have in common as Hispanics and Democrats. And in no small part because Democrats have fought for decades to make sure that people like me and all of those at the conference could have a voice and participate in America's great democracy.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965, the most effective civil rights law ever enacted, is one of the ways that Hispanics, African Americans and other minorities have gotten that voice. It protects voters from discrimination and ensures a fair process for all voters. One of the key provisions of this law guarantees that Hispanics are adequately represented in state assemblies and in Congress in certain parts of the country. And has opened the doors for the more than 5,000 Latino elected officials around the country to be able to get to where they are.

The provisions of the Voting Rights Act are set to expire in 2007, and those protections will be lost if Congress does not renew the law. So it was stunning that as Hispanic elected officials prepared for their gathering this week, the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act was blocked by the Republican Congress.

But it didn't stop there. In a period of 24 hours the Republican Party didn't just stand in the way of the Voting Rights act, they resorted to partisan political games to stop an increase in the minimum wage; and also announced a new stage in their campaign to scapegoat Hispanic immigrants for political gain.

In the face of increasing disapproval from the American people over their failed leadership, the Republican party showed pure desperation.

We need a new direction for America. In the spirit of democracy, Democratic leaders have fought to ensure the renewal of the Voting Rights Act. In the spirit of opportunity, we have fought to raise the minimum wage. And in the spirit of America, we are still fighting to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill that strengthens our borders; protects workers; reunites families; and allows hard working immigrants who pay taxes and obey the law to earn their citizenship.

Those are values consistent not only with the Hispanic community, but with the ideals and spirit this great nation was founded on. And those are values worth voting for in November.

This is State Representative Pete Gallego for the Democratic Party. Thank you for listening.