TUNE IN: Join the Conversation on “The Latino Nation”

Tune in and watch Tavis Smiley’s Latino Nation.

I was honored to be asked to be part of the discussion and add my voice to the two part panel. Learn more from going directly to TheLatinoNation.Com. The event is being broadcasted on PBS.

Here is more information on the event:

America’s 50-million-strong Latino community flexed its historic political muscle in the 2012 elections, evidencing the community’s growing influence. Now, as the immigration debate unfolds in Washington, Tavis moderates a national conversation on the challenges and opportunities facing this diverse group.

Hosted in partnership with the William C. Velásquez Institute, “Latino Nation: Beyond The Numbers” panelists examine a full range of Latino social, political, economic and cultural influence on American life, from the economy to politics, healthcare to education, immigration to foreign policy, as well as solutions for economic growth in this vital community.

Guests include:

Antonio González, president of the William C. Velásquez Institute; Rep. Luis Gutiérrez, D-IL; Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of MALDEF;Stephanie Sanchez, student trustee board member of Chicago State University;Bettina Inclán, Republican political strategist; and others. [Click here to see list of guests.]

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Thank You “The Latino Nation”

Greetings from Chicago State University where I, along with some of the nation’s top Hispanic leaders, are participating in Tavis Smiley’s “The Latino Nation.”  Hosted in partnership with the William C. Velásquez Institute, “Latino Nation: Beyond The Numbers” panelists will look at a full range of Latino influence on American life, from the economy to politics, healthcare to education, immigration to foreign policy, as well as solutions for economic growth in this vital community.

I am honored to be part of this great event. Thank you to Tavis Smiley (and his staff), Antonio Gonzalez of the William C. Velásquez Institute and my friend Hector Barreto.  Learn more http://thelatinonation.com/

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CPAC 2013 – Immigration Panel Talks Solutions, Realities

Tackling one of the most controversial issues in politics, a panel of policy experts led a conversation at CPAC titled ” Immigration “Respecting Families and the Rule of Law: A Lasting Immigration Policy.”

Panelists included:

Dr. Whit Ayers, President, North Star Opinion Research
Dan Garza, Executive Director, The LIBRE Initiative
Helen Krieble, Founder and President, The Vernon K. Krieble Foundation
Jenny Korn, Executive Director, American Action Network
The Honorable Raúl Labrador
Moderator:  Helen Aguirre Ferré, Host, “Zona Politica”The moderator for the panel was journalist Helen Aguirre Ferré who began the immigration discussion saying “there isn’t a topic today that has done more to divide our nation unnecessarily.”

Selected comments by the panelists include:

Dr. Whit Ayers: Regarding the projected influx of young immigrants over the next few decades, “If we hope to have a vibrant center-right coalition, we better reach out aggressively.”

Dan Garza: Talked about the immigrant experience and his families personal story saying he was taught “hard work, perseverance and access to a free market will help us achieve in America.”

Jenny Korn: “Immigration reform is a conservative issue.” She continued, “You can be conservative and be for immigration reform.”

The Honorable Raúl Labrador: “We can offer a modern immigration system that keeps us strong, safe, and free.” Labrador continued, “It’s time again for the Republican party to again become the party of change.”

One of the biggest applause for the Labrador came when he said “We have too many Republicans that speak like conservatives and act like moderates. We need Republicans that speak like moderates and act like conservatives.”

For up to the minute updates follow me at @BettinaInclan on twitter.

 

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Covering CPAC – Lineup Showcases Hispanic Conservatives

Greetings from the Conservative Political Action Conference were Hispanic Conservatives are poised to have a strong presence at the nation’s largest gathering of conservative activists. Discussing topics from economy, immigration, foreign policy to coalition building at National Harbor outside of Washington D.C. from March 14 – 16 the conservative activist with diverse Hispanic backgrounds will provide some fresh perspective to this important national summit.

Among the conference noted speakers include two very prominent Republican Senators of Hispanic decent, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida. Cruz will give the key note speech at CPAC He will become the first Hispanic in CPAC’s 40-year history to deliver the keynote address.

Stay tuned throughout the week for more updates.

Below are some of the Hispanic speakers speaking on CPAC panels (This is not the full panel). For more information and to see a full list of speakers.For today, Thursday, 3/14 some select highlights:

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INFOGRAPHIC: Blacks and Hispanics Are More Likely to Use Twitter

AdWeek illustrated some great data recently published by Pew Research Center, the first of its kind study that analyzes social media use by various demographics.  A strong majority of internet users, 67 percent, are active on social media platforms like Facebook, Instragram and twitter. Yet, who and how social media is used varies greatly from groups to group. Twitter is popular with internet users 18-29 and Hispanics and blacks. Instagram is particularly appealing to Hispanics, blacks and women.. Though I published the results of the survey a few weeks ago, this infographic was too good, that I had to share.

 

 

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Jeb Bush Won’t Rule Out Presidential Bid, Releases New Book on Immigration (RWN)

Jeb Bush, the outspoken former Florida Governor, isn’t ready to confirm any 2016 bid; instead he is more focused on doing what he is best known for, being an ideas man who gets results.

“I have a voice, I want to share my beliefs about how the conservative movement and the Republican Party can regain its footing, because we’ve lost our way,” Bush told Today Show host Matt Lauer on Monday.

Bush said he wouldn’t rule out presidential run, “but I won’t declare today either,” he said to Lauer.

One area Bush is making his voice heard is on immigration and how the GOP’s can better engage Hispanic voters.

This week Bush released a new book called “Immigration Wars: Forging an American Solution,” outlining a strategy to help the GOP connect with the nation’s largest minority group and an extensive plan for immigration reform.

Bush, 60, recognizes that immigration is not the top issue for Hispanics and Asian-Americans, two major emerging voting populations. Yet, Bush added, Republicans need to acknowledge that immigration is an important issue to those voters. Bush states immigration is a “gateway. If you set a tone that you don’t want people to be part of your team, they don’t join,” he said.

In 2012, Obama carried Hispanic and Asian-American voters by a 3-1 ratio.

Bush and co-author Clint Bolick, an attorney and vice president for litigation at the Arizona-based Goldwater Institute, argue their immigration proposal is more extensive than the draft from the Obama administration and a more conservative blueprint than the senate outline. Bush argues his proposal is more likely to get through the Republican-controlled house.

One part of his new proposal making the lots of news today, Jeb Bush does not support the currently proposed pathway to citizenship. A change from his previous position articulated in a Wall Street Journal OpEd he and Bolick authored in January. 

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Republicans Announces National Pro-Immigration Reform Advocacy Campaign

Republican groups are gearing up efforts to advocate for immigration reform rolling out a national media campaign. Today, the Hispanic Leadership Network (HLN) announced a six-figure national ad buy in English and Spanish featuring HLN Co-Chair former Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez. The ad is part of a new campaign “Be Part of the Solution,” geared to encourage passage of bipartisan immigration reform.” Watch the ad below.

In the ad, Secretary Gutierrez states, “America’s the only place where a little boy who couldn’t speak English can grow up to be a CEO and U.S. secretary of Commerce… Washington must pass immigration reform that grows the economy and respects the rule of law.”

Gutierrez was born in Cuba. When he was six, he and his family fled to Mexico from Communist Cuba. When he was 22 he joined the Kellogg company in Mexico and worked himself up the ranks. In January 1999, Gutierrez was elected to the Kellogg’s Board of Directors and by April of 1999, he was appointed president and CEO. Carlos Gutierrez took the helm at Kellogg becoming the company’s youngest CEO in nearly 100- year history. He also became the only Latino CEO of a Fortune 500 company. In 2004, Fortune Magazine dubbed Gutierrez as “The Man Who Fixed Kellogg” turning around the company’s finances. He went on to become Secretary of Commerce under the Bush Administration.

Read the full press release form HLN after the jump.

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STUDY: Hispanics, Blacks Use Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest at Higher Rate

A new study from Pew Research looks at who uses social media and found the minorities have a higher use of social networking platforms compared to their white counterparts. This latest study on the state of social media is the first reportable data of Pinterest, Instagram and Tumblr allowing comparison among demographics – white, African-Americans and Hispanics. Among the most popular social sites Hispanics and Blacks over-indexed as social network users.

The breakdown for:

Twitter:

16% of all Internet users use Twitter

Gender: Men – 17% Women – 15%

Race/Ethnicity: White – 14% Black – 26% Hispanic – 19%

Pinterest:

15% of all internet users use Pinterest

Gender: Men – 5% Women – 25%

Race/Ethnicity: White – 18% Black – 8% Hispanic – 10%

Instagram:

13% of all internet users use Instagram

Gender: Men – 10% Women – 16%

Race/Ethnicity: White – 11% Black – 23% Hispanic – 18%

Tumblr:

6% of all internet users use Tumblr

Gender: Men – 6% Women – 6%

Race/Ethnicity: White – 6% Black – 5% Hispanic – 8%

Read the full report at Pew Research.

While Facebook is the most used social media website (67% of internet users), the report did not release race/ethnicity specific data. A 2009 study found that white and Asian-Americans over indexed on Facebook. The company is making changes to attract a more diverse user base.

In 2011 Pew Hispanic released a study on Hispanic use of the internet – “Latinos and Digital Technology”. Other reports define Hispanics as early adopters of social media and outpace other demographic groups in the United States in the use of social networking sites. Check out this blog post from 2011 for more.

 

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VIDEO: Marco Rubio’s Spanish State Of The Union GOP Response (Full Text English/Spanish)

Watch Senator Marco Rubio’s State of the Union GOP response in Spanish.

Senator Rubio is the first person to provide an opposition response in both English and Spanish. Yet, this is not the first time the GOP provides a Spanish rebuttal to the State of the Union:

• 2012 – Congressman Francisco “Quico” Canseco (R- TX)
• 2011 - Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL)
• 2010- Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL)

Read the full text of Sen. Marco Rubio’s Republican address to the nation as prepared for delivery and provided by his office. Text in both languages – Spanish and English – after the jump.

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A Lively Google+ Face the Nation Hangout on Hispanic voters

Recently, I was invited by CBS to be part of a Google Hang out to talk about the growing Hispanic vote. The two part interview was a lively discussion with a diverse set of characters working in and out of the world of politics.

The hangout was hosted by CBS News’ John Dickerson. He tried to organize our lively group which included Gabriela Domenzain of the Obama Campaign; Executive Director of the Hispanic Leadership Network Jennifer Sevilla Korn; Founder of LatinoRebels.com, Julio Ricardo Varela; Esai Morales, Actor and Co-Founder of the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts; America’s Voice Executive Director Frank Sharry and myself.

Watch the video below for see the conversation. A segment of the Google+ Hangout will be shown on CBS News Sunday morning show, Face the Nation.

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