Well, yes, as a matter of fact, there are. At least according to Straus Derangement Syndrome leader and activist Rebecca Forest. Check out her speech at a sparsely attended "Rally to support HB 12 – End Sanctuary Cities" in Austin this past Saturday:
Because the audio is so poor in spots, here is a transcript of the first part of her speech:
"If you want to know why we can't pass legislation in Texas it's because we have 37, no 36, Hispanics in the Legislature. All of the states that have passed legislation have a handful and I mean literally, some of them have NO Hispanic legislators, well, maybe 3 or 5 or something. So that's, umm, part of our problem and we need to change those numbers. Umm, we need to do something about that in fact, during the debate on "sanctuary cities," several Hispanic legislators testified that their grandparents and their parents were migrant workers who came over here to work and that THEY even worked in the fields. And some of them even admitted that they had been here illegally and that they came illegally. So the problem is these Hispanic legislators … is that it's too close to them and they, umm… simply cannot vote their conscience correctly. So that's about all I have to say to you, please come to the hearing, and help us spread this message. Thank you."
Wow. If you want to know who Rebecca Forest is, she has a partial bio on the Wonen on the Wall website. And if you want to know who/what the "Wonen on the Wall" organization is, just think Straus Derangement Syndrome because that is basically all they do: trash and spread false information about Texas Speaker of the House Joe Straus.
Let me help Ms. Forest out a bit. You aren't going to see fewer Hispanics in Texas government, you are going to see more of them. Rather than cast a net that looks rather racist, why not work within the Hispanic community and identify like minded citizens who agree with conservative principles? Although frankly, I'm not sure she knows much about them. Any reasonable, legitimate conservative would agree that the House has been very conservative under the guise of Speaker Straus this year. But then, reasonable isn't a trait of those filled with Straus Derangement Syndrome.
OK, I’m doing the math on the fly here, so we’ll see what it results in. According to http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/48000.html, the population of Texas is 37.6{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} hispanic.
There are 150 + 31 = 181 seats in the Legislature. Assuming hispanics should be represented at the same rate as in population, there should then be 181 * .376 = 68 in the legislature, or 56 in the House and 11-12 in the Senate.
And there are only 36?
Gee, David — you are a heck of a lot more charitable than I am. Not only does that moron’s stance LOOK racist, it clearly IS racist.
Big Jolly,
Sir! You have finally returned after a long absence. I think you should know that there has been some impostor posing as you for these many months. Quality has suffered. It is good to see you back in your old form.
Simple
Was this really a "Tea Party rally"? If so, what Tea Party organization hosted it? It's very comforting to see to my right on this screen under "Tags""tea party" and "ted cruz" lumped together. Much more comforting than what Rebecca Forest said about having too many hispanic legislatures in Texas.
¡Que loca es Rebecca!
_________________________________________________
I agree with Simple. Good to see you pop back onto your site, David.
I am not a Tea Party Leader — I am not a Republican — I am a “Conservative” Immigration Activist speaking for WomenOnTheWall.Org. I have spoken out against both parties on a variety of issues and am beholding to none (check out our website). My allegience lies only with this nation and those who work to secure our communities by enforcing the law — all laws.
I simply stated the facts regarding numbers of Hispanics serving in the states that have successfully passed immigration bills vs. numbers of Hispanic legislators in Texas. And yes, for immigration reform legislation to pass, those numbers will have to change. See: http://www.nscl.org/default.aspx?tabid=14766.
I am unapologetic for my stance against illegal immigration and the fact that I have been fighting to end illegal immigration in the TX legislature since the 2005 means that I have witnessed every single one of the Hispanic legislators vote against good bills that would have made Texas a safer place for ALL Texas families session after session.
This is the first session since I became involved in 2005 that Texas has had Republican Hispanic Legislators serving. We will have to see how they actually vote on immigration issues — the jury is still out.
If you have attended any hearings at the Capitol on this issue, the Perry, Straus & Dewhurst comments re: this battle not being about race or politics are laughable given what is said during hearings by Hispanic Legislators and those opposing laws such as SB9. Correct — this should not be about race or politics — it should be about enforcing the law. We have said time and time again, we don’t care where you come from — just come legally, learn our language and obey our laws.
Rebecca,
You are exactly what every Democrat would like to see show up at a Republican Rally.
Simple
Unfortunately, the video clip featured on 6/11/11 rally was taken out of context….nothing new.
6/13/11 Rebecca Forest
SB 9 Testimony
http://youtu.be/gl5CAIGZgKE
Rebecca;
It is one thing to oppose illegal immigration. I oppose it myself. It's equally something to oppose sanctuary cities. I oppose that policy myslef. But to blame the lack of immigration laws not getting passed because there are lots of ispanics serving in the state legislature? As House Speaker in Florida Marco Rubio took flack for not passing immigration reform laws. What's your take on that? Rubio was Hispanic wand THAT was the reason he "failed" to pass laws to crack down on illegal immigration?
Pointing out Senator Royce West offering an illegal alien a job is good material to bring out (I'm assuming that's accurate). That gives content and specific details as to what's wrong with those serving in the legislature. You also gave good argument in support of everify. Again, it gave the audience something specific. I also liked your statement/question regarding "amnestied" illegal aliens voting for Republicans. It is good to now understand that the Hispanic legislatures you pointed out have a history of being here illegally and then naturalized. That does help listeners consider what you're main message is. But blankly laying blame for the lack of legislation on legislatures because they are Hispanic serves no purpose. I find that sort of rhetoric hurt your cause and not help it. In fact, I 'd say that approaching the lack of improvement on illegal immigration on any legislatures' race or ethnicity is a loosing battle for you. Don't go there. Not only will you harm your cause but it's simply morally wrong.
I do hope you continue your activism on illegal immigration but please stick to useful debate material as well as using good moral standards to guide your way.
It’s always about politics. There’s Democrat posturing and Republican posturing, but in the end it’s always about politics. Grab and maintain power. The right or wrong of the issue is secondary to them.
Ms Forest
Rich. I especially liked your comments beginning at 1:43 regarding Teachers. Also what did the guy yell out at 1:56 in response to your question? Hey! I think his son was in my 5th period!
Rebecca, ther eis no context whatsoever in which your words are acceptable, unless you can prove that they were a direct quote of another individual which you then condemend vociferously as racist and unAmerican. I therefore stand by my earlier statement — but am glad to see that you publicly reject any connection to my political party.
As for Women on the wall.org — hopefully the rest of the good ladies will have the good sense to stand behind you — and push you off.
Rebecca, may you be haunted by the ghosts of Bernardo Gutierrez de Lara, Lorenzo de Zavala, Juan Seguin, and all the Tejano heroes and patriots who died defending the Alamo alongside the recent immigrants from Tennessee!
May the ghosts of the Tejano Cavalry who secured the victory for Texas at San Jacinto haunt your dreams.
Viva La Republica de Tejas, Libre y Independiente!
It seems that Rebecca Forestcouldn't suppress her hate for Hispanics anymore and since she was surrounded by like-minded people she thought that comments like that would be safe to be said.
Mrs. Forest I have come here legally, learned your language and obey the laws of the United States. However when a bunch of English illiterate (most of them can't even spell in their signs properly) people start proclaiming that Spanish should not be spoken and that any kind of Spanish should be removed from signs, newspapers, etc. That makes me mad. People should be able to speak whatever language they want in this country let it be Welsh, English or Spanish without the government influenced by racists telling me what to speak and what not to.
Texas has many hispanic congressman because Texas has a high percentage of hispanics who elect hispanics. Does it hurt you? Do you think you are being invaded? Do you shed tears of anger every time you see people speaking spanish? Then get used to it and let me savor those tears of hate which are the fuel that promotes this Spanish Vs English war.
Zero.