Angry Hispanic Caucus withholds national Democratic Party dues.

Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus are withholding their party membership dues until they receive assurances from House Democratic leaders that the party will make a concerted effort to engage Hispanic voters and better serve the needs of the Hispanic community.

Lawmakers withholding their dues said that their decision was the culmination of several years of frustration with what they view as the Democratic Party’s failure to reach out to Hispanics and include them in the decision-making process. They are also increasingly concerned by results at the ballot box and of post-election surveys showing that President Bush won 44 percent of the Hispanic vote.

Caucus anger with the party first bubbled to the surface in December when congressional leaders wrote a bristling letter to Democratic National Committee delegates that they would ignore Hispanic concerns at their own peril.

The DCCC [Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee] has launched some new Hispanic outreach initiatives. A senior member of the DCCC met with Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) to identify key leaders at the grassroots level, a Democratic leadership aide said.*
_______________

It's good to hear that the DCCC is doing what we are doing in Coffee County. As noted in a 2-20-05 post entitled "GHCC comes to Douglas. - "Most Latinos in America have not learned how the voting process works yet. But they will, & their children definitely will:"

"One of the topics of conversation at the preceding County Committee meeting was our need to reach out to Hispanics in our community rather than waiting for them to come to us."