DV Journal

“I am leaving; you took me for granted too long.” These are words you might hear between two people separating in a relationship. In actuality, it is what Hispanics are saying to the Democratic Party. And a more fitting quote would be, “Stop trying to control me.”

Everyone is asking why are so many Hispanics are fleeing the Democratic Party. The answer is simple. Hispanics are conservative. We stand by our faith, we love our families, and we love our country. We are passionate and proud people. We “woke” up to the fact that Democrats are trying to reinvent everything valuable to us.

The next question is, “Is there a Hispanic red wave truly?” We are hearing it straight from their mouth. NRSC Chairman Sen. Rick Scott launched the Hispanic Battleground Survey in 2021. Over 1,200 likely Hispanic voters of all parties revealed that a majority reject Democratic policies regarding socialism, lack of opportunity, voter ID ban, and immigration. They don’t want men in their daughter’s locker rooms. Yet Democrats assume Hispanics are with them. Maybe yesterday, but not today!

Even on a more personal level, as the executive director of the Hispanic Republican Coalition of Pennsylvania (HRCP), I have had the privilege of working with the NRSC Regional Director Josie Hill on this year’s project called Operation Vamos.

I have spoken to several hundred Democrats and they tell me overwhelmingly that they think President Joe Biden is not doing a good job. They are voting Republican. One lady I spoke to was getting her hair braided on her porch. With frustration, she threw her hands in the air and said, “We don’t have any money, gas costs too much. I’m voting for who is going to help me.” These are voters!

According to community leader David Torres, Hispanic voters in Philadelphia are vocal about what they want and don’t want.

“They don’t want more politicians coming into their neighborhoods promising great ideas, asking for their vote, and then leaving until the next election,” he said.

This abandonment is an excellent example of what I meant when I said, “You took me for granted for too long.” Do Democrats still believe Hispanics will vote for them when Philadelphia’s inundation of violent crime makes everyone fear for their lives? Torres also mentioned that “there is no opportunity in city government for Hispanics, but they want our votes.”

We still have diehards like my Abuela (grandmother), who will not switch parties. She would never consider changing her registration from Democrat. She will kick you out of her house if you try to convince her, but she will vote conservative. Slowly, Hispanics are understanding that the Democratic Party isn’t what we remember it to be; it has “progressed” into something that we do not accept.

Before we say goodbye, we have to discuss being called a taco by Dr. Jill Biden. If for no other reason, we have pride. We are more than tacos. I eat rice and beans more than I eat tacos. Now that is the most racist statement coming from a Democrat. Hispanics are ambitious, hard-working, and loyal, and we vote!

Our organization, HRCP, will continue the mission to engage with Hispanic voters across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to register as Republicans. We will strive to make Pennsylvania a Red state again. Our message is simple, “the Republican Party wants what the voters want: higher quality of life and less government. With your support, we are creating the next generation of Republican voters — and we will impact elections from Congress to the governor’s race.”

We have a great team of individuals with experience running campaigns and a political strategist.

If we continue to write these stories, point out real-life issues, and pick up where the Democrats have failed, we will ride this wave to the shorelines of victory. We have a new relationship to embrace.

Vote Republican on Tuesday, November 8.

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My interview with Philadelphia City Councilmember David Oh last Thursday showed how important it is for different voices to be heard, despite the thousands of news media people in the Delaware Valley.

First, Oh told us well ahead of the news curve that the African American girls filmed attacking Asian students on a SEPTA train in Philadelphia actually had assaulted the same students on a SEPTA train the day before. This attack just happened to be filmed and be more intense.

More importantly, as I broadened the conversation, Oh brought up the narrative about Asian- Americans that he thinks pervades much of progressive thought in Philadelphia. He said, “It takes the form of the rewriting of American history.” It involves portraying Asian Americans as reaping the benefits of the civil rights movement without ever having suffered true discrimination. Oh, even launched the idea that those that want to justify their view of America as a racist country must allege that Asian-Americans are mostly recent arrivals to our country and benefit from special programs that give them an edge.

He also referenced the fact that a Philadelphia ordinance forcing businesses in certain areas to close at 11 p. m. was mainly aimed at Chinese takeout restaurants. There has been a lot of tension between Asian store owners and some African American leaders in Philadelphia around the issue of many Asian American-run businesses serving customers behind bulletproof glass. In fact, Councilmember Cindy Bass, who represents the area in which I live, debated me on this issue on my show and a few times inside some of the businesses.

There is also a good deal of tension around a Philadelphia School District initiative to remove grades and test scores to get into the district’s magnet schools and replace them with a lottery system. That was aimed not just at White students, but also Asian students who are extremely well represented in these schools.

Media outlets that have tried to make some sense of the vicious attacks we saw in the SEPTA film suggested it is part of ongoing attacks against Asian Americans due to people like former President Donald Trump and many conservative leaders calling COVID-19 the Wuhan virus and attributing its origination to a lab in Wuhan.

I see no evidence of that theory in this attack. I believe it stems from the resentment created on a daily basis from the issues that Oh and I discussed. Progressives have even labeled this minority group “White adjacent” as a way of explaining the stunning success of many Asian Americans.

Councilmember Helen Gym, who is also Asian American, the progressive darling in Philadelphia and one of the frontrunners to be the next mayor, rejects my commonsense theory around these attacks and told WHYY News, “It’s heart wrenching to see young people at such a young age harming one another. But I will underscore time and again that they are witnessing violence at an unprecedented level across our city, and we are not doing nearly enough for children right now in helping them deal with the trauma and harm that has been caused to them.”

So, this trauma theory explains this very specific targeting that we saw play out? No, it does not! I believe those students were targeted because of the resentment built up over the years against Asian Americans in Philadelphia fueled by conspiracy theories and stereotypes. As a practical matter, those girls also seemed to believe the targeted students wouldn’t fight back.

It’s time that we fight back by demanding that the accurate history of Asian Americans be included in the public school instruction in Philadelphia and by calling out any public leaders or elected officials who continue to articulate stereotypes against Asian Americans.

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Is Pennsylvania’s Democratic establishment in for a rude a-“woke”-ening?

Although the state legislature is controlled by Republicans, left-wing candidates are targeting Democratic incumbents in some Delaware Valley districts, arguing those Democrats are not progressive enough. Races that once attracted relatively little competition are heating up.

Political newcomer and schoolteacher Paul Prescod is squaring off against state Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams in the 8th Senate District. Tarik Khan, a nurse, is challenging state Rep. Pam DeLissio in the 194th House District. Those districts include parts of Delaware and Montgomery Counties, as well as Philadelphia.

First-time candidates Prescod and Khan have been involved with far-left activist groups like the Democratic Socialists of America and Reclaim Philly. They’re hoping to follow the path of progressives like state Sen. Nikil Saval and state Rep. Chris Rabb, who defeated more moderate and establishment candidates.

Prescod, who is likely to portray his opponent as a moderate, “centrist” Democrat, is a Temple graduate and has taught in Philadelphia’s public school system for the last five years. He will likely hammer away at Williams’ support for charter schools and private school voucher programs.

Williams’ previous acceptance of donations from groups backing charter schools has been described as “monolithic” and could make for campaign fodder for left-leaning voters. In a recent interview with the Delaware Valley Journal, Prescod painted a grim portrait of deteriorating conditions inside some of the schools where he and colleagues teach, noting issues with mold, asbestos, and rodents.

“The buildings aren’t fit for human beings. We need more people who come out of ordinary backgrounds,” the 30-year-old Prescod said. “We need a change in leadership and, really, a big change in direction.”

Incumbent Williams, who has a family history of public service — he took over his father’s seats in both the state House and Senate — expected attacks on his stance on charter schools. And he rejects the notion that he’s somehow not left-leaning enough for his district.

He said he’s championed progressive causes like police accountability and systemic racism for years. But now newcomers from the left tout them “like they just discovered Plymouth Rock,” Williams, who says he has helped groom a generation of younger politicians, noting he has largely bucked the party-machine structure while in office.

“I’m not gonna be put in a box,” Williams said. “I’m not a moderate. I’m a left-leaning Democrat. I’ve been at the vanguard of these issues. ..I don’t know if that’s moderate. I don’t know if that’s conservative. I don’t know if that’s progressive. I just know that’s results.”

Prescod isn’t backing off. He hopes to garner support from progressive groups and has already landed endorsements from three labor unions. And he said his “bread and butter” campaign has lined up more than 600 donations so far. Prescod is eager to test whether Williams’ base is really as big and as strong as believed.

“I really try to focus on issues that have broad support. Actually making material improvements to a majority of people’s lives, that’s really what it comes down to. I think there’s been a lot of hunger for change,” he said, citing other progressives’ wins. “It’s been the same person or the same family for so long.”

Williams is proud of his family roots but stresses he has earned his way. He points to his track record and the lack of competition in previous primaries as showing he is doing a solid job for constituents.

”My [staying power] has always been consistency,” Williams said. “It’s not just say something, it’s doing something.”

In the 194th House District race, incumbent DeLissio is being challenged by Khan, a nurse and Reclaim member. The district includes parts of Northwest Philadelphia and Montgomery County, which DeLissio has represented since being first elected in 2010.

Over the years, people announced they were primarying DeLissio only to later withdraw. Barring unforeseen changes, this is the first time she will have faced an interparty challenger since 2016 when she handily defeated Sean Stevens with more than three-quarters of the vote.

“I’m doing my job as I always do my job whether there’s a challenger or not,” DeLissio told DVJournal Wednesday.

The 42-year-old political neophyte Khan said his experiences helping vulnerable and underserved people as a nurse during the COVID-19 pandemic made him feel like the district needs a “healthcare champion in the House.” He recalled the “fear in the eyes” of first responders who came for coronavirus tests at Citizens Bank Park last year, in the early months of the pandemic. Later, he spent his days off delivering vaccinations to homebound patients.

Progressivism means “actually getting things done and fighting for issues that are central to our future,” he said.

“If I didn’t feel like I would be a better leader, I wouldn’t have run,” Khan said. “A lot of it’s showing up and listening to people.”

DeLisso says she believes the hundreds of town hall meetings she has held during her time in office are the “cornerstones” of being an effective leader and having an informed electorate.

“My goal isn’t to make your eyes glaze over. It’s to acknowledge their power,” she said. “If that isn’t the most progressive approach to governing, I don’t know what is.”

DeLissio also touts her ability to reach across an increasingly hostile aisle in this fractious divisive climate, knowing sometimes she’ll get slammed by those who adhere to party lines.

“If we don’t do that, what happens in that void is unthinkable,” she said. “What we’ll have is two extreme sides. They’ll be loud, but it won’t be effective. The alternative is very scary.”

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