Open letter of concern to GOP leaders regarding Steve King and Lamar Smith

The Honorable John Boehner
US Congressman for the 8th District of Ohio
1011 Longworth H.O.B.
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Eric Cantor
US Congressman for the 7th District of Virginia
329 Cannon Building
Washington, DC 20515

Re: Representatives Steve King (Iowa) and Lamar Smith (Texas)

Dear Congressmen Boehner and Cantor:

We congratulate you on your great victory in obtaining the majority of the US House of Representatives. Under your leadership we have the ability to bring our great nation to its original constitutional intent of limited government, low taxes, and freedom from government intrusion.

Somos Republicans is the largest and fastest growing Hispanic Republican Organization in the Southwest, which is rapidly expanding into the Midwest and the rest of the nation. We come to you asking for your reconsideration of the appointment of Congressman Steven King (Iowa) as the Chair of Subcommittee on Immigration, and that of Congressman Lamar Smith (Texas) as the Chair of the House Judiciary Committee.

As we are already looking toward the 2012 Presidential Elections, we respectfully ask you to take heed to our request out of concern for our nation. Congressmen Smith and King have repeatedly engaged in rhetoric that is aimed negatively toward Hispanics. Steve King has used defamatory language that is extremely offensive to Hispanics, which is found in numerous congressional records. We believe Steve King’s behavior is not appropriate for a high-level elected Republican who might be in charge of a committee that handles immigration rules. Steve King and Lamar Smith have adopted extreme positions on birthright citizenship, and promise legislation that would undermine the 14th amendment of the constitution, which both swore an oath to uphold.

While it is indeed the duty of the Judiciary and Immigration committees to oversee and enforce existing immigration laws, Representatives Smith and King have engaged in an ill-advised platform and rhetoric that has been perceived as insensitive with their inflammatory “immigration statements,” and this has caused an exodus of Hispanic voters to the Democratic party. We ask that you review Mr. King’s and Mr. Smith’s congressional statements desiring to “pass a bill out of the House to end the Constitution’s birthright citizenship for U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants,” or what Steve King has made reference to “anchor babies.” We find both this rhetoric and this un-constitutional conduct reprehensible, insulting and a poor reflection upon Republicans because we don’t want our Party to be viewed as the Party of changing the United States Constitution.

Though it is constitutionally impossible that a mere Congressional “statute” will decide who gets to be a citizen, we believe that this insensitive and constant assailment on our Hispanic Community may push Hispanics further into the Independent, Libertarian or Democrat Party. Moreover, Hispanic voters were crucial in electing seven new Republican Hispanics to Congress and two new Republican Hispanic governors. However, Hispanics also vehemently and strongly rejected those Republicans that utilized harsh anti-immigrant rhetoric and opted for a Democrat, as it occurred in the West Coast, Colorado and Nevada.

It is our sincere belief that if representatives Smith and King were to become the Chairs of the House Judiciary and Subcommittee on Immigration, and if they indeed continue such insensitive rhetoric towards Hispanics, the conditions for a Republican presidential candidate to garner the necessary Electoral College Delegates to win the 2012 presidency will not be possible. Most of those states with the highest number of Electoral College delegates reside in highly populated Hispanic states such as California, Texas, Florida and New York.

Hispanic Republicans have proven to be reliable for an average 30% voting bloc when it comes to voting for the Republican party, however, as proven with the 2010 midterm elections, one can see that GOP candidates such as Jan Brewer, Tom Tancredo, and Sharron Angle dipped just below that 30% when you take a look at the 2010 midterm exit polls. In fact, one can see in looking at the exit poll data that 40% of the Latino vote in Arizona went towards McCain while a mere 27% of Latinos voted for Brewer.

With Representative Lamar Smith who represents Texas, our party cannot afford to risk losing Texas during the 2012 Presidential elections if he were put into a position that would create a toxic anti-Hispanic environment. As such, Representative Steve King would not give us a good start for 2012 since the Iowa caucus is another key Presidential state that the rest of the Union closely watches. That said, we pray that you will wait for the data that is created from the U.S. Census Bureau before the Republican Caucus decides to put these two individuals in charge of a situation that could cause more Hispanics to be stirred and motivated to vote for the Democrat Party.

We believe in doing what is in the best interest of the Republican Party for now and in the future because we know that Latinos are the fastest growing minority group in the nation. Latinos have proven instrumental in saving the senate for a Democrat controlled majority; however, Hispanics have also been instrumental in supporting fellow Hispanics within the Republican Party.

We hope you take our concerns into consideration. Our eyes are on the prize with regard to the 2012 Presidential elections, and we cannot turn a blind eye to what our community has experienced any longer with regard to the immigration issue being utilized as a political football. We want to focus on real issues that matter such as the economy, strong national defense, and a robust entrepreneurial environment that we can bring when the poisonous environment is eliminated.

Best regards,

DeeDee Blase
Founder, Somos Republicans