Minority Group To Harry Reid: Lay Off Obama

Commentary by Florida Minority Community Reinvestment Coalition (FMCRC) Chair Al Pina:

“Respectfully speaker Senator Reid: You need to back off President Obama. Let there be no mistake to Senator Reid that we trust President Obama a hell of a lot more than we trust you at this time.This was demonstrated by a Gallop poll that showed Congressional approval at the lowest level in history.83% of us Senator Reid have an issue with Congress and that includes your leadership as well.

You narrowly won re-election only because your opponent Sharron Angle was clearly not all there and also alienated the Latino vote.You got our vote because of the Latino attack ads by Angle such as the one featuring Latino like men creeping along a chain link fence and portrayed you as“The best friend an illegal immigrant ever had”.Eighty percent of all Nevada Latinos are of Mexican descent (as I) and when you attack undocumented Mexicans who carry the very same DNA as wehave you might as well attack us.So Sharron Angle gave you our vote for you did not earn it.

Don’t think for a second that you won the Latino vote because of your success in building our communities.You wonour votebecause you had a kooky opponent and there was no option.The data (Pew Institute and Census) clearly demonstrates your failure to Latinos in Nevada:

37% Live in Poverty

60.2% of Hispanic Children Live in Poverty

38% Do Not Have Health Insurance

33% Unemployment Rate

42% of Hispanic Do Not Graduate From High School

We can go on and on with additional data to clearly demonstrate that you failed our communities and businesses.Our families and businesses wish to be part of the solution to rebuild our great nation, but cannot do so if you continue to neglect our communities as the data demonstrates.

There was some significant and historic legislation passed by Congress and for this we are grateful.But for the past decade, Congress has mortgaged my children’s future and for this we are mad as hell.We can spend billions of tax payer dollars to pay for bullets and guns (2 wars) but cut spending on education and social programs that will build up our future“economic soldiers”that will allow us to compete in this global economy.

So the President takes aim at these issues, including earmarks that most of the time makes no sense except for those who can afford lobbyist to lobby for such earmarks.Bravo President Obama for keeping your promise to change Washington D.C.So it seems Senator Reid has an issue with this.

Senator Reid, back off of President Obama, for we trust him a hell of a lot more than we trust you.

Reid to Obama on earmarks:'Back off'

From NBC's Kelly O'Donnell:

Dismissing President Barack Obama's opposition to earmarks as"an applause line," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told NBC News on Wednesday that the president should "back off" and let lawmakers continue to direct spending to their home districts.

Asked during a one-on-one interview with NBC whether Obamawas wrong to promise a veto on any bill that contains earmarks,Reidquickly replied, "of course."

"This is an applause line," Reid said."It's an effort by the White House to get more power. They've got enough power as it is."

Reid, along with other lawmakers who support earmarking, argues that eliminating the practice simply puts more discretion in the hands of executive branch officials who have authority to fund projects."I have a Constitutional obligation to do congressionally directed spending," he said. "I know much more about what should be done in Elko [or] Las Vegas, Nevada, than some bureaucrat does back here."

Reid said voters should recognize that eliminating congressional earmarks does not, in itself, reduce spending but changes how the same money is spent.

"I think it's absolutely wrong and the public should understand that the president has enough power; he should back off and let us do what we do."

Suggesting almost dismissively that the president is playing to the crowd, he added that Obama may win "in the short term" with conservatives and those in the public who think that the practice should be nixed.

"The president thinks this will help him a little bit. You know, more power to him," he said."But it's just wrong."

Despite this strong disagreement, Reid says the fight over earmarks will not cause a long-term rift with Obama.

"He's been around awhile. I've been around a while," he noted."Just because he's wrong on this, [it] doesn't mean he's not right on almost everything else."

Mission of Florida Minority Community Reinvestment Coalition:

To empower low-income and minority communities by attracting investments for health, education, home ownership, employment, and minority entrepreneurship using a holistic advocacy approach.