No Tequila Party, Por Favor!

They claim they want to create a grass-roots movement that will do for Latinos what the tea party has done for conservative Americans, and that makes a lot of sense.

They want to empower Latinos within the Democratic Party in the same way that tea baggers have penetrated and influenced the GOP, and there is no denying that such a movement could achieve great gains for the nation's 47 million Latinos.

But if they call it the "tequila party," as some of its organizers have suggested — I swear — they should hold their first convention in an insane asylum!

Could they not think of a more stereotypical image to promote?

Do they really want to name their movement after a drink? Booze? Really? Is that how they want people to take them seriously?

Do Latinos need a movement that will pressure Democrats to fulfill their empty promises, stop taking our votes for granted and speak out against immigrant- and Latino-bashing by the conservative extremists in the GOP? Do we need an antidote to the growing anti-immigrant and anti-Latino movement in this country, which often is represented by the tea party? Of course we do!

Mind you, we don't need an independent Latino political party, not unless we want to give fodder to xenophobes who see us as separatists. I don't believe in political parties based on race or ethnicity. This is not about separating ourselves from our fellow Americans. It's about fighting for our rights as Americans.

What we need is a Latino civil rights movement, one that would unite an overwhelming majority of U.S. Latinos behind a platform of issues most Latinos can agree on — from immigration and education reform to U.S. relations with Latin America. Like the tea party, we also need a bunch of brash new Latino politicians to send to Congress and state legislatures throughout the country.

In recent national elections, Latino voters have shown they have the power to swing elections for the House, Senate and even the presidency.

If you want to see Democrats paying attention to Latinos the way Republicans have developed an interest in the tea party, this is obviously the way to go.

But most Latinos are on the other end of the political spectrum from tea party loyalists, so that's where the similarities with the tea party need to stop.

On some Internet message boards where readers reacted to the idea of a political movement named after a hard drink, some people argued that because tequila is a Mexican drink, a softer beverage that also is more inclusive of all Latinos would be more appropriate. The "espresso party," the "café con leche party" and the "cerveza party" were among the alternatives suggested.

Absurd! Politics based on drinks!

Let's face it; nothing would please fear-mongering bigots more than to see Latinos start a new political party, especially one that comes with built-in stereotypes.

"Latinos form their own Party ... and watch more Americans discover that their own country is under invasion," wrote one such xenophobia peddler on a message board about the "tequila party."

And nothing would give the bigots better material for racist jokes than a movement named after a beverage commonly associated — at least in this country — with wild and irresponsible behavior.

Bottom line: A grass-roots Latino movement is sorely needed. But to be taken seriously, it can't be named after a beverage and it can't be a breakaway political party. How about something as simple and self-explanatory as the "Latino rights movement"?

I've been to tequila parties. Take my word for it; the only good ones are the ones you can't remember the following morning.

To find out more about Miguel Perez and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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