Hispanic Democrats in the US
Congress rejected Alberto Gonzales as nominee for attorney general,
breaking with major US Latino groups. In a letter to Senate
Minority Leader Harry Reid, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus said
Gonzales had not taken the time to meet with the group to discuss
"issues important to the Latino community."The Senate Judiciary
Committee on Wednesday approved Gonzales' nomination after Democrats
grilled him on the White House legal counsel's role in shaping US
policy on interrogating terror suspects. His confirmation must be
cleared by the 100-member Senate, which has only two Hispanic senators
-- one Republican and one Democrat. Gonzales, the son of Mexican
immigrants, would become the first Hispanic to hold the cabinet's law
enforcement post. The Hispanic caucus said it was told that
Gonzales was too busy responding to written questions from the
judiciary committee to meet with the group and that a meeting would
have to wait until after his confirmation. "The historic nature
of his nomination is rendered meaningless for the Hispanic community
when the nominee declines an opportunity to meet with the group of
Hispanic members of Congress who have worked for so many years to open
the doors of opportunity to fellow Hispanics," the caucus said in the
letter sent Wednesday.Three major Hispanic organizations have
endorsed Gonzales: the League of United Latin American Citizens, the
National Council of La Raza and the Latino Coalition. [more]
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