[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Steven J. Ybarra, JD

Race, sex and age are always issues in every political campaign.

In every political campaign a successful candidate will confront racism, acknowledge economic inequality, and assure voters of all ages that their agendas will be addressed. For the last eight years I have trained thousands of political activists to address race, sex and age in the fight to get political power. Most intelligent people acknowledge that political power is never given - it is only taken.

The Mexican American in today's society is feared as an illegal alien in his own country. He is not viewed as a contributor but as a tax burden on white and black society, even though he is the one who is a strong part of the backbone of small business in America. He is attacked as the one who is stealing jobs. Mind you the phrase is always about “illegal aliens” but racists rarely are able to distinguish between those who are citizens and those who are not.

The Mexican American is a citizen who is feared by the beltway political bubble because of its inability to pigeonhole this voter into any clear mold.