Tale of Two Tacos . . . Err, Hispanic Congresswomen
A terrific op-ed in the San Antonio Express-News compares two Hispanic congresswomen, newly-elected Rep. Mayra Flores (R-TX) and AOC. It scratches the surface.
First Lady Dr. Jill Biden (I’m required to include both titles, apparently) was insensitive but not entirely wrong about the diversity of the Hispanic community in her recent sophomoric speech in San Antonio.
And apparently, San Antonio is known for its breakfast tacos. That was news to me. My Hispanic wife’s family has deep roots in San Antonio, but we’re more about pilgrimages to the San Fernando Cathedral, where her parents were married and the ashes of the heroes who died in Santa Anna’s 1836 attack at the Alamo are still interred (my wife’s ancestors fought on the winning side of that battle). And also - especially - the iconic Mi Tierra Cafe and Bakery, the best Mexican restaurant in town. It’s open 24 hours and almost always crowded. I miss the long-gone Economy boot store.
The geographic and political diversity of the Hispanic community is well known, even obvious to most people. New York and New Jersey are ground zero for Hispanics from Puerto Rico and other parts of the Caribbean and historically tend to vote Democratic. The northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC, are home to a vibrant and predominantly Democratic (for now) Central American community. South Florida bustles with a lively and Republican-leaning Cuban-American population.
Texas, of course, has a rich Mexican-American heritage. And the politics there are changing.
The diversity of the Hispanic culture is perhaps best described by comparing two Hispanic women in the US House (I’d add a congressperson of Cuban descent, and there are several). The historic election of Mayra Flores to Texas’ 34th District in a special election last month was noteworthy for two reasons. She’s not only the first Mexican-born woman elected to the US Congress but the first to represent the 34th District in 150 years.
US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), best known as AOC and serving her second term, is of Puerto Rican descent and represents a traditionally Democratic district in Brooklyn. A leading Progressive member of “The Squad,” she’s the mainstream media’s go-to glamour girl with a remarkable ability to generate millions of social media followers, headlines, and news. If I were a Capitol Hill reporter, I’d seek her for quotes and stories. This gem speaks volumes, courtesy of the Washington Examiner:
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez seemingly painted a colorful link between getting her nails done and the overturn of Roe v. Wade in her latest Instagram post.
Speaking to her 8.6 million Instagram followers, the progressive firebrand emphasized that there is "no act too small" and encouraged her viewers to search for ways to reclaim lost autonomy even when they feel "powerless." Ocasio-Cortez then explained how she was using her manicure as "a personal act of reclamation" and "bodily autonomy."
But lest you think AOC is representative of most Hispanic voters, Nassar Hussain disabuses that notion in his recent San Antonio Express-News oped. Hussain is a scholar working on American identity in the James Madison Program at Princeton University. He compares the contrasting media coverage and stories of AOC and Flores. Here’s a sample, but read the whole thing:
Mayra Flores’ stunning victory in the special election for Congress last month is a strong example of how the culture war dominating American social life over the past five or so years has never really been about race.
Texas’ 34th Congressional District is almost 85 percent Hispanic, which is the second-highest proportion in the country, and it went to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. It had been held by Democrats for about 150 years.
Flores’ story could not be more different from that of her Democratic headline-grabbing counterpart — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, known as AOC.
A comparison between the two sheds light on the cultural and political realignment shaping the country, including a potential sweet spot in American electoral politics, one that emphasizes a socially conservative agenda while centering the economic plight of the working and middle classes. At stake are two visions of America.
Flores is the antithesis of AOC. She embodies an authenticity that the “it girl” of the liberal left sorely lacks.
Make no mistake — despite efforts to cultivate an image of some sort of beleaguered escopetera fighting her way out of the Sierra Maestra, AOC is a product of the liberal establishment. Her mannerisms and sensibilities are derivative of it, at least when she’s not trying to co-opt a Southern drawl or a Jenny from the Block persona. It is AOC who appears on the cover of Vanity Fair and attends the Met Gala — all to speak truth to power, of course.
Barring appearances on Fox News, Flores has received hardly any of this adulating media coverage, which is surprising, given that she is the first Mexican-born woman elected to Congress. There are no fawning interviews with Chris Hayes on MSNBC or even Brian Stelter of CNN. Given all the emphasis on “firsts” and representation in our cultural and social life over the past decade, one would think Flores would be plastered all over the mainstream media. Race seems to only matter when it suits a particular agenda.
“Race seems to only matter when it suits a particular agenda.”
Josh Kraushaar, a real journalist writing from his new perch at left-leaning Axios, has noted that political tectonic plates are shifting, including recent polling that suggests Hispanics are moving towards the Republican party.
Democrats are becoming the party of upscale voters concerned more about issues like gun control and abortion rights.
Republicans are quietly building a multiracial coalition of working-class voters, with inflation as an accelerant.
What's happening: House Republicans boast this year's class of new candidates is the most diverse in history.
The NRCC notes that 29 of its 75 House targets have a Hispanic population over 15%.
In the Times/Siena poll, Ds hold a 20-point advantage over Rs among white college-educated voters — but are statistically tied among Hispanics.
Hispanic voters backed Democrats by a nearly 50-point margin in the 2018 midterms. In the 2016 congressional elections, Dems lost white voters with a bachelor's degree.
Legendary Democratic political consultant James Carville is as correct today as he was in 1992 as Bill Clinton’s campaign manager. “It’s the economy, stupid.”
As noted by Fox News commentator and former Trump White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, “The Squad” may soon find competition from “The Quad” of four Hispanic women Republican congressional candidates with strong chances to win election in this Fall’s coming GOP tsunami. My local favorite is northern Virginia’s Yesli Vega, a law enforcement veteran and daughter of Salvadoran immigrants running in the new 7th congressional district.
Anyone who has paid attention to Hispanic American demographics should not be surprised. As their population has grown 23 percent over the past decade, now totaling over 62 million, 86 percent are American-born. “While 65 percent of all American households are single family — as opposed to people living alone or with unrelated roommates — 75 percent of Hispanic households fall into that category. Eighty-three percent of Salvadoran American households are family-based, the highest of all Hispanic groups,” reports USAfacts.com, including 78 percent of Mexican Americans.
And while the personal earnings of Hispanic Americans in Texas are lower than non-Hispanic whites or blacks, their homeowner rates are high and climbing at 55 percent. Among non-Hispanic blacks, it’s 41 percent.
Back to our Express-News oped:
Flores’ electoral campaign could not have been more different from the way AOC has carried herself over the past few years. At the heart of this campaign is her family, most conspicuously her father, to whom she is indebted for her outlook on life. He plays a prominent role in her campaign, such as in the ad titled “My Father.” Its message is quintessentially American: “In America, if you work hard, anything is possible.” The camera pans out on the cotton fields where Flores’ parents toiled to receive “honest pay for honest work.”
Unapologetic is a word overused in today’s identity discourses. But Flores really is unapologetically Mexican American with genuine local roots in her community, unlike “Sandy Ocasio,” who was raised in an affluent New York suburb. Flores, still in her 30s, is the mother of four children and married to a Border Patrol agent, John Flores.
Notably, Flores cleverly capitalized (pounced!) on the First Lady’s recent San Antonio miscue to highlight how inflation is hitting the cost of tacos.
Does that resonate more with Hispanic Americans than this?
Which of these congresswomen resonate best with Hispanic voters? We’re about to find out. I think I know the answer. At least in Texas and Virginia.
Kelly, very well documented. Would love to talk w you about the highly successful Hispanic infrastructure for home ownership and entrepreneurship in Ontario, California. They developed credit sources, policed their neighborhood (driving out gangs w the help of law enforcement) and provided code enforcement. The workforce was sought by employers and they eventually embraced our workforce training programs. Absolutely loved and respected this community.
I would love to talk with you about that. I noted that homeownership rates among Hispanics in California are noticeably lower (36%) than in Texas (55%), I presume because of high housing costs generally in CA. I want to do a deeper dive into politics, economics, and demographics among Mexican Americans, most of whom are in CA and TX.