Bishop Gracida Disenfranchises Latinos: Part 1 of 2

Editorial: Topic – BISHOP RENE GRACIDA SHOULD BE Stopped by CATHOLIC OFFICIALS FROM DISENFRANCHISing LATINOS:

A few weeks before the presidential election, Catholic Bishop Rene Garcida Teamed Up With Anti-Latino, Anti-Immigrant Group To Put Out A Vicious Anti-Obama, Anti-Democrat Message to Over Three Million Latino Votes. Retired Texas Bishop Rene Gracida records show beyond the shadow of a doubt went to extreme measures to both team up and utilized funding from anti-Immigrant and anti-Latino group to put out his anti-Democratic party, anti-Obama, anti-Abortion message to Latinos. One major media entity that covered this story in a moderate way was MYLATINONEWS.COM -- the web link of the mentioned tenebrific story can be found at http://mylatinonews.com/2008/11/hispanic-voters-get-anti-obama-mge-funded-by-anti-immigrant-group/ -- this story by Will Evans, Center for Investigative Reorting.
Evans reports: “Texas Bishop Rene Gracida says that Catholics (target: Latinos) cannot, in good conscience, vote for Obama. Now, in a last-ditch attempt to derail Latino support for Obama, an anti-illegal immigration activist have teamed up to blast out Gracida’s message by email to nearly three million Latino voters and reaching even more people by radio.”
The story adds: “Randall Terry … says it was his idea. He enlisted Gracida, who made national headlines in 1990 by excommunicating three Catholics (from Robstown and Corpus Christi) for assisting with abortions. In 2004, Gracida gave a special benediction for the Republican National Convention.”
In the English-language version of his anti-Obama message, Gracida says, “A Catholic cannot be said to have voted in this election with a good conscience if they have voted for a pro-abortion candidate. Barack Hussein Obama is a pro-abortion candidate.” The truth is that Obama’s presidential rival John McCain, according to the Washington Post, when he initially announced for office said he was not in favor of doing away with ROE VS. WADE (the landmark case that legalized abortion); however later McCain after meeting with religious conservatives would be persuaded to modify his position.
Terry, according to MYLATINONEWS.COM, called the email blast “a blockbuster because Obama is desperate to take the Hispanic vote.” He told MYLATINONEWS.COM the emails went to “2.9 million Hispanic voters” as well as “100,000 whites.” He would correct that to “100,000 Americans” -- then quickly said that “… didn’t sound quite right either. He said he hasn’t had much sleep, due to this last-minute effort.”
What? LATINOS, according to Bishop Gracida’s teammate – Randall Terry – are not genuine Americans. They are Catholics but not Americans – how degrading for a bishop to team up with a hater: someone that degrades Hispanics to the level of less full citizens, and implicitly and explicitly implies Latinos are not worthy of dignity and respect: the two ingredients that Catholics believe assure one to be treated with full humanity.
RightMarch.com Political Action Commission (an anti-amnesty group for Mexican/South American immigrants which provided financial and logistical support for the Gracida’s expensive media campaign and which bought a bit of radio time in Ohio, and procuring the massive email list to reach Latinos) stated in their website: “These are POWERFUL, ‘in-your-face’ ads that will have a STRONG impact on Senators. We've said it before, and we'll say it again: many times, these legislators have to ‘feel the heat’ in order to ‘see the light.’”
But Rightmarch.com emphasizes not the anti-Abortion issue but the anti-Amnesty issue: “ …We finally have a program, called ‘E-Verify,’ that promises to cut down on the blight of illegal aliens taking American jobs… and some pro-illegal immigration Senators want to put an end to the program!... However, unless Senators act now, this valuable program will sunset on November 29, 2008."
The anti-abortion issue has been used a lure by retired Bishop Gracida to lure Latinos to a political campaign that in effect works against them and El Pueblo Latino in general.
How does the above anti-Amnesty issue correlate with Bishop Gracida’s message? “It is not hard to connect the dots. The aim of Gracida’s propaganda message veiled under and justified under ‘Anti-abortion’ really has an indirect aim: to target Mexican immigrants and to discourage funding to Hispanic-heritage and cultural programs at universities and to stop funding to GED programs such as those affiliated with Gulf Coast Council of La Raza,” explained Joe Ortiz, Civil Rights Coordinator for the American GI Forum.
RightMarch.com – which provided the financial and logistic support for Gracida’s message -- also injects: “Chris Simcox, honorary chairman of Minuteman PAC, said (we’ve) sent Washington a ‘piercing message that voters are fed up with coddling illegal aliens’… Simcox said (some politicians) can blame their ‘overwhelming defeat’ on their support for Spanish-language ballots, Spanish-language sermons, government benefits for illegal aliens and ‘amnesty proposal,’ and allowing towns to become sanctuaries for illegal aliens.”
RightMarch’s president, William Greene, made illegal immigration his top issue last year (and now it is being fueled by the enrollment of individuals such as retired Bishop Garcida who will go to extremes to advocate for an ultra conservative message). A fundraising letter of support for Greene from the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps PAC described Greene thusly:
“* Bill has been a leader in the fight against illegal immigration as a grassroots activist, delivering millions of messages to Capitol Hill from constituents, demanding NO AMNESTY for illegals;
* He has personally mustered with us on the U.S.-Mexican border as a volunteer with the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, standing watch to report the illegals streaming unhindered across our officially undefended Arizona border;
* Bill has helped us to raise tens of thousands of dollars for MCDC operations and projects, such as the Border Fence Project…
* He has pushed hard for congressional bills to de-fund pro-illegal immigration groups like the ACLU and La Raza, to take away their ill-gotten gains stolen from the pockets of unwilling and unsuspecting taxpayers.”
Terry said radio hosts are picking up the Bishop Gracida ad and broadcasting it for free. Some individuals are paying for airtime themselves, he said, and one businessman in Ohio paid for a TV version of the ad.
“The glory of this is that it’s free,” Terry said. “It’s viral!”
Here is a translated version of Bishop Gracia's expedient message sent out:
"Dear Friends:
We only have days left before a critical election to elect a new president. In this moment, like no other moment in history, Hispanic votes will decide the future of the United States. That means that we have a great weight of responsibility.
During this election, there are many Catholics who have told the Catholic people that it is ok to vote for Obama for president.
That is simply not true. Unfortunately, it is a lie.
Please, read the words of a beloved Hispanic bishop, Bishop Rene H. Gracida, who has faithfully served the Hispanic Catholics of Florida and Texas.
“I am Bishop Rene A. Gracida, reminding all Catholics that they need to vote in these elections with an informed conscience.
A Catholic cannot say that he/she voted in this election in good conscience if he/she votes for a candidate in favor of abortion.
Barak Hussein Obama is a candidate in favor of abortion.”
This magnificent message of our dear Bishop is available as a radio ad that can be aired on Hispanic radio stations. Click here to listen to this ad. ( http://www.randallterry.com/ ) If you are interested in spreading this message to other Hispanic voters and if you want to give us a donation so that other Catholics can listen to Bishop Gracida, please give what you can as soon as possible. Click here to contribute to our cause.
When we enter the voting booth, we must not forget that Obama supports the killing of unborn babies even until the day they are to be born. This, in the eyes of God, is murder.
We must not help someone who has the intention of killing babies - especially Hispanic babies. It is a fact that Obama has used our tax dollars to place abortion clinics in Hispanic neighborhoods.
Remember that our loyalty to our Lord Jesus Christ is much more important than any political party.
It is your decision for whom you want to vote. There are many candidates that are against the culture of death, who support life and who love the United States and our people, but as Bishop Gracida said - We cannot vote for Obama with a clear conscience.
Again we ask you to give a gift if you can so that more people can listen to Bishop Gracida’s ad, and we also ask for your prayers for this cause in defense of life.
And we ask you to send this message to your friends and your family.
As Catholics, we understand that we owe everything to our God and our Mother, the Virgin of Guadalupe.
May God bless you and whatever happens, remember the words of Bishop Gracida when you enter the voting booth this Tuesday."