Author: Hector Barajas

For years the Democratic Party has burnished its reputation and built its support among Latinos on a foundation of empty words, broken promises and false intentions. They repeatedly claim to champion causes and to address issues important to Latinos, yet their actions invariably have been ineffective, often raising false hopes with significant negative impacts. Assemblyman Gil Cedillo’s reintroduction of the California Dream Act (AB 130, 131) represents exactly that type of political posturing.

The California Dream Act does not in any way impact a person’s legal status. It does not provide legalization nor will it provide a pathway for legalization. What is does provide is fee waivers, Cal Grants, and other financial aid programs to undocumented students, at a cost $190 million over the next five years.

I have known Assemblyman Cedillo for nearly a decade. He has been my state Assemblyman, Senator, and is now once again my Assemblyman. We have sat together on the same flights between Sacramento and Los Angeles, and we’ve sat opposite each other on television to debate economic, educational, and immigration issues. I don’t question his overall passion, commitment, or desire to be constructive. However, I do question whether introducing legislation that cost us $190 million, at a time when our higher education system is forced to cut classes, turning away thousands of eligible students, increase fees, and is now facing a billion dollars in cuts, is economically prudent.

Throughout the 2008 campaign, California Democrats ran its printers seven days a week, issuing an endless stream of press releases touting their voter registration gains. With a certain smugness, Democrats pointed to the impact of a lengthy, involved primary battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and each campaign’s reach to a large network of youth, minorities and first-time voters. This fueled an intriguing narrative for political commentators and the media that a new political realignment was taking shape – even prior to the election results in November

In the election aftermath, stories were written, proclamations were made, and rumors of the death of the Republican Party, here in California and across the nation, were greatly exaggerated. The wake of so-called “Age of Obama” – voters registration gains, an unseen fundraising behemoth, and the accompanying electoral tsunami – foretold a serious decline for the GOP that began with the loss of congress in 2006.

After a short break from record high gas prices for Californians, prices are back on the rise and will only get higher, courtesy of the Democrat Party and the Organizations of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

The twelve countries that make up OPEC ( Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela) voted in November, to cut oil production by 1.5 million barrels of oil a day. That meeting was followed up by a December 17, 2008 meeting where OPEC decided to cut production by another 2.2 million barrels, with the stated goal of driving up prices and profits.

Similarly, as the legislative leadership of the Democratic Party in California convened in December 2008, they also voted to make the price of gasoline a bit more expensive. As part of their Democratic budget proposal the Democrats included a 39 cent tax on top of the regular price of a gallon of gas. Luckily, Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed the proposed gas tax.