EL TERCER RIEL

It has long been my contention that Hispanic media’s biases are as unchallenged and unabated now as were those of the mainstream media 30 years ago.  Given their coverage of Paul Ryan’s pick as the GOP vice presidential nominee so far, I see no reason to back down from that assertion.

It is, in a bit of sad irony, El Diario/La Prensa (instrumental in my bilingual development) which sums up the Ryan-hate.  From today’s editorial:

Ryan’s only achievement during his 14 years serving in the House of Representative – he began when he was 28 years old – has been to push these past several years for federal budgets that are profoundly ideological in which the safety net is slashed – neither Medicare nor Social Security are spared – and tax cuts for the wealthy are extremely generous. Within this context, his unwillingness to compromise has earned him the respect of Tea Party followers.

The wording was actually softened up here vis-a-vis El Diario’s Spanish-language editorial.  Much of what passed for analysis on Univision’s live coverage of the Ryan announcement laid the groundwork for this narrative, by racializing the proposed social cuts in the Ryan budget.

Yesterday’s Veepstakes Special edition of Al Punto further crystallized the meme, when Jorge Ramos asked his panel whether the selection of Paul Ryan constituted a concession of the Hispanic vote.  The network’s English-language coverage picks up where Al Punto left off.  Mainsteam outlets have picked up the meme and are running with it.  Needless to say, the Obama campaign approves.

Let’s dispense with the false predicate that any of Mitt Romney’s picks was ever going to satisfy anybody inside the institutional Hispanic media. Marco Rubio was vilified from his election through the Univision smear campaign and only until his eventual sit-down with Jorge Ramos. Anyone else not supporting a repeat of the ’86 amnesty was going to be tarred as a racist anti-immigrant.  Any subsequent concern-trolling over the GOP’s ability to pull the Hispanic vote is disingenuous, and truly an insult to the intelligence of Hispanics from the South Bronx to San Ysidro and everywhere in between.

To believe that Ryan’s budget will somehow hurt the ticket is to buy deeply into the notion that U.S. Hispanics are pre-ordained to live as helpless wards of the State, unable to function without the benevolent guidance and assistance that can only come from the enlightened experts of our government Überklasse.

The fact is that Hispanics are just as exposed to debt and deficits as anyone else, and have as much of a stake in the coming debate over debt and deficits, if not more so.  For Hispanics (as well as other immigrants), this election presents a stark choice between a return to the promise of the America they emigrated to, or a continued march down the road to an America that more closely resembles the country they intended to leave behind.