The Heritage Foundation has never been one to rest on laurels. We know that if we want to live in a country where freedom, opportunity and civil society are to flourish, we must remain vigilant and heed Ronald Reagan’s words that “freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.”
That is why today, we are excited to launch Libertad.org, our new Spanish-language website. Libertad.org will communicate the message of conservatism to a Hispanic audience that prefers to read news in their first language. We are a country of opportunity, one where Hispanics have the opportunity to become the latest in a long list of immigrants from the world over who have realized the American Dream.
It has never been more important to reach out to new audiences and constituencies. Liberals are relentlessly pursuing an America where a permanent Big Government rules nearly all aspects of our lives through an intrusive bureaucracy supported by a victimized constituency.
The progressives’ appeal to Hispanics is clear, if ham-fisted and pernicious. They offer a basic quid pro quo that boils down to ‘you are victims in this unfair, racist society and have no hope to get ahead without government handouts. Join our coalition, help us grow government, and we’ll make sure that you, too, become a protected group.’ It’s a bargain that would only consign Hispanics to permanent underclass status and contribute to making the country they immigrated to more like the one that they left.
President Obama was not shy about these designs in the weeks leading up to the recent midterm elections, when he pleaded with Hispanics to “punish our enemies”—a comment so maladroit that he had to apologize for it almost immediately.
It is for this reason that we at Heritage will make sure that Hispanics who read their news in Spanish will hear the other side of the argument. In Libertad.org, Spanish-speakers will be able to read the opposite of the progressives’ message of gloom and doom. It is called Libertad.org as Liberty is what our country offers and cannot be taken away.
This site will not be designed to pander, but to share and educate. It will offer some of the same cutting-edge research and analysis available on Heritage.org with additional resources for a new readership. Libertad.org will not reinforce the idea that cultural assimilation is a bad thing; on the contrary, our success as a unified country depends on it. We offer these perspectives in Spanish, because we simply want Heritage to be accessible to all citizens.
Those who cherish American traditions because they intuitively know that they are intricately linked to America’s success are likely to prefer policies that conserve the culture. Those who understand that the family is the fulcrum of the good life and a bulwark against decadence will, like so many immigrants before them, strive to keep their own household intact and choose pro-family policies.
Embracing such policies would almost be a self-fulfilling prophecy of success. Those who rise earlier, work harder and constantly seek opportunities to improve will want to see their hard work rewarded with material possessions that are beyond government’s confiscatory power.
Libertad.org will also reach out beyond the pages to communicate directly with this new audience. On Facebook and Twitter (@LibertadUSA), we will listen to, and engage with, new voices on the American landscape. We will also produce and share Spanish-language video and interviews. We are excited to start this conversation.
The progressive agenda is clear. The Obama Administration is bent on a relentless pursuit of policies that over-tax, over-regulate and over-spend Americans. The government has ignored every warning sign to reduce the size of government and government spending by passing one inept law after another, including the onerous and intrusive health care bill with an estimated cost well over 1 trillion dollars.
We are undertaking this effort because we think our message of opportunity, self-reliance, patriotism, responsibility and civility resonates with all Americans, including Hispanics.
We firmly believe that this country is exceptional and its underpinnings of liberty are worth preserving and defending. We ask for your support as we seek to ensure that our conservative movement is alive and well for generations to come as we embark on this new chapter for The Heritage Foundation.
Quick Hits:
- The Obama administration announced yesterday it would not allow any natural gas or oil energy development off the Atlantic Coast or in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
- President Ronald Reagan’s attorney general Ed Meese and assistant secretary of defense Richard Perle said today that Reagan would not have supported the New Start Treaty or the tactics being used to pass it, in a Wall Street Journal editorial. (subscription required)
- According to California’s own Public Utilities Commission, Gov-elect Jerry Brown’s renewable energy standard plan will increase energy costs by 14.5%.
- The left’s effort to massively expand the power and size of the FDA ran into a Constitutional problem when conservatives pointed out that the Senate bill creates new taxes which only a bill originating from the House is allowed to do.
- The eight Republican Senators who voted to protect earmark spending are already enabling $100 billion in higher government spending.
