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OAKLAND -- In a Spanish-language radio ad paid for by the Republican Party, Panchito and Lupita sit down to a plate of enchiladas and complain that the Democrats are "teaching our children…that homosexual practice is OK." Updated Nov. 5, 9:48 pm
The ad drew criticism both from gay rights groups and Democratic Party chair Art Torres, who was upset at the stereotypical portrayal of Latinos. But Don Toenjas, chairman of the Glen County Republican Party -- which funded the 30-second spot -- said the ad has received favorable responses in the Chico area where it has played, commenting that "the Spanish people are not very tolerant of people who commit that sort of act."
It is true that many Latinos, or "Spanish people," as Toenjas called them, are Catholic and can be conservative on social issues such as abortion and gay rights. But many also favor higher taxes and more social services, values that don't coincide with the Republican platform.
As Latinos redefine what it means to be moderate in California -- socially conservative and fiscally liberal as opposed to the other way around -- they are challenging both major parties to address the issues that concern them and the growing electorate they represent.
Former Speaker of the Assembly Antonio Villaraigosa, who grew up in East Los Angeles and rose to political prominence through labor organizing, equated the Latino agenda to the struggles of all Americans.
"Critical issues for Latinos are the same as most Americans," he said. "There is just a particular urgency to these issues."
Rushing to a rally where he was scheduled to give a speech in favor of a living wage, Villaraigosa explained via cell phone that issues such as health care, the economy and public safety are especially important to Latinos. When these issues are not addressed, he said, Latinos are among the first to feel the ill effects.
That's because their neighborhoods often have the highest crime rates and the dirtiest air. It's because they often have little job security or no health insurance, Villaraigosa said.
The percentage of registered California voters who are Latino grew from 7 percent in the 1980s to an expected 17 percent this fall.
But this growth is a mere hint of what the Latino electorate could be.
A nationwide poll by the Pew Hispanic Center found that 60 percent of Latinos remain ineligible to vote because they are too young or have not yet become citizens. In fact, there are more Latinos in school than there are registered to vote.
It is this younger generation that could shift Latino politics to the right or the left. The Pew report found that registered Latinos under the age of thirty are not as loyal to the Democratic Party as their elders. Forty five percent of them did not affiliate with either major party.
This growing group of Latinos is not defining itself through party politics, but on issues. Latinos rated education as their number one priority more emphatically than any other group, according to the Pew report.
"Latinos are almost obsessed with the need to improve our schools," said Villaraigosa. "They see it as a vehicle to improve their children's future."
Both parties understand this priority, and are spending a record amount of more than $9 million nationwide on Spanish-language campaign ads.
And while the Republican radio ad with Panchito and Lupita may be clumsy, it is an indicator of the party's struggle to overcome the antagonistic image it has among Latinos in the state.
During the 1990s, Republican Gov. Pete Wilson's endorsement of ballot initiatives denying services to undocumented immigrants drove a wedge between many Latinos and the GOP.
"The best voter registration vehicle the Democrats ever had was Pete Wilson," said Federico Chavez, an administrative law judge in Sacramento.
Chavez, whose uncle was the late labor organizer Cesar Chavez, explained how the Republican proposition was met with mobilizations to register voters and naturalize immigrants.
"Many took the plunge to finally become citizens…to protect themselves," Chavez said. "The perceived threat was coming from the Republicans."
Latinos in California vote heavily for the Democratic Party, and a recent Public Policy Institute California report showed that 60 percent of registered Latinos support Governor Gray Davis' bid for re-election.
Yet even this base is not as solid as it seems.
Davis angered many Latinos last month when he vetoed a bill that would have allowed non-citizens the right to apply for driver's licenses, even after its proponents amended it to address his concern that the bill would make it easier for terrorists to get identification.
"And then Davis reneges on his promise," said Chavez, upset at what many Latino leaders viewed as bad-faith bargaining. "That's unforgivable in my view," he said, adding that he contemplated voting against Davis because of it.
"There is a lot of discontentment," Villaraigosa agreed. "The driver's license bill is an important issue, so basic to being able to survive," he said, referring to the millions of undocumented workers who need to drive to work.
These immigrants cannot go to the polls to voice their displeasure, but registered Latinos can, and Villagairosa said "there is a direct relationship" between the two.
"People come here to work the toughest, dirtiest jobs -- they have a profound influence on those who can vote," he said.
Carlos Plazola, aide to Oakland Councilman Ignacio De la Fuente, agreed.
"The driver's-license bill was the most important issue at the state level for Latinos," he said. "I think Davis has lost touch with his constituents."
Davis did sign a bill that gave farm workers the right to negotiate with their employers, an issue that has connected Latinos and the Democratic Party since the sixties. Chavez considered this bill to be watered-down as well, and dismissed Davis' last minute signing as a calculated ploy to extract maximum campaign contributions from the agricultural lobby.
Plazola agreed that Davis had been crafty. He noted that while the farm-worker bill affected rural Latinos, the majority of Latinos live in urban areas and would have benefited far more from driver's licenses.
"Davis has underestimated the level of discontent," Plazola said. "He can't make it up with the farm-workers bill."
But are Latinos really going to add Davis to their list of enemies and abandon the Democratic Party?
"I don't like the guy myself," Chavez said.
Chavez has supported the Democratic Party since he was an 8 year-old kid, riding in his uncle's station wagon through the streets of East L.A. handing out leaflets for John F. Kennedy's presidential campaign.
Now he insists his vote will be based solely on the issues. Villaraigosa echoed this sentiment, stating that the future of California politics will have to focus on issues, not ethnicities.
Plazola agreed, but summed it up in his own way.
"Don't take us for granted," he said, adding: "Our vote is up to the highest bidder, and that's the way it should be."