The Hispanic Leadership Network (HLN) just announced they will hold their next conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico September 23-24 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel.

The Hispanic Leadership Network is funded by the American Action Network a conservative think tank founded in 2010 that focuses on promoting “center-right policies.” Co-founded by Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a former economic policy adviser to Republican Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign, and Norm Coleman, former Republican Senator from Minnesota.

Douglas Holtz-Eakin wrote an op-ed in the New York Times and appeared on Fox News to argue against the Affordable Health Care Act. Co-founder Norm Coleman has a rather mixed background, starting his career as a liberal Democrat, then switched parties to run against the late Paul Wellstone.

The HLN inaugural conference was held in Miami, a traditional stronghold of Republican Hispanics. They are meeting here in Albuquerque to identify with New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez and encourage more Hispanics to vote with the GOP.

Besides Susana Martinez and Nevada GOP Governor Brian Sandoval, we have yet to see who the other speakers will be, but the preliminary agenda is here.

But the fact is that the new far right Republican plus Tea Party (“FARuplicans”) have done more to marginalize Hispanics than any party in the last 50 years.

Here is a link to a recent report entitled, “Wealth Gaps Rise to Record Highs Between Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics” (it is currently #7 in the list) by the Pew Research Center showing that during the last Bush administration:

… from 2005 to 2009, inflation-adjusted median wealth fell by 66% among Hispanic households and 53% among black households, compared with just 16% among white households.

This now includes a GOP platform that seeks to deny birthright citizenship to undocumented aliens; deny health care to Hispanic and poor women; block increasing taxes on the wealthy and closing corporate tax loopholes (thus increasing the budget deficit); gut union bargaining rights; block much needed financial regulations that caused the recession; kill the DREAM Act and opportunities for innocent children of illegals; destroy Medicare; and, generally speaking, selectively harm the middle and lower class at the expense of the top 1% of wage earners and large corporations.

So why would any informed, responsible Hispanic leader have anything to do with the GOP’s Hispanic Leadership Network? That’s what we’d like to know.

Leaders of several key Hispanic groups including LULAC, the League of United Latin American Citizens, and the Southwest Voter Project seem to agree.

We urge local Hispanics to boycott the conference, or better yet, demonstrate in front of the Hyatt against a Republican ideology that hurts Mexican-Americans while simultaneously pandering for their votes.