POLITICS ’88 : CAMPAIGN ’88 : Pledge or ‘Pandering’?

Members of the House Hispanic Caucus on Thursday called Vice President George Bush’s promise to appoint a Latino to his Cabinet if he is elected President “pandering,” and said employment statistics raise strong doubts about the sincerity of Bush’s statement on Wednesday that the hiring of Latinos was an issue he felt “very strongly about personally.”

Rep. Edward R. Roybal (D-Los Angeles) told reporters that Latinos make up about 7% of the U.S private work force, but only 5% of government workers are Latino. And Latinos comprise only 1.6% of those employed in the offices of the President and vice president, where Bush could have the most influence on hiring, Roybal said.

Rep. Matthew G. Martinez (D-Monterey Park) said he had no doubt that Bush would be able to find a Latino appointee. “Republican administrations have always been able to find someone to name,” Martinez said. “It’s who they name that’s the problem--tokens, people that they are able to manipulate even if they’re from the Democratic Party,” he said.

In a campaign speech to Latino leaders Wednesday in Dallas, the vice president gave his “solemn pledge” to appoint a Latino. “Some things are, at this point, owed,” Bush said, referring to the fact that no Latino has been named to a Cabinet post.