Wendy Davis' opponent compared Rio Grande Valley to 'Third World' [View all]

[RandySF]

Offering unflattering comparisons of the heavily Hispanic Rio Grande Valley to the “third world” may not be the best way to cultivate Texas’ Latino vote.

The Republican candidate for Texas governor ruffled feathers across the state last week when he said that instances of law enforcement corruption in the Valley resembled “third-world country practices that erode the social fabric of our communities” -- a comment that drew immediate criticism from Democrats and Latino groups, who viewed the remark as based on an ethnic stereotype. A majority of the Rio Grande Valley’s residents are Mexican-American.

The controversy continued to simmer over the weekend. The Monitor, a newspaper in the border town of McAllen, published an editorial on Friday saying Abbott should apologize for his comments. The editors wrote that the paper was tired of seeing Hispanics portrayed “as the bogeymen of Texas.” They went on to issue a challenge:

[W]e view this incident as a potential defining moment in this year’s election. We call on all campaigns for statewide elective office -- especially Abbott’s probable rival in November, Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis -- to denounce these words or embrace them. Our numbers in the Valley dictate that we have a seat at the table in which public policy is fashioned. We demand to know the attitude of those with whom we are seated.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/10/greg-abbott-third-world_n_4761113.html?utm_hp_ref=politics&ir=Politics