Gingrich behind new bilingual news site The Americano

LatinaLista — With yesterday’s Latina Lista news of the latest Latino defection from the GOP, it’s interesting that today we’re hearing, and seeing, a new bilingual news service dedicated to Latinos.

Newt Gingrich
What is interesting about this is that the person behind the site is none other than former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. His brainchild, or rather the brainchild of his Spanish-speaking employee Sylvia Garcia (who was also behind his Spanish-language site to reach out to Latinos), is titled The Americano.
The site’s editors say they want to present conservative views to Latinos beyond the immigration debate because too many sites are “one-sided.” Meaning the majority of Latino/a sites, including Latina Lista, are against the punitive track of GOP initiatives when it comes to immigration and are not afraid to say it.
So, it does makes sense that The Americano would want to steer clear of the immigration debate because justifying the GOP’s rhetoric and actions would be a hard sell to most Latino readers, especially Spanish-speakers. Also since it’s the conservatives who are fueling the intense resentment, dislike and fear of immigrants there’s just not a neat way to package it for readers to consume without getting indigestion.
At this stage, it doesn’t matter if the immigrants are legal, not legal or are even immigrants at all because anyone with an accent or a particular look is invoking shouts and insults regardless from conservative followers.

On the surface, the articles in the premier pubish of The Americano do tackle some seemingly heavy topics from the Latino perspective. From an opinion piece titled “The Damaged Brand of the GOP” to an article titled “The History of U.S. Elections as Seen by U.S. Hispanics,” the content is attempting to create the illusion of balance. Then you find an article with the title “White House Caught Using The National Endowment for the Arts for Propaganda” and it becomes quickly clear just how one-sided this site really is as well.
And so what does that leave the Latino community?
Well, it does give the community two outlets for two opposing views – conservative and liberal. And that’s a good thing.
But rather than focus on the issues that differentiate members of the community from one another, The Americano site is living up to expectations already — just another conservative outlet intent on bashing the White House for the sake of bashing it.
Some will argue what’s the difference between The Americano and Latino/a sites, like Latina Lista, who more often agree with the President’s policies than disagree.
I am not so enamored of this administration that I hang on every word that the President speaks and I, along with other Latino/a bloggers, do call this Administration out on things that they most probably would not like for us to do.
Yet, there is a BIG difference between the Democratic Party and the GOP when it comes to reaching out to Latinos and the BIG difference is that the GOP shuns Latino/a bloggers whom they perceive to be “against them.”
True, I am not a fan of their policies in how they choose to speak and treat undocumented children and adults, their views on the border wall, etc. but these are policies that should be debated and reevaluated and debated more. Yet, that doesn’t mean that I don’t respect someone’s differing viewpoint.
It’s only when it devolves to name-calling, exaggerating the facts to fit an argument and racial slanders that I object and, at that point, respect is lost.
There is a lot of potential for The Americano if it stays the course of doing what it says is its mission — presenting the conservative viewpoint — and not letting itself get hijacked into being a mouthpiece for a party that has so alienated most of the Latino community that it thinks by publishing a bilingual news site bygones will be bygones.
It’s said that actions speak louder than words, but in this case it’s the words that will matter the most.