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New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez electrifies crowd at GOP convention
By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
August 31st, 2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
August 31st, 2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez offered a message of hope and opportunity at the GOP convention in Tampa, Florida. She told a rapt audience how she arose from humble beginnings to use the tools that were available to her in order to become the nation's first female Hispanic governor.
LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Speaking just moments before Paul Ryan accepted the vice presidential nomination, Martinez declaimed that her life story was a shining example of the "promise of America." She also emphasized the importance of the presidential election in preserving those opportunities for future generations.Elected governor of New Mexico in 2010, Martinez became the first woman elected as governor of New Mexico as well as the nation's first Latina governor.
"Growing up, I never imagined a little girl from a border town could one day become a governor," Martinez said. "But this is America. My parents taught me to never give up and to always believe that my future could be whatever I dreamt it to be."
The youngest of three children in El Paso, Texas, Martinez grew up only a few miles from the border with Mexico. Her great-grandfather had been a revolutionary general in Mexico 100 years previously.
Her father, an ex-Marine and boxer, served more than a decade as a deputy sheriff and later started a private security business while her mother worked in office jobs. While in high school, she helped out by working as a security guard in the family business and became came certified to carry a firearm.
Martinez switched her party affiliation from Democrat to Republican before running for the district attorney's job, defeating the Democratic incumbent in 1996. She easily won re-election in the solidly Democratic county.
"Given the significant under-representation of Hispanics and other populations of color in the Republican Party, I think that Gov. Martinez's appearance as well as Condoleezza Rice's are important additions to the lineup ... to send the message that the Republican Party seeks to be more inclusive," Christine Sierra, a political science professor at the University of New Mexico says. "But mere speeches alone will not accomplish that."
"My parents also taught me about having the courage to stand for something," Martinez said in her speech. "I fear some of our leaders today have lost the courage to stand up. What we have now are politicians. They won't offer real plans. And only stand up when they want to blame someone else...
"This election should not be about political parties. Too many Americans are out of work. And our debt is out of control," she added. "It is the responsibility of both parties to offer up real solutions and have an honest debate."
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