One Nation, One Standard An Ex-Liberal on How Hispanics Can Succeed Just Like Other Immigrant Groups

Why aren't Hispanics succeeding like Asians, Jews, and other immigrant groups in America?
The answer is as politically incorrect as the question.

Herman Badillo will tell it to you straight: Hispanics simply don't put the same emphasis on education as other immigrant groups in America.

Orphaned in Puerto Rico, raised in New York since childhood, and experienced in the political arena, he's not afraid of the "stereotyping" charge.

As the nation's first Puerto Rican-born U.S. congressman, the trailblazing Badillo supported bilingual education and other government programs he thought would help the Hispanic community.

But Badillo came to see that the real path to prosperity, political unity, and the American mainstream is self-reliance, not big government. Now Badillo's a Giuliani-style Republican and a champion of one standard of achievement for all races and ethnicities.

In this surprising and controversial manifesto, you will learn:

• Why Hispanic culture's trouble with education, democracy, and economics stems from Mother Spain and the "five-hundred year siesta" she induced in Latin America.
• What changed the mind of the man who drafted the first Spanish-English bilingual education legislation in Congress and made him realize that it hurt students more than it helped them.
• Why "social promotion"-putting minority students' self-esteem ahead of their academic performance and then admitting them to college unprepared-continues to this day, despite the system's documented failures and injustices.
• How self-identifying as "Hispanic" or "white" or "black" undermines achievement, and what lessons we can learn from Latin American countries, where one's race is irrelevant.

With Central and Latin America exporting a large portion of their poor, Hispanics are on the way to becoming a majority in the United States . . . but one with all the problems of a minority culture.

Badillo's solution to this problem relies on traditional values: hard work, education, and achievement. His lessons are important not only for Hispanics but for every American.

Herman Badillo was the nation's first Puerto Rican-born congressman. He also served as the borough president of the Bronx, deputy mayor of New York City, and chairman of the board of the City University of New York. Currently he is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and resides in New York City with his wife, Gail.

ARTICLES

Herman Badillo's 'One Nation, One Standard' Pulls No Punches in Attack on Nation's Touchy, Feely Multiculturalism, Lax Educational Standards, David M. Kinchen, HuntingtonNews.com, February 6, 2007

THE DEBATE ON LATINO EDUCATION, Robert S. Nix, Philadelphia Daily News, February 6, 2007

Ongoing Debate: Badillo Weighs in on Bilingual Instruction, By Lawrence Aaron, Hispanic Business, 01-29-07

Puerto Rico Profile: Herman Badillo, Puerto Rico Herald, 08-17-01

Badillo is taking naysayers to school, By Stanley Crouch, NY Daily News, 01-29-07

ONE AMERICA: A Hispanic's Manifesto, By John Fonte, New York Post, 01-21-07

POINT OF CONTACT: Herman Badillo, Dallas Morning News, 01-14-07
Our Q&A with Herman Badillo, author of "One Nation, One Standard"

Brave Badillo, By Andrew Wolf, New York Sun, 01-09-07

Vouchers Anyone?, By Alicia Colon, New York Sun, 01-09-07

Oprah's Truth Does Not Hurt, By Clarence Page, RealClearPolitics.com, 01-08-07

Put Down the Pitchforks and Hear Badillo Out, By Andrea Batista Schlesinger, New York Daily News, 01-07-07

Badillo's World, One Tenement's Tale and Eau N.Y.C., New York Times, 12-31-06

REVIEWS

Stalled in America, Wall Street Journal, 12-29-06

"The greatest lesson of Herman Badillo's story is that the genius of American life-the upward ladder of opportunity that American freedom at its best provides-is better at solving most any problem than any government program."

— Rudolph W. Giuliani, former mayor of New York City

"As an honest, accomplished Hispanic public servant, originally a Democrat and now a Republican, Herman Badillo has produced an enlightening discussion of the explosive growth of the Hispanic community and how best to promote its assimilation. Among other good advice, he warns against relying too much on government assistance while insisting on traditional values of hard work, thrift, and integrity. So doing, he provides nourishment for intelligent people who call themselves liberals and equally intelligent people who call themselves conservatives. I call him brilliant."

— Mario Cuomo, former governor of New York State

"Herman Badillo, who served in my administration as deputy mayor for operations and policy, is an extraordinary public servant. We also served together in Congress and continue to work together in support of improving public education now that we have both left government. Herman's recollections on a host of important national issues, described and discussed in his new book, One Nation, One Standard, are fascinating and a primer. It is a wonderful read."

— Edward I. Koch, former mayor of New York City

"Herman Badillo delivers a stinging indictment of the radical ideology that for decades has proven to be an obstacle to Hispanic success and assimilation."

— Hon. Luis G. Fortuño (R-Puerto Rico), vice-chair, Congressional Hispanic Conference

"Herman Badillo is a true leader who doesn't flinch from expressing difficult truths. His own amazing story provides inspiration and the moral authority that allows him to advocate hard choices for American Hispanics. He has provided an important blueprint for incorporating the nation's largest ethnic community into the mainstream of this great nation."

— Linda Chavez, former Reagan White House official; author of Out of the Barrio: Toward a New Politics of Hispanic Assimilation