By John Seiler

The two major themes of last weekend’s GOP convention were more grassroots organizing and more involvement by Latinos and other growing constituencies. Even those who not Republicans should welcome steps to make the party more competitive. Homogenized rule within a party doesn’t offer constituents many options.

A promising group highlighted at the convention was GROW Elect. Its Web site sensibly observes:

“The Republican Party has attempted a top-down approach towards breaking into the growing Latino voter market share. This attempt has failed.

“For all practical purposes there is no Republican Party in most Latino neighborhoods. No elected partisan Republican officials. No party structure. Nothing.

“There has been much talk of million dollar advertisement campaigns geared to move Latino voters. There is certainly a role for advertising, but GROW Elect takes another tact. The GROW Elect programs are focused on a bottom up approach.

“GROW Elect is a 527 political action committee that recruits, endorses, trains, and funds Latino Republican candidates for public office.”

For “top down” approach, they obviously had in mind such remote candidates as Meg Whitman, who in 2010 blew $180 million of her $1.3 billion fortune, almost all of it on TV ads, in a losing effort for governor. Her opponent, Gov. Jerry Brown, instead worked with public-employee unions to organize “the troops,” as he calls union members, and others for victory.

To use an old football cliche, it’s hard to win with just a “passing game”; you also need a “ground game.”

The Latino community is primed for a grassroots effort. Every year they form thousands of new businesses, most small, that create jobs. These businesses must run the gauntlet of state taxes and regulations. If the GOP can attract these Latinos with a welcoming message that advances smaller and more responsible government, then the party could start making a comeback.

Stifling taxes and job-killing regulations know no boundaries of race, creed or color.

Education is another winning theme if the GOP can embrace it in the right way. It isn’t Irvine where the high-school dropout rate is half of students, but Latino-majority Los Angeles Unified School District.

Here’s a YouTube that shows the promise of GROW Elect.

By Mark Stefanos

Latinos had a significant presence at the March California Republican Convention in Sacramento, including a large showing by startup group GROW Elect—a Latino Republican candidate recruitment PAC.

Devastating losses in the 2012 election cycle have caused party leadership to pay closer attention to Latinos, the fastest growing minority in America and soon to be the largest ethnic group in California.

This video, taken during the convention, highlights Latinos active in rebuilding the California Republican Party.

By John Hrabe

In this YouTube, incoming California Republican Chairman Jim Brulte speaks to GROW Elect, “a 527 political action committee that recruits, endorses, trains, and funds Latino Republican candidates for public office.”