Here is the Party of Progressives’ paternalistic view of minorities made plain.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D, NV) apparently doesn’t think Latinos can succeed on their own—they must have the overt support of the Progressive Know Betters because Latinos are not otherwise capable—they must have affirmative action support.

Here’s what he said about Senator Marco Rubio’s (R, FL) opposition to Mari Carmen Aponte’s nomination for Ambassador to El Salvador.

In Nevada, this woman is seen by the Puerto Rican community, the Hispanic community, as really somebody who is an up-and-rising star. … I just think it’s a mistake for someone who is supposedly representing Hispanic issues to do what [Rubio] has done.

Hmm….  Rubio is supposed to support Aponte because of the color of her skin, and not at all based on her qualifications or the content of her character.  Furthermore, Rubio is not allowed to do what’s done routinely (with some justification) by other Senators—hold up a confirmation as leverage to obtain another goal (in Rubio’s case to try to force the Obama administration to overtly acknowledge Nicaragua’s, et al., enmity toward democracy)—no, the minority (in a couple senses of the word) Senator himself is just supposed to sit quietly and betters have their way.

Many recipients of Progressive race-based affirmative action (excuse my redundancy) support also exposed their addiction to that support: an Orlando, FL community activist, Javier Cuebas said

This is not the first time Sen Rubio has expressed concerns about a Puerto Rican nominee—when he was a candidate, he expressed similar concerns about Judge Sotomayor.  People don’t forget these things. … And remember, Cubans only make up about one-third of the Hispanic population in Florida.

At least Aponte seems to understand the legitimately political (if that’s not an oxymoron) nature of the maneuverings and the lack of place for Progressive racial politics in America.  She emailed Rubio after this latest Progressive tempest, signing it familiarly “Mari Carmen” (Politico says they have a copy of the email):

Thank you very much for all of your support during my confirmation process.  Although the outcome is not what all of us had hoped for—friendships were made and a lot of strength was gathered from the effort. I will forever be grateful for your hard work.

She’s not alone; others also reject Progressive paternalism.  The Executive Director of the Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles, Alfonso Aguilar, said that Reid’s remark was “appalling,” and

This blatant attempt at racial identity politics is offensive and condescending to all Latinos.  It’s insulting for Reid and Obama’s minions to imply that all Latinos support a person’s nomination to federal office just because he or she is a fellow Latino.