Obama Adviser / Desperate Housewife

If there were any truly functional, intelligent, visionary, statesmen/women left in the Democrat party, a shallow, uninformed, air-headed, inexperienced middle-aged feminist from the most vapid industry (soap opera television) in the nation would be an amusing, if not laughable, alternative. Since there aren't, maybe it isn't such a bad idea. I mean, other than the reduction in acting talent, how much worse could she be. If Obama merely had an affair with this woman, that would be pretty bad, but how has she become an "adviser"?

Sorry Ms. Longoria, you are one of those rich celebrities that doesn't know what you're talking about. When your mother is a Special Ed teacher, you are not considered lower middle class, though I'm sure it plays better. What a monster this narcissistic walking ego must be. Hispanics must be thrilled to have her as their spokesperson. The amazing thing about people like Eva Longoria is that many actually care what she thinks. Hollywood is full of entitled Liberals who have "causes" as a fun hobby. Their narcissism attracts them to support politicians and believe that their opinions are more important that working class people. People like our President will take their money to the bank every time.

What does "Hispanic activist" even mean? Hispanics are not deprived of rights. Rather, they've been given every helping hand, boost, and freebie imaginable. Is there any other group allowed to utterly ignore immigration, labor and Social Security / identity theft laws? Any other group that can commit any crime from drunk-driving to larceny and be let go because the government doesn't want to appear "racist" by deporting them, and doesn't want to waste $100K per year housing non-citizens in our overcrowded jails?


President Barack Obama and Ms. Longoria embracing at a New York City fundraiser last year.

Obama Adviser / Desperate Housewife

Actress Eva Longoria, the 37-year-old star of the hit television show and twice Maxim magazine's Hottest Woman of the Year, is taking on a challenging new role as a Hispanic activist and power player in Washington, D.C. One of her primary aims is to make the case that "Latinos aren't a drain on the economy or criminals crossing the border," she says. "Most are hardworking people who are America's emerging market."

Ms. Longoria is the most prominent among Latino leaders who are gaining political sway from the 2012 election, in which the Hispanic vote was a critical force in delivering victory to Mr. Obama. A co-chair of his campaign, she stumped for him at rallies across the country and was one of the largest "bundlers," or fundraisers, while hosting star-studded events raising millions of dollars.

Her role reaches beyond fundraising and speechmaking, however, and into policy and strategy. She helped urge Mr. Obama to make a key change in immigration policy last year, and she is teaming with business to explore investments in housing and retail developments in Hispanic communities.

Along the way she has developed a rapport with the president and his advisers. She is now planning meetings this weekend with the capital's elite, including private receptions at the White House and vice president's residence and a bipartisan brunch she is co-hosting at a Georgetown eatery this weekend with Mark McKinnon, a former strategist for George W. Bush and Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain. There, she plans to begin a Republican outreach by meeting with Colin Powell, the former secretary of state, and other attendees including Grover Norquist.

It is part of a broader strategy to build her personal brand within the nation's fastest-growing market. Ms. Longoria is modeling it on Bono's celebrity-to-political-activist transformation, and has hired one of the singer's advisers.

As she rises in prominence, Ms. Longoria is at risk of being seen as an Obama partisan rather than a policy advocate. "Half of my movie tickets and my products are bought by Republicans," says Ms. Longoria, who is also a spokeswoman for cosmetics company L'Oréal Paris and Lays potato chips.

She has had a few missteps along the way. In the heat of the presidential campaign, Ms. Longoria angered some of her Republican fans on Twitter. In October, she re-tweeted, or re-sent, someone else's message describing GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney as "racist/misogynistic" and calling people who would vote for him "stupid."

She tried to delete it, but some of her nearly five million followers saw the message and objected. She followed up with apologies. "Sorry if people were offended by retweet. Obviously not my words or my personal view. I respect all Americans #FreedomOfSpeech," she wrote.

Ms. Longoria "is beginning to understand that she's at that critical point when she must decide whether to fight causes as an American, or a political partisan," says Bobby Turner, chief executive of Canyon Capital Realty Advisers, who is exploring Hispanic-community investments with her. To have the best chance at success, he says, "she will need bipartisan collaboration."

Ms. Longoria says partisanship has gone too far. "The Republicans and Democrats are acting like two different gangs," she says. "There are some great Republicans and some great Democrats."

She may have a tough time proving her bipartisan bona fides to some Republicans. Last spring for instance she criticized Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, a prominent GOP Hispanic lawmaker, saying that he was "coming up with some silly stuff" on Latino issues.

Republicans and Democrats alike are chasing the loyalties of Latinos following last year's election, which demonstrated the power of Hispanic Americans. The Hispanic share of the vote reached 10% for the first time, and Mr. Obama won almost three-quarters of that. As a result, both parties have immigration issues near the top of their post-inaugural to-do list.

Many Americans now agree on a wish to overhaul the immigration system. Republicans tend to prefer doing it step-by-step, dealing separately with new immigrants and children of undocumented workers, for example, and then offering illegal immigrants a path toward some kind of legal status down the road. Democrats generally prefer one comprehensive overhaul bill offering a path toward full citizenship for illegal immigrants who have been working here.

Hispanics are the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population, at 16%, a proportion expected to grow to 30% over the next four decades. And they are an economic force. Hispanic buying power was estimated at $1.2 trillion last year, according to the Selig Center's annual Multicultural Economy report.

"We've earned a seat at the table," says San Juan-based lawyer Andres Lopez. "Now we're going to make it permanent."

Mr. Lopez has joined Ms. Longoria and other influential political and business figures to form the Futuro Fund, a Hispanic organization that initially raised money for the president's campaign, and now advocates for Latino issues. Its leaders include the twin brothers and rising politicos Julian and Joaquin Castro, the mayor of San Antonio and Texas Congressman. Futuro and other Hispanic groups are exploring founding a Latino think tank in Washington.

In a series of interviews in and around Los Angeles in recent days—at a Latin restaurant she owns, in meetings for her charitable foundation, and on-set as she acted in a potato-chip commercial—Ms. Longoria shifted back and forth from high-wattage performer to nerdy student of politics and policy. Last Sunday offered a particularly vivid example of her attempt to balance the roles.

Sunday morning, Ms. Longoria, who is the executive producer of an NBC show called "Ready for Love," in which matchmakers help three young men find true love, held a casting call to pick the bachelors for the second season. Men in their 20s and 30s were ushered in. Ms. Longoria hugged each one, then got down to business. "What's your type?" she asked. "Whose fault was your last breakup?"

At one point, she dismissed one of the hopefuls as too young for the part. Then, she quipped, "What am I talking about? I just dated a 26-year-old." That was New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez.

From the casting call, Ms. Longoria went to a hotel suite to dress for the Golden Globes, where she was to announce two winners alongside actor Don Cheadle. While a hairstylist blew out her long hair, she texted Trevor Neilson, the political adviser who worked with Bono, to review her Washington schedule for this weekend's inaugural.

She asked him which Republicans would be attending a Sunday brunch at Georgetown's Café Milano that she is co-hosting. "I need to show them that I can work with them," she texted.

Later, in the car on the way to the Golden Globes, she asked Mr. Nielson: Would Mr. Powell, the former secretary of state, be at the event and if so, could she get some time to speak with him privately?

continuned: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323783704578247792990982484.html