"What We Have Here Is A Failure To Communicate"

George Lopez should have made some kind of 'Jack Daniels' joke in response:

Gov. Rick Perry received a tepid response when he addressed the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials on Thursday, joking about the pronunciation of a Hispanic appointee's last name and frequently staring blankly at the audience when they failed to respond to his conservative applause lines.

In his defense, Hispanic politicians had earlier spoken passionately against his policies, deriding them as hurtful to Hispanics. Perry chose to ignore those topics and instead touted his appointments of the first Hispanic women to serve as secretary of state and to both of the state's highest courts.

But a joke about how perfect it was to appoint Jose Cuevas to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission because his name sounds like Jose Cuervo - a brand of tequila - fell flat.

...The state's longest-serving governor has tried to walk a fine line between appealing to Texas' growing Hispanic population - now 48 percent - and rightwing groups that have demanded tougher stances on immigration and voter identification laws. Perry declared bills requiring a photo ID to vote and mandating that local police to enforce federal immigration laws as emergency items for the Legislature.

Both measures have provoked angry reactions from Hispanic groups. Police chiefs and sheriffs overwhelmingly objected to the immigration enforcement measure. Hispanic groups say both laws will lead to greater voter intimidation and racial profiling against Hispanics.

The politicians and public policy professionals were unimpressed with his stock-speech touting the state's business-friendly climate. Perry often stopped for applause and heard only the clink of forks on plates as he stared out at the crowd, a stark contrast to the jubilant reception he's received at recent Republican events. Many in the audience had never heard of him before.