When they begin their journeys, their intentions are usually good and genuine: They seek personal political empowerment so they can help their people.

But something happens to many Hispanic community activists on their way to gaining that power. In order to move up the ladder, they often are forced to cut deals with the political establishment and to become peons of political party machines.

Rapidly — before you can say, "No se vendan!" ("Don't sell yourselves!") — many of them are more faithful to their parties than to their own people.

Some of them even convince themselves that their parties' interests — issue by issue — are exactly the same as the interests of the Latino community.

We know that is not true. We know that Democrats are good for Latinos on many issues, just as Republicans are good for us on many others. But these extremely partisan "community leaders" want us to believe that their respective parties are the greatest things that ever happened to the Hispanic community. And both major parties have the gall to say this after so many years of neglecting the Hispanic community.

Many of these so-called Latino leaders will be delegates at the Democratic and Republican conventions during the next two weeks. The questions are: Will they be there for their parties or their people? Will they remember why they got into politics in the first place? Will they be there because they are "committed" to seeing that their parties' nominees win the general election? Or will they go to the conventions to raise the issues that concern their people and to challenge the candidates and the party platforms when necessary? Those who go to the conventions for the latter are the real Latino community leaders. The others are party activists who happen to be Hispanic. There is a huge difference.

Let's hope there will be some who will ask the right questions: How many Latinos are on the candidates' inner circles of campaign advisers? Does the lack of big-name Latinos in either camp reflect the kind of Cabinet Obama or McCain would appoint? If they put so few Latinos on their staffs, why are we to think that their administrations would be different?

And on the issues Latinos care about — such as education, health care, immigration and U.S. relations with Latin America — how about some specific details on how these candidates expect to make a difference in our lives?

Instead, what we already see out of the Democratic convention in Denver is Latinos ridiculously clinging to Sen. Hillary Clinton and expressing resentment because she didn't win the Democratic nomination, as if Clinton would have been the first Latina president! You see them rocking the boat over party politics, but not over community issues. You see them challenging Obama over Clinton, but not about what he is going to do for the "barrios."

Don't get me wrong; there are some exceptions. Some Latino activists will go to the conventions seeking recognition and empowerment for their people. Those are the Latinos who will have the guts to tell their fellow Democrats that they are dead wrong in opposing the free trade agreement with Colombia. Those are the Latinos who will have the courage to stop McCain from naming an anti-immigrant zealot as a running mate. Those are the Latino Democrats and Republicans who will go to their conventions seeking to convince their fellow party activists that the politics of xenophobia is counterproductive.

Unfortunately, too many Latino delegates will be there just to put a HISPANIC rubber stamp on their parties' nominees.

You will see them wearing funny hats and buttons claiming that Latinos are for Obama or for McCain. But Latinos should be challenging Obama and McCain to demonstrate just how they are for Latinos.

To find out more about Miguel Perez and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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