A lifelong Texan, George Rodriguez was born in Laredo, Texas – where he says his father’s fights against corruption instilled in him an interest in politics and a duty to challenge the establishment at an early age.
“My father was very active in politics fighting against political bosses,” Rodriguez says. That mentality would stick – Rodriguez would continue that trend of political involvement for many years. “Because of my father’s political involvement, I was always exposed to politics, especially south Texas politics and race relations.” Rodriguez frequently writes freelance commentaries under the name, “El Conservador” covering the gamut of local south Texas politics in both English and Spanish.
In 1970, he got involved in San Antonio’s municipal elections. From there, he went on to intern in Washington, D.C., and in 1980 he got involved in Ronald Reagan’s presidential campaign. After Reagan’s victory, Rodriguez worked in the Reagan administration for the Justice Department, coordinating with the Heritage Foundation on civil rights and immigration issues.
That time spent in the birthplace of our nation served an important purpose for Rodriguez. “My visits to Plymouth Rock, Valley Forge, Independence Hall, and Gettysburg all reinforced my patriotism,” he says. “However, my living away from home always made realize that first and foremost, I was a Texan.”
Even though he went to work at the federal level, Rodriguez never lost sight of what was important: local engagement.
“The defense of freedom and liberty starts in your back yard,” Rodriguez is fond of saying. “And if you can’t recognize local or state tyranny, you can’t defend your freedom.” He’s not just fond of saying it though – he practices what he preaches. When Rodriguez returned home to the Lone Star State, he continued his involvement, and in 2010, he got involved with San Antonio’s local Tea Party. He eventually became President of his local group – and was one of the first Hispanics in the U.S. to do so.
It’s that same belief that drives him to do what he does to this day. “My biggest concern about politics today is that citizens seem to concentrate on national issues rather than local and state issues,” Rodriguez says. “Because of the media, people simply aren’t involved in local issues and politics. They do not understand that the Constitution was designed for grassroots local citizens to exercise power, not for D.C. officials to act.”
Of all the conservative issues that Rodriguez fights for, nothing is as compelling as clamping down on illegal immigration. Fluent in Spanish, Rodriguez seeks to depoliticize the illegal immigration issue by reaching out to Hispanic audiences to make the conservative case, which is why he translates as many conservative commentaries as he can into Spanish for his “El Conservador” program. For Rodriguez, nothing is more important than engaging as many grassroots folks as possible to get them engaged on the side of responsible government.
“Grassroots citizens are the dog that should wag the Washington, D.C. tail,” Rodriguez says.
When he’s not busy giving liberals heartburn, Rodriguez says he enjoys his spare time hiking the Texas hill country, eating Texas cuisine, and tinkering with model Lionel trains.
