So by now you’re probably well aware of all this hugger-mugger over whether or not Latino voters are willing to vote for a Black candidate. As you may recall, we were a little skeptical as to the veracity of these reports, since, very generally speaking, Blacks and Latinos have a lot of common ground, share a lot of the same political concerns and dance, like, really well. [Ed. note: I kid, of course. I dance about as well as Stephen Hawking.]

Our guess was that these stereotypes and prejudices probably adhered to older generations from certain economic and social classes. They were also grossly ignorant of the fact that there are a good number of Black Latinos. So why would any political camp be so eager to spread such false, misleading and possibly xenophobic and racist information? Um. Because this is politics we’re talking about? Writes LA Times op-ed writer Gregory Rodriguez:

A few weeks ago, Sergio Bendixen, a Clinton pollster and Latino expert, publicly articulated what campaign officials appear to have been whispering for months. In an interview with Ryan Lizza of the New Yorker, Bendixen explained that “the Hispanic voter — and I want to say this very carefully — has not shown a lot of willingness or affinity to support black candidates.”

The spin worked. For the last several weeks, it’s been on the airwaves (Tucker Carlson, “Hardball,” NPR), generally tossed off as if it were conventional wisdom. And it has shown up in sources as far afield as Agence France-Presse and the London Daily Telegraph, which wrote about a “voting bloc traditionally reluctant to support black candidates.”

The spin also helped shape the analysis of the Jan. 19 Nevada caucus, in which Clinton won the support of Latino voters by a margin of better than 2 to 1. Forget the possibility that Nevada’s Latino voters may have actually preferred Clinton or, at the very least, had a fondness for her husband; pundits embraced the idea that Latino voters simply didn’t like the fact that her opponent was black.

That’s silly. People never pay attention to whomever the media tells them they should vote for. Cough. Hey, let’s talk numbers:

University of Washington political scientist Matt Barreto has compiled a list of black big-city mayors who have received broad Latino support over the last several decades. In 1983, Harold Washington pulled 80% of the Latino vote in Chicago. David Dinkins won 73% in New York in 1989. And Denver’s Wellington Webb garnered more than 70% in 1991, as did Ron Kirk in Dallas in 1995 and then again in 1997 and 1999.

He could have also added that longtime Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley won a healthy chunk of the Latino vote in 1973 and then the clear majority in his mayoral reelection campaigns of 1977, 1981, 1985 and 1989.

Here in L.A., all three black members of Congress represent heavily Latino districts and ultimately couldn’t survive without significant Latino support. Five other black House members represent districts that are more than 25% Latino — including New York’s Charles Rangel and Texan Al Green — and are also heavily dependent on Latino voters.

So, given all this evidence, why did this notion get repeated so nonchalantly? For one, despite the focus on demographic changes in America, journalists’ ignorance of the aspirations of Latino America is pretty remarkable. They just don’t know much about the biggest minority in the nation. And two, no Latino organizations function in the way that, say, the Anti-Defamation League does for Jewish Americans. In other words, you can pretty much say whatever you want about Latinos without suffering any political repercussions.

So, there you go. We would never go far as to declare that racism among minorities doesn’t exist — being a group that’s often disenfranchised, ostracized or placed on the fringes of society can exacerbate a hatred against anyone you can make to be even “less” than you are. But to let a political campaign or media pundits paint an inaccurate, totally misinformed picture of what any group wants or doesn’t, well. Not only is it lazy journalism, it’s, like The Gregster says, just plain divisive. Plus, we hope it takes more to get your vote than having a candidate eat at a Mexican restaurant or chant in Spanish. Actually, no. We don’t care why you vote for who you do. Plus, Mexican food is legitimately delicious and, obviously, the cultural zenith of the Latino community. Anyway.

As for us? Well, we’re voting for the only candidate who matters.

Clinton’s Latino spin [LA Times]

Earlier: Hillary Clinton Will Eat Your Beefy Tacos To Get Your Vote. And Barack Obama Might Too, Even If Your Abuela Hates Him.