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Super Tuesday: It’s All Up To You, Hispanic Voter
The Houston Chronicle, and just about every other newspaper in America, has been reporting for some weeks now that the elusive Hispanic vote is going to be the deciding factor in this year’s Democratic presidential primary between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. According to the Chronicle, Clinton has this election sewn up for a number of reasons. Not least of which is that Hill did her homework back when Barack was dressed in short pants:
Experts say Hispanics, especially older ones, favor Clinton over Barack Obama because of their familiarity with both Bill and Hillary Clinton, who as a Yale Law student in 1972 came to South Texas to help register voters.
South Texas, or Mexico North as we like to think of it, has a population that is over 81% Hispanic, you see. It is an area of the country that has always been a Democratic one, but that’s not necessarily good news for Obama:
Obama has been making inroads among younger Hispanics with his message of change. But experts in the Hispanic community have raised the delicate issue that some in their community may not back Obama, whose father was black, because of tensions with blacks.
Tensions with blacks being code for extremely racist Mexicans. It’s true. And not because Blacks have done anything to them, as the media would have you believe. On the contrary, most Mexicans—especially in Texas—grow up without exposure to Black people. Ignorance, in the end, is the root of all evil.
Ironically, it’s fortunate for Obama at this point in the race that Hispanics are very conservative:
In California — the biggest prize in Tuesday’s primaries, which also include New York, New Jersey, Arizona, New Mexico and more than a dozen other states — the Field Poll released Sunday found Clinton getting 52 percent of likely Hispanic voters, compared with 19 percent for Obama. Some 2,075 Democratic delegates will be selected on Tuesday, but neither Clinton nor Obama is expected to go over the top. A candidate for president needs 2,025 to win the Democrats’ nomination.
71% of the Hispanic vote going to the Democrats leaves 29% of it going to a party that would essentially love to deport all Hispanics, even if their families have been here for 5 generations. It’s up to you, Hispanic voters. To decide who’s super this Tuesday. Hopefully it will be you.
Latino vote is the ticket for Super Tuesday [Houston Chronicle]
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- Editor
Cindy Casares
- Associate Editor
Alex Alvarez
- Contributing Editors
Gabriel Caro - Camilla Rowan
- Editor at Large
Daniel Mauser
nice article!….i agree if Hispanics get out and vote, it will be the difference and Hillary will win the nomination in a close race
Posted by DC | February 05, 2008
Live blogging at Voto Latino today.
http://votolatino.org/liveblog.html
Posted by LatinoPundit | February 05, 2008
A lot of Latinos counted in these polls can’t vote anyway…..
Posted by ponte | February 05, 2008
repeating the canard that latinos won’t vote for blacks because they are inherently racist, or, in your words, “ignorant,” is such an unsubstantiated and reckless generalization that it borders into the idiotic. even the most cursory of google searches disproves this so-called “fact” time after time w/ countless examples of black politicians from tom brady in l.a. to even obama himself in chicago elected w/ a majority of latino votes.
you are repeating a clinton campaign talking point invented by sergio bendixon, her hispanic pollster, and picked up by gullible white journalists eager to prove minority disunity where there is none. and you guys bought into the campaign’s self-serving “conventional wisdom” hook line and sinker.
sure there may be some latinos who don’t like blacks. just as there are some whites who don’t like blacks. just as there are some latinos who think guanabee should keep writing about sara ramirez’s waistline and not display their own “ignorance” with wrong and subjective opinions presented as facts.
do the racist beliefs of a few indict a whole community? you guys really believe that?
cut and paste journalism from a single houston newspaper article to prove the entire latino population is “extremely racist” says more about guanabee than the actual reality.
http://www.theunapologeticmexican.org/elgrito/2008/01/bendixen_for_obama.html
Posted by jm | February 05, 2008
I will vote for Obama because I don’t want whitey in control.
Posted by snakeclocks | February 05, 2008
@ jm: http://guanabee.com/2008/01/covering-the-coverage-maybe-la.php
Posted by ...dijo Alex | February 05, 2008
‘wrong and subjective opinions’… it is to laugh.
Posted by alfred jarry | February 05, 2008
@alex…great post. maybe you guys should have re-read it before perpetuating the myth in today’s post.
but tell me again…how does the link explain your belief that mexicans are “extremely racist?”
Posted by jm | February 05, 2008
@ jm: Thanks.
My guess? I think someone growing up in a predominantly Mexican-American community might have different experiences with relations between Latinos and Blacks than, say, someone growing up in a place where lots of people come from the Caribbean and have had more exposure and actual, real-life relationships with people who are Black. I’m not saying one viewpoint is right or wrong, it’s just my guess that different levels of exposure can create different ways to look at an issue. This is just one of many.
Posted by ...dijo Alex | February 05, 2008
Exacto, Alex. Thank you.
Posted by La Cindy | February 05, 2008
@jm: I couldn’t agree more with Alex and Cindy. No one is saying that all Mexican Americans hate blacks. Of course not. But there is a history of racism against Blacks and Amerindian people in Mexico (and other Latin American countries), and if you think Mexican immigrants don’t bring those attitudes over here (and pass them on to their children), then you’re sadly mistaken. As Alex mentioned, it stems from ignorance. Below are some additional links to consider:
Grandmother Longoria, the racist:
http://thecynicalones.blogspot.com/2006_03_01_archive.html
Racist Mexican stamps:
http://www.pharmacy.ferris.edu/jimcrow/links/newslist/stamp.htm
However, Mexican Americans have supported black candidates in local government elections (e.g., in Houston). So, I think Mexican Americans are capable of supporting Black candidates, but it’s not all flowers and sunshine.
Posted by Guana Bust A Nut | February 05, 2008
Ummm… yeah, after last night, I’m of the mindset that if Hil wins the Dem nomination, I’m going to have to seriously consider wielding my “independent” status and jumping over to vote for McCain, since he’ll likely get the other nod. I’m sick of extremists on either side of the aisle, I want someone more moderate and less of a polarizing figure.
Posted by mimiroro | February 06, 2008