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Yo no puedo hablar español. (merci freetranslations.com)
If I did, I would love to go and encourage Latinos to register and vote. Apparently Obama really needs a big majority of their votes to be able to win.
¿Puede hablar usted español? (merci encore) If so, do you plan on trying to help in getting people registered to vote?
I am curious as to the reasons why this constituency would not be voting an overwhelmingly majority Democratic. Any enlightement would be appreciated.
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Comments (4)
Caveat: I am not Latino - I speak as a long-time (white) resident of New Mexico - but I have given some thought and study to this.
First of all, it's important to recognize that the "Latino constituency" is not homogeneous. There is a huge gap in the cultural experiences between, say, the New Mexican Hispanics here in Albuquerque and parts north, and the Puerto Rican community of NYC, or the Cuban community of Florida, or the Tejano culture of south Texas.
While the Democratic Party has dominated here in NM for a long time, that's as much a reflection of machine politics as anything else. You want to get things done, you work through the Democratic Party. Bush got strong support here even from Democratic voters because he was imagined as stronger on national defense.
NM Hispanics have a strong cultural experience of patriotism and loyalty to their nation. The legacy of WWII, with stories of courageous survivors of Bataan and combat valor in the European theater, is a source of great pride even as the members of that generation pass on.
When a presidential candidate is seen as strong on national defense, as McCain's campaign narrative is portraying him, NM Hispanic voters are going to respond to that as long as the narrative appears genuine.
What Obama must do to win over these voters is address truthfully the other issues they care about, such as economic problems, while communicating that their sons and daughters who volunteer to serve will be asked to do only that which is just, which is lawful, and that adds to our nation, not diminishing it.
I get the feeling that those New Mexicans who supported Republicans in the wake of 9/11 are starting to see that they were sold a bill of goods. I don't think you need to habla espanol in order to present a credible alternative that can win these voters; you just need to acknowledge their loyalty, and pledge that those who are so willing to fight will do so for a noble cause.
July 16, 2008 3:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm not an Hispanic either - but I live half the year in Texas, which now has an Hispanic plurality, and the other half of the year in New Mexico - Taos.
I think most Hispanics in Texas do vote Democratic. There are places where the difference between the Democratic platform and Hispanic beliefs (e.g. legal abortion) are huge. But in Dallas Co., some of our biggest Democratic movers and shakers are Hispanic Texans.
I have to say I find the Hispanic people whom I know in Dallas different from the Hispanic people I know here in New Mexico, which seems to still have a lot of Spain in it. There's none in Texas and I think some of the difference is reflected in the difference between TexMex food and New Mexico food - and New Mexico wins - always did. That sounds frivolous, but it's all cultural, really. There's a huge difference in accent - in Texas, Hispanic Texans with Hispanic accents still have a distinct twang they get from Texas. Not here - to me the accent is really musical.
but then I have had a love affair of long standing with northern New Mexico.
July 16, 2008 4:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
Spanish is my native language, but I will not door-knock while the temperature is in the 90's here in Houston, no señor! I promise to get off my lazy trasero in October.
July 16, 2008 5:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
Part of it likely has to do with the influence of the Catholic church. Catholics are a more politically heterogeneous lot than, say, Evangelicals; but at the same time, I've heard of preachers giving pointed sermons on wedge/"values" issues around election time, with varying degrees of political bluntness, etc.
Also-- and I think this was brought up in an NPR piece during the Democratic primaries, but can't be sure off the top of my head-- there have occasionally been some tensions between Latino and African-American communities in certain cities. I don't think this is really going to be an issue, and I certainly haven't heard any more about it lately. But it may offer another possible reason why Obama has to work extra hard to win over Latino voters.
Speaking of NPR, though, did you hear the story about this on "Morning Edition" today? Sounds like the Obama campaign is doing a decent job so far...
"Si se puede!" ;)
July 16, 2008 6:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
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