Latinos set to turn out in record number in 08', Republicans in trouble - Political Forum

Sebelius for VP, not Hillary · 06-17-2007, 02:11 PM

Quote:

US Latinos see 2008 vote as their 'moment'
by Marie Sanz

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US Hispanic community, galvanized by a drive to reform US immigration law and wooed by presidential candidates, has become a political player ahead of the 2008 vote. Hispanics mobilized to pressure congressional passage of the most sweeping immigration overhaul in 20 years, hoping to bring some 12 million illegal immigrants, mostly Latin Americans, out of the shadows.

Latinos became key voters ahead of the Republican and Democratic parties' primary elections next year as several states with huge Hispanic populations have moved their primaries to earlier dates. The rallying cry of Latino organizations has become "It is our moment, we have a voice."

Hispanics have surpassed African-Americans as the largest minority group in recent years, making up 14.8 percent of the 300 million people living in America. Two-thirds of Hispanic residents live in nine states that will hold primary votes on February 5 or earlier, including California, Nevada, Florida and New York.

The primaries will be "historic" because of the Latino vote, which has become more important than it has ever been, said Adam Segal, director of the Hispanic Voter Project at Johns Hopkins University. Hispanic groups and the widely watched, Spanish-language television channel Univision are urging Latinos to apply for US citizenship and then to register to vote.

White House hopefuls are well aware of the importance of Hispanic voters. The campaign website of former senator John Edwards, the 2004 Democratic vice presidential candidate, has a page in "Espanol" with the slogan "El Manana Comienza Hoy," or "Tomorrow Begins Today."

Democratic Senator Barack Obama is getting help from a Mexican-American who created the website "Amigos de Obama," or "Friends of Obama," which is unaffiliated with his campaign, aimed at reaching out to Hispanics. The website even features a song in a popular Latino-flavored reggae beat called reggaeton, with the chorus: "Como se dice?/Como se llama? OBAMA! OBAMA!" ("How do you say it? What is his name? OBAMA!")

The leading Democratic candidate, Senator Hillary Clinton, has already secured the key endorsement of Antonio Villaraigosa, the Latino mayor of Los Angeles, a city of four million -- nearly half of whom are Hispanic. One Democrat could make history if he becomes the first Hispanic US president.

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, a former UN ambassador who was born to a Mexican mother, has said he was running as "an American, proud to be Hispanic." One of the top Republican hopefuls, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, has hired Hispanic consultants in Florida, a key voting state where the largely Republican Cuban-American population has a powerful voice.

Although Hispanics tend to vote for Democrats, President George W. Bush garnered 42 percent of their ballots in the 2004 election. But 73 percent of Hispanics voted for Democratic candidates in November's legislative election, which gave Bush's foes control of Congress.

Republicans face an "enormous challenge" to gain Hispanic support, said Gabriel Escobar of Pew Hispanic Center, a research institution. Although Hispanics represent just nine percent of the US electorate, their numbers are "already significant and growing" in some states, Escobar said.

I think that the Latino vote is mitigated by the fact that Latinos seem to be clustered in states that are going to go Demcoratic anyway (New York and California). The Latino vote is why Bush has been pushing for the path to citizenship plan.

emptypepsi · 06-17-2007, 02:32 PM

I wonder when there will be a story when it asks ordinary, run of the mill, Hispanics how they feel about being fragmented this way -- "The Battle for Hispanic Votes". Why not, the battle for America/American's best interests?

Scribbler1 · 06-17-2007, 03:27 PM

What makes Hispanics think the Democrats will serve them any better than Republicans? In BOTH parties, the problem is how the idiot sheep keep electing the WRONG candidates, and it has precious little to do with the party they belong to.
I refuse to believe there are no good Republicans the same as I don't believe there are no good Democrats. But the problem is they never get elected.

Why? Because the candidates who would put the people of the United Stated ahead of special interests get no MONEY from those special interests, and therefore they don't get elected.

Friggin morons vote based on who shows them more TV ads than the other guy.

emptypepsi · 06-17-2007, 03:45 PM

Well said. See my sig.

emptypepsi · 06-17-2007, 05:15 PM

@ WEb - I like your avatar. Is that dog yours?

Sebelius for VP, not Hillary · 06-17-2007, 05:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scribbler1

What makes Hispanics think the Democrats will serve them any better than Republicans? In BOTH parties, the problem is how the idiot sheep keep electing the WRONG candidates, and it has precious little to do with the party they belong to.
I refuse to believe there are no good Republicans the same as I don't believe there are no good Democrats. But the problem is they never get elected.

Why? Because the candidates who would put the people of the United Stated ahead of special interests get no MONEY from those special interests, and therefore they don't get elected.

Friggin morons vote based on who shows them more TV ads than the other guy.

I think that there is some truth to the bold. I think that for Republicans, getting money from big business is really important, but not as much so for Democrats. I think that special interests do create bad Democratic candidates, but it is based on something else. Like if you look at Hillary, I think she's basically got the woman vote, and it's just like "I don't care if she can't win, she's a woman and that's all that counts."

WEB

Sebelius for VP, not Hillary · 06-17-2007, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emptypepsi

@ WEb - I like your avatar. Is that dog yours?

Thanks. Naw, that's not my dog. I just thought it was a cute picture.

WEB

Scribbler1 · 06-17-2007, 11:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by W.E.B. Du Bois

I think that there is some truth to the bold. I think that for Republicans, getting money from big business is really important, but not as much so for Democrats. I think that special interests do create bad Democratic candidates, but it is based on something else. Like if you look at Hillary, I think she's basically got the woman vote, and it's just like "I don't care if she can't win, she's a woman and that's all that counts."

WEB

I think it's about neck and neck for both parties, and it's NOT about political ideology either. I read a report about 10-15 years ago that listed how corporate contributions were split between the Democrats and Republicans.
Again, the special interest money doesn't care which party wins, as long as whoever gets in owes THEM something.

I don't have time tonight to get more comprehensive figures, but this sampling of media conglomerates ought to give you a good picture of what I mean.

Top 25 Media Companies’ Campaign Contributions, 1999-2002
Company total D R
AOL Time Warner** $6,205,502 63% 36%

Disney $2,788,021 55% 45%

Viacom $3,158,616 81% 19%

Comcast $1,181,281 47% 53%

Vivendi Universal $3,398,323 65% 35%

EchoStar Communications $2,011,875 53% 47%

When you total all 25 companies, you get:
$26,724,530 with a spread of 59% Democrat to 41% Republican.

elliott · 06-22-2007, 01:02 PM

This past Sunday moprning talk show on ABC stated hispanics are registering 6 to 1 Democrats over Republicans.

metafreephorall · 06-22-2007, 04:28 PM

Quote:

The campaign website of former senator John Edwards, the 2004 Democratic vice presidential candidate, has a page in "Espanol" with the slogan "El Manana Comienza Hoy," or "Tomorrow Begins Today."

Look, I really wish tomorrow could begin today, but that's not gonna happen. Tommorrow begins TOMORROW. False promises