There’s more news on the rapidly deteriorating relationship between Mr. Obama and Latinos. A constituency that, just two years ago, handed over 67 percent of their vote to Obama is now protesting in the street, as occurred during President Obama’s recent trip to Los Angeles.He then goes on to list six points about why wise Latinos might stay home in November 2012.
I wonder if Analyst Larry Sabato factored this into his map?
Hat tip to the Instapundit.
Regards — Cliff
12 comments:
Don't stay home, vote. Vote blank.
Vote as our vaunted national leader has voted when it counted most...."Present."
Cliff, are you putting out feelers for Rubio? I've heard rumors of him being considered as VP material.
Aside from Hispanic voters not being shallow enough to fall for the tokenism, we have to consider another facet.
The idea of a hispanic monolith is ill conceived. There is a tether of language and Catholicism for sure. But it breaks down pretty fast, after that.
Rubio, a Cuban, is not primed for broad appeal to Americans in the Southwest. Even if they watch him interviewed on Telemundo.
It's not like Rubio will go to the border and give a Reagan-esque "Tear down this wall" speech.
Does anyone remember Sharon Nangle's ad about border security?
The best you can hope for is Latinos staying home. That is such an un-Amnerican goal, btw.
Jack
Actually, I have an agenda orthogonal to the one you suggested.
But, a good point about Marco Rubio being an up and coming player in the Republican Party. The Senator from Florida may be of Cuban heritage, but that is not a distraction, and wasn't when he was Speaker of the Florida House. By the way, my key political advisor mentioned him, just yesterday, as a possible candidate.
Your point about Senator Rubio not being an "authentic" Hispanic is an interesting one, but I think people should be able to self-identify as they see fit.
As for trying to suppress the Hispanic vote, that wasn't my intent and I don't think It was the original author's intent. Renee has it right. If you don't like either candidate, vote, but leave that race blank. Even better, put in someone else's name, as a write-in candidate. I have done that in the past, when I didn't like the options provided.
As for Sharon Nangle, no. Is she one of our State Rep David Nangle's Southwestern US cousins?
Regards — Cliff
So, race does matter then. Or is that only applicable if the candidate is black?
I guess the Big Tipper was right. All politics is local, and if it is a black neighborhood, you will get a different outcome than if it is a SW Chicano one...or a Miami Cuban one...or a NYC Puerto Rican one. BTW....all of those variations on the Spanish theme have little respect or use for the others in that "genre." The Filipinos DETESTED the Mexicans during my various tours there.
I think it is profoundly sad that we have to consider race or gender as part of the rubric for rating the "electability" of people for high office. Shows just how REgressive we really are. So much for "enlightenment."
Personally, I think the conservative field is overflowing with exceptionally well qualified contenders, Rubio, Alan West, Herman Cain, Jon Huntsman, and even Michelle Bachmann. Maybe none of them will run, or some of them might. Who knows. The MSM will crucify any and all who throw their hat in the ring and their lives will be stained forevermore for their effort.
IMHO, this country is in for a very long period of what will be essentially a single party system of government. The MSM and the political machine backed by the largest "war chest" in the history of American politics will ensure that Obama remains The One into the foreseeable future, and I am talking perhaps well past 2020...
That is my political prediction. How society reacts to that reality is an entirely different matter, but I suggest strongly that the reelections will fundamentally change American society in ways we currently can't and won't imagine.
Neal mentions Florida Congressman Allen West.
Wednesday last I was talking to a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel of Artillery, who runs our (the place where Neal and I still have tenuous threads as Intermittent Employees) Leavenworth office, and she mentioned that she and Rep West had been classmates on the Captains Course and that she had been very impressed with him at the time.
But, it is still the President's to lose, as I suggested in the original post. And, it is still a long ways to Iowa and New Hampshire.
Regards — Cliff
Cliff, I'm not suggesting that being "Cuban" is a negative. I'll leave that to others with a more McCarthy-esque disposition, e.g. Limbaugh, Palin, Huckabee, ect.
My observation, based upon a limited interaction with Latinos, is that they have very distinct national identities. Think back to American politics, circa 1900, and how those of European descent approached each other. Saying that picking a VP of Irish descent would attract fellow "Great Britans" would be laughable.
So, assuming that Rubio is not a Castro sponsored Manchurian, sent under the cover of refugees, he will still have to climb uphill with other Latinos.
Do I admit that ethnicity, gender, and religion play a role in my decision making? Yes. I want a diversity of people who agree with me.
I'm thinking Cheech and Chong have a real chance.....a package deal.....they would certainly cover all of the political hot buttons..... but could they get past the scrutiny of Katie Couric?
Jack
I like Renee's characterization of the Republican approach. Put another way, as more and more Latinos move into the Middle Class, more and more Latinos will vote Republican.
As for "McCarthy-esque disposition" like approaches, I expect folks like Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, etc, wouldn't even register on a Racism Scale that included the likes of Woodrow Wilson or … oh never mind. It is to the credit of the Democratic Party that they ran the first candidate for President with African blood, but remember, the Republican Party had, before that, the first VP with American Indian blood.
And all this striving to find the best, regardless of race, is all to the good. The competition across the globe is fierce and we are up against some tough homogeneous nations, so our ability to actually exploit our diversity is very important.
Regards — Cliff
Put another way, as more and more Latinos move into the Middle Class, more and more Latinos will vote Republican.
LOL
Cliff and Jack, I find that both parties are coalitions of groups that don't gel very well, and even at times find themselves at odds with each other.
For example in Maryland it wasn't the right that stopped legislation that would redefine marriage, but it came from the left composed of African Americans. Just as with the Republicans, social and fiscal conservatives clash. The only thing both parties have in common is influence from the rich, just sometimes from differing sources.
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