Letters to the Editor
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Chairwoman Clinton
I would say she's the first selling-out-labor-to-China in Chief, but they've been doing that since Reagan.
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And the cynic would be right...
The cynic will say that Hillary Clinton has detected tension in the brown-black relationship and exploited it, at a time when her rival is an African-American with vast support from black America. More accurately, I think Clinton has punctured the easy generality of a term like people of color.
And the cynic would be right. After years of misconstruing Toni Morrison's words and making pat jokes about Bill's "blackness", this all went quickly out the window after a black candidate, whom many in his own ethnic community derided as not black enough, managed to actually attract enough momentum to become a serious contender. In fact, the Clinton team constantly downplays any predominantly black state Barack wins, suggesting that they weren't really that invested in X state, despite the fact that Clinton did a tour through black churches trying to drum up support in all of those said states. In fact the discourse, which has focused almost exclusively on Obama's supposed magic elixir in caucus states, ignores his wins in predominantly black states, because, you know, as Bill said "Jesse Jackson won South Carolina in 84 and 88...and he ran a good campaign".
Does this show the Clinton's to be craven and despicable? No. What it does show however, is the level of entitlement white politicians have over certain minority groups they claim to represent, and how many of them are not very different from that person who tells you "I have black friends...I swear." After losing the segment they for years said they were best friends with, they've gone to find another one where undeserved accolades and best pal jokes can be racked up. That is until a "Latino" comes close to winning.
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Si Si Si!!!
Another Latina for Hillary!!!
I love her. She's the only one who respects working families.
Leftwing adulators of Obama have only contempt for us. Obama only cares about his ambition.
Los Estados Unidos tienen problemas grandes de Bush. necesitamos a líder fuerte. No necesitamos a niños obstinados!!!
Hillary KNOWS the issues. HAS answers. HAS experience.
Liberals defy us at your own extinction. Latina power is everything; fastest growing group AND WE VOTE.
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Not so fast
The trouble with this is, if you look at the polls, Obama is poised to take 61% of Hispanics and 58% of Asians in the Washington caucus.
http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReport.aspx?g=74221038-6d06-4283-bfd3-6054dcc54677
It would appear that Hillary's popularity with hispanics is not so exclusive.
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@Sean
The only problem with your thesis, silly goose, is that it's Obama's candidacy that played the race card. Enthusiastic memos deciding to take Clinton's harmless remarks about MLK and LBJ out of context.
Of course the Obama campaign did deny it. After they were caught with their pants down.
Obama is just too divisive, too slimey and too willing to do anything to get elected - which he won't against JMc of course, but he'd do anything to try. Has no principles at all.
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@crafty
The trouble with this is, if you look at the polls, Obama is poised to take 61% of Hispanics and 58% of Asians in the Washington caucus
Was this before or after he lost Arizona, California and New Jersey and Mass largely because of the loss of the Latin vote?
Where do you pull this stuff out of, never mind I really don't want to know.
But this is a thread about LATINOS, so gringo, maybe you want to take your propoganda to the more gullible gringo threads.
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Thank you, Mr. Rodriguez
for your thoughtful and articulate article.
Please ignore the inevitable angry white liberal responses you'll see. We understand the Latin vote is important and growing and how poorly Obama does with it. We understand it's an important Democratic sector, probably the most important at this time. We know. We're with you.
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Just a little obsessed with race, aren't we Mr Rodriguez?
If this article had been written by a white person about Asians or Jews, the screams of racism would have been deafening.
We're supposed to be moving beyond this awful stuff, not coming up with tinier and tinier little boxes to cram each other into!
Disgusting.
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Remembering 'Waiting to Exhale'..
I wonder if --
But my own stereotypical view is that Latino culture is matriarchal and machismo is less a confident strut than a reflection of male insecurity. Which Latino voter had not met her type before -- the strong mother, the persevering wife,
-- the black demographic is not also largely engined by the moms.
Energized by lots of strong women.
[An longish stay in Africa certainly left me with that impression for my small experience there, at least.]
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A new high in denial
If Satan and a black man (mulatto, octoroon, quintroon, whatever genetic division you want to field) were in an election, Hispanics would vote overwhelmingly for Satan.
I mean, do you folks ever set foot in the real world? Hispanics DO NOT LIKE black people. Consider this a free clue. Hillary popular amongst Hispanics? Sure, right, if you say so.
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And that illegal immigrants,
a code term for Latinos, (and probably more directly, Mexicans), should not be given driver's licenses, forcing millions of people who cannot make their life work without a car to drive without them. This is the Latinas' Sister Soulja moment.
Wouldn't it be great if Chelsea Clinton were running against a the first viable Latina Presidential Candidate in 25 years time so that Hillary could explain that Bill Richardson won primaries in Arizona and New Mexico- denigrating her validity as a national candidate? Hey, all those Hispanics vote for Hispanics not issues. Then you can recollect back on how clever it was to vote for Hillary because you were able to map a Latino identity on a lily-white Goldwater Girl from suburban Illinois.
By the way, Obama's ideas on jobs and health care are every bit as serious as Hillary's, and in my view, better. Should he have to come to the community as 'not black' for him to qualify for Latino vote? Now that would be dysfunction.
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While I agree wholeheartedly that...
...despite the seeming contradiction of a strong machismo current operating in many of them, lots of matriarchal societies are very comfortable with having women as leaders (Chile, Argentina, Philippines, Pakistan, India, Liberia...etc.). I'm not sure, though, that one can call Hillary anything close to a 'Latina-in-Chief', despite her strong showing among that demographic. Perhaps Hillary was just smart in, as you say so yourself, offering her proposals for improving the health care and educational landscape - things that matter to everyone - basically speaking to the Hispanic demographic in the same manner as she does to other groups in her campaign speeches.
I don't think it's got anything to do with gender (why and how did 'gender' replace the more accurate term, 'sex', anyway?), but perhaps more to do with...culture, as others have noted elsewhere on Salon? Certain groups (I'm guessing here - perhaps older individuals, those genuinely struggling with day-to-day concerns and who may not have the time or the werewithal to post comments online as we do here, might put greater value in knowing the candidate plans to do to improve things in reality. Of course, a realist also knows that these are merely plans, and post-election, these plans may not always push through after they've been through Congress, etc., etc.. However, plans are the only things candidates can offer before they actually take office, no?
This piece may just be another distracting, race- and sex/gender-themed essay on Salon as elsewhere that will be of little use in truly parsing the candidates' strengths and weaknesses in this election. Interesting, I don't find the evidence for the article's contention to be that compelling.