Letters to the Editor
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Talk about racist
Hispanic is a marketing term. It applies to anyone in the United States who comes from a Spanish speaking home - including Spaniards, who are definitely not Latino. It is not a race, it is not a culture.
Acting like there is some sort of monolithic Latin culture in the United States is racist on its face and to its core. While there are some common cultural touchpoints among the various groups, it's impossible to lump them all together into a single block unless you are standing on the outside looking in with no real understanding of what their thoughts and motivations are. Cubans, Mexicans, Venzuelans, Argentinians - all different. In this election year, they are all being tossed into the same bucket because of immigration, just like Christians get lumped together because of abortion. While this is necessary to the kind of pathetic pandering we have come to expect from our politicians, it has no place in intelligent conversation and I'm pretty surprised to see it coming out of the word processor of someone named Rodriguez. Some aspects of aculturalization get uglier every time you look at them.
I think it's still way too early to make any predictions about how any Latino group will vote. Many of them are jumping ship from the Republicans after realizing that the idiot most likely to win that nomination is no better than the idiot we have now. Many don't understand just how Bush administration policies have affected them and their families (many Cubans aren't aware of the new-ish policies on Cuba for example, mostly because of how ineffective they have been and also because the media has never been quite so bought and paid for in our history). A lot of Hispanics are still trying to find their way in a political world where up has become down and left has become right - just like the rest of us.
As for machismo being some kind of compensation for male insecurity, bullshit. One thing many Latin cultures still have in common is that they take gender roles in the family seriously, as opposed to our metrosexualized, "someone else will take care of that" society. Machismo is a natural byproduct of any culture where the role of protector/provider is still valued instead of ridiculed. While in many cases it amounts to nothing more than a lot of strutting and preening, that has more to do with the flaws of the individual than it does with any cultural weakness.
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No big mystery
Hispanic support of Clinton is no big mystery, but discussions of it have always missed the most salient reason. Rodriquez glosses over it in one line of his article.
Hillary Clinton is reaping the benefits of a widespread Hispanic defection from a xenophobic Republican Party...
That's right. Hispanics, up to this point, have largely voted Republican, i.e., conservative.
Clinton is also picking up a majority of Catholic support (of course, many Hispanics are also Catholic). Although Catholics used to be considered a reliable liberal vote, they are now largely conservative voters due to their support of right-wing anti-choice and anti-gay policies. Being promised a jackpot of tax dollars in the form of "faith-based" initiatives didn't hurt, either.
Clinton has gained the support of two conservative groups because she's a conservative candidate.
Republicans hate Clinton not because she's too liberal, but because she's treading on their turf. Obama isn't much better. If either Clinton or Obama wins the general election it may be a victory for Democrats, but it most certainly will not be a victory for Liberals.
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First Latina President
I am grateful to all those Latina and Latino who voted for Hillary. I believe she is the best choice for President simply because while Obama is RICH on Rhetoric and Movement energy, he is record poor, in comparison to Senator Clinton. I would urge readers to pay attention to the faces of the crowds at Obama rallies. There is a glazed eye, "supended kind of awe" in the eyees of Obamistas, that scares me. There isn't enough substance in Obama's messages to show me he is detailed enough in his proposals, to convince me he is "right."
Recently, he suggested that while he was "vetted" by the Clintons, who do the best job in checking an opponent out ... and therefore, they KNOW HOW TO USE DIRT ON AN OPPOSITE CANDIDATE, and HE survived the vetting, he would not pose such a target rich environment for the Republicans. I doubt seriously, seriously, the way he has whined and crabbed and set in motion his spin artists re: the Clintons, that HE will do well against the Republican filth machine.
He then opined that while he is "pretty certain" he will get Senator Clinton's supporters if he's the nominee, he's not so sure his supporters will go to her. This implies he hasn't enough charisma to motivate them through a spell of "sour grapes." This isn't the best interests of thte Democrat Party if that is his position.
David Shuster, of MSNBC, spoke about Chelsea, and said he wondered if the parents weren't "pimping her out" in a way that clearly was derogatory and pejorative, meaning, her Mom and Dad were treating her as a street prostitute, by asking her to speak with Super Delegates. It is simple "female bashing" to suggest that. If David Shuster said, "Barack is sure pimping Michelle out ..." or "he's shuckin' and jivin' to get those votes," that type of racist comment would set off a fire storm a lå the talk show host incident last year, also involving an MSNBC celebrity.
I would urge Salon readers to come to the support of the first woman President, as about a fundamental "change" as it gets, in Presidential Politics. Barack Obama IS "just another man in a man's world, thus far," re: the Presidency. A sea change can begin with the election of a highly, most versatile woman candidate in the White House. I would hope that every possible Salon Hillary reader has absolutely committed themselves to vote for Hillary in the upcoming weeks.
Hillary is now, having gotten Bill to state, for the record, what he will and will not do to support his spouse, setting into high gear. She will begin to explain how and why she is running, and how she is more qualified than Obama. Rationality should dominate glazed eye awe. If Pakistan blows, Obama has said he would bomb any al-Qaeda hideouts, with or without Pakistani permission. This will initiate a THIRD WAR against Islam. Readers between the ages of 18-26 should fully understand that would absolutely drive a Draft.
Hillary is the best bet for Latinos and Latina. Likewise, I hope she will elucidate more on how big business is exploiting cheap Latina/Latino labor, as they always have with immigrants, and, in the doing, has fractured the Labor Movement, most often favorable to white and African-American males. The latter DO have an investment in a Clinton win. I hope these groups realize that.
If you have a male "Clinton Hater" in your household, engage them in a discussion about why so much "hate?" This is the time to confront feminist driven hate.
I'm a man. I wholeheartedly support Senator Clinton, and recommend Latinas/Latinos, and white male working class/middle class voters support her, entirely, in the next weeks ahead.