Not to hijack, but that strikes me as weird. New Mexico was a caucus, wasn’t it? I’d think you count the heads and go home. I’m imagining everyone not being allowed to leave the school gymnasium or wherever the caucus was held for six weeks
My wife reported that she converted her staff (almost all Mexican-Americans) to Obama*. Granted, we’re in Illinois so that was about as result-changing as convincing them all to throw an extra bucket of water into Lake Michigan but it’s the principle of the thing. She said that all of them just assumed a pro-Clinton position as a matter of course, never even considering why. Not that that’s a trait unique to Hispanics. The good news is that they were all willing to be convinced otherwise. I hope that, as Obama digs into Texas, he can shift the tide a bit.
*I should say that she has a pretty casual relationship with the staff and it’s not a “I’m your boss now vote like this!” scenario.
Yeah, only a racist could vote for Obama over Hillary, or just plain ignorant folks (as proven by these anecdotes). I don’t think we’re giving Hispanics (a fairly varied group mind you) or Hillary Clinton enough credit.
Beyond the Clinton fandom, my WAG is that Hispanics are generally more open to having a woman in power.
No doubt Hispanics are a varied group. I’d also assume that, as a group, they are susceptible to the same cultural sways as every other group of people. Part of that involves feelings towards blacks which may not be exhibited by every individual but (according to some posters here) are often seen in the group.
Wierdness…they still called it a caucus, but it was show up between noon and 7PM to fill in your paper ballot. So it was really just a closed (democratic only) primary, I think they still called it a caucus because it was party (not state) funded.
The GOP declined to fund an early (for NM) primary, so won’t do thier primary dance in NM until early june (3rd this year IIRC) as usual.
They’ve heard of him, they’ve never heard his message. People in China have heard of him, they just don’t understand what makes him viable, they haven’t heard his message.
That is certainly part of it. A lot of Hispanics resent the prominent role blacks have played in the party for the last few decades…and the amount of attention blacks have received for their various issues. There are many in my family who feel that Hispanics (as the largest minority group in the country…never mind that there really is no monolithic ‘Hispanic’ group) should get top billing in the party (and also should get the juicier scraps and programs oriented toward them, as well as just more notice).
I seriously doubt that this is why (in theory) Hispanics vote more for Clinton than Obama. I don’t think the fact that he is black and she is a woman is all that big a factor. I just think that Hispanics have roots with the Clinton’s that they don’t with Obama…but when push comes to shove if Obama gets the nod he will have the majority of ‘Hispanics’ behind him. He will certainly have most of my family behind him.
I would say that characterizes most people in the US…even those voting for Obama. It has nothing to do with being Hispanic. My guess is most blacks or whites or space aliens voting for Obama (or against him) haven’t read through details of his message. Most haven’t read through Hillary’s either…or McCain’s or any of the other candidates.
They may want to watch what they wish for. Latinos may feel left out of the minority spotlight, but the minority spotlight is mostly bad. In the Affirmative Action thread, I just mentioned that black beneficiaries of the program are constantly attacked, while women and Latinos receive little of the ire despite their larger numbers. Why would anyone in their right minds be jealous of blacks for that?
I honestly haven’t read or heard this (anywhere on the web) as much as I’ve read or heard “Not voting for Hillary is a betrayal of feminism”. Which is just as stupid, because it would apparently lead the feminists in question to vote for Ann Coulter or Phyllis Schlaffley, just because they’re women.
And you all have no idea how many times I’ve begun and backed out of a reply to Lonesome Polecat acouple posts up because every time it turns into snarling snark with a side of profanity and this is GD…
Well, I agree…it’s silly. However, a lot of Hispanics feel that their own plight and struggles are largely ignored while the blacks get all the attention (and all the benefits and programs oriented their way). Also, there IS a lot of attention on Hispanics these days, and a lot of it is negative…so really, they won’t be losing anything if they get MORE attention. Not if they get more goodies out of the deal. And to put a more realistic face on it…not if they get more power in the party out of it…something a lot of Hispanics think they are under represented in. They want their voice and message to be heard, their issues to become the top plank issues in the party, etc.
Also, as always these are humans we are talking about…it doesn’t HAVE to make logical sense.
(shrug) Hispanics are quite obviously voting for what they perceive to be the best interests of their race. They are practicing racial politics. Anyone who professes not to see this is working very, very hard to deny reality.
Not that I’ve heard of…I’m thinking it is do close to call, and he doesn’t want to risk a likely cabinet nomination (state?) by either for guessing wrong. He’s pretty tight with the Clintons though. It was reported that he and Bill watched the Super bowl together for example. (no cite, sorry) He’s popular enough in NM that an endorsement probably would have been worth at least 5 if not 10 points.
I think Richardson wants to position himself as a possible VP choice…so I think he will hold out his endorsement until he knows for sure which way the wind blows.
Don’t under rate what he brings to the table. A lot of Hispanics see him as one of them who made it. That has both good and bad points…but I think a lot of Hispanics in the South West at least will pay attention if he is on the ticket. Not that it will likely make all that much difference because afaik most Hispanics are going to vote Democrat anyway, regardless of if it’s Clinton or Obama.
