LatinaLista — In the old voting days, before the 2008 presidential election, Latino voters were hardly ever blamed for the defeat of a party — but that’s the old days.
We know that thanks in large part to Latino voters there is now an Obama Administration, and if a new poll is to be believed, there may be the demise of Democratic rule in Massachusetts also thanks to Latino voters.
According to an InsiderAdvantage poll, 77% of Latinos are projected to vote for the Republican contender. That is the highest percentage of all the groups polled.
Why?
Are Latinos that disenchanted with Democrats that they would vote against them?
Are Latinos that scared of change in healthcare that they want to see it defeated and know a vote for Brown would be a sure way to help defeat healthcare reform in Washington?
Democrat Martha Coakley, left, and Republican Scott Brown are in a tight race for Senate in Massachusetts. (AP/Reuters Photos)
No. The simple truth is that the pollsters got it wrong.
It doesn’t make sense that in a state where Latino voters cut their teeth on politics by supporting Kennedy all these years that they would turn their back on his legacy.
While Latino voters are notorious for not being loyal to a party, Latinos are loyal to individuals. The phrase “we got your back” is not taken lightly in Latino communities. Until he died, Kennedy was seen as having the backs of Latinos with his attempts to reform immigration, support of the DREAM ACT and address poverty, illiteracy and immigrant needs.
Those are things that stay long in the psyche of Latino voters, especially new Latino voters, who are learning the power of their votes.
Besides, healthcare reform is the one issue that the majority of Latinos want. To knowingly vote someone in whose express first mission in DC is to derail something that can help thousands of Latino families just doesn’t make sense.
Couple that with the fact that they would be voting for someone who would help to put roadblocks up to getting immigration policy reformed is another one of those things that doesn’t make sense as to why 77% of Massachusetts’ Latinos would vote for Brown.
From all reports, Coakley has run a horrible campaign. I can only surmise for that to mean she didn’t outreach to the people. In the Latino community, that is still an important part of the process in getting the Latino vote.
If Brown wins, it won’t be because Latinos voted for him enmasse, but it may be because they didn’t vote at all.
Comment(19)
ReyFeo
Check the stats, they voted for him…my 2 cents why below.
– Latinos are not for Gay Marriage (Catholics especially and the Christian right which is growing in the Latino community aka ala los Hermanos)
– Latinos don’t like high taxation (not sure why Dems would think we do?)
– Latinos hate being classed into one party or the other, Mass proves it.
– Latinos now more than ever are out of WORK…not even under George Bush was it this bad in the work environment
– Latinos have a fighting spirit and this cowering attitude has hit home—see one above (AND, when the POTUS, prefers to whirl around the world being apologetic, we draw the line)
– Latinos tolerate (Water boarding) torture if it means protecting the Homeland from future attacks (didn’t help terrorist were granted lawyers and trial in NY).
– Latinos (I mean the real Citizens of this US, which were not the one that supported Kennedy) want closed borders. Immigration reform does not equate to open bordfers…Cali and some eltes in Illinois who don’t have a clue about living on the border are the only ones who see it differently…been to Phoenix lately?)
– Latinos don’t want healthcare reform that bankrupts the country.
Latinos don’t want healthcare that is an entitlement (Dems blew it when they cut out tort reform, and didn’t allow competition by allowing insurance companies to compete across states, very disingenuous).
– Latinos hate being lied to…what happened to TRANSPERANCY—Latinos hate being kept behind closed doors like second class citizens.
Lastly, you seem surprise that La Raza would turn their backs on all the free entitlements (healthcare), why? This was the wrong bill, the right candidate against the wrong establishment (Dems). Go Brown!!!
irma
I lived in Massachusetts for 10 years.
Brown’s win didnt surprise me at all.
Massachusetts is a weird state. Until now, their federal representation was liberal and principally Democrats. But, at the state
government level, things were more evenly balanced. Indeed, there is nothing really liberal about Massachusetts at all.
I saw little mixing of the races at the social level. I guess the best way you could describe Massachusetts liberals is that that
they want “others” to be generous.
So, they don’t mind if their state benefits
from federal monies ( ie. cleaning up the
Boston harbor) but do greatly mind if
they have to part with part of their pocketbook to help someone else.
It was just a matter of time, for the rest of the country to find out that Massachusetts – or Red Sox Nation,
is replete with conservative Republicans.
Henriqe
The problem with you, Marisa, is that you are a part of the elitist advocacy groups that have no real idea what most Latinos want, you just imagine you do. I do know one thing, you don’t speak for me!! Keep believing as you do. Tragically, when your house of straw collapses around you, you won’t have a clue as to what is happening.
Angel
I find it odd that Marisa doesn’t mention how the election of Brown affects CIR. Well, then, I’ll say it. Brown ran on a platform that was anti-amnesty, making Massachusetts one of the largest sampling of the will of the people yet. At the very least, it shows that CIR isn’t very important to 52 percent of the citizens of Massachusetts that voted in the election. In a liberal state like Massachusetts, that’s saying a lot. With the economy in the tank, it would prove wise for Democrats that this issue be ignored for now. Considering the bleak prospects for the Democrats in the next congressional elections, it may be a long time before this issue is addressed. If the economy remains in the tank, or gets even worse, there’s no chance that the illegal immigrants now in the country will survive until a favorable political environment presents itself.
gunther
You can’t say the pollsters got it wrong just because it conflicts with your point of view. You need data. Facts. Results.
Tara
Latinos are culturally and politically conservative. Newly arrived immigrants are not likely to become politically engaged, nor do their voting record show numbers showing up at the polls in numbers even approximating their total share of the population. The claims of the power of a latino voting bloc is considerably premature. Hopefully the Dems will finally get a clue and stop pandering to them, and design policies that are good for the country as a whole.
Karen
People are mad that he hasn’t done anything about immigration. Except for his brothers. They get to stay. Mexican labor provides billions for this economy just in agricultural work alone. But too bad.
He wouldn’t be in office without the Latino vote. The majority of whites did not vote for him.
I don’t feel motivated to support him at all. He’s arrogant and he thinks he can sell anybody on anything.
Marisa Treviño
Henrique, there are many who would argue with you that I am not part of any “elitist advocacy group.” I don’t imagine what I know. I talk to people and I listen. I never say that I speak for anyone other than myself. The house of straw you refer to seems to describe your situation more than mine since you seem to be out of touch with everything but your own feelings.
cookie
Karen, what are you talking about? Since when are Haitians Obama’s brothers? His father was from Kenya and his mother was white.
The Haitians are only being granted temporary reprieve from deportation due to the disaster in that country. If this same thing would have happened in Argentina, he would have doen the same for them. Does the race card pulling ever end?
It is very arrogant for any Latino to think that they put Obama in office. It was more like the Black vote and then the combination of all other ethnic votes that elected him.
Illegal labor is destroying this country not benefiting it. Your whole post reeks of arrogance.
gerry vazquez
Marisa, The sample was 32. So while it’s true that 25 of the 32 Latinos preferred Brown, it says nothing about the Latino electorate in MA.
Coakley easily won in all of the cities w/Latino concentrations (Boston, Lawrence, Springfield and Worcester.) It’s also true that the turn out for young (25%) and minority voters (32%)was small.
But did they stay home because they’re teabaggers as some of the commentary here suggests? Of course not.
A majority of the nonvoters want more–not less–govt action on health care, jobs and reigning in Wall Street.
Oh, and a large chunk of Brown’s voters came from Dems and Indies who also believe that the Dems are not aggressive enough in going after GOP/conservo sacred cows.
irma
Angel,
Massachusetts is NOT a liberal state.
The police are pro-WHITE, ask any Latino/black person how they are treated in Boston.
Boston, is probably the most racist city
I have ever lived in and that is saying a lot because I am from Dallas.
The fact that Brown is anti-immigration
and won in Massachusetts supports what I am saying.
Evelyn
Tara :
Newly arrived immigrants are not likely to become politically engaged, nor do their voting record show numbers showing up at the polls in numbers even approximating their total share of the population.
~~
I am wondering how you know this because, ” immigrants voting records” do not exist.
Immigrants are not allowed to vote so no voting records are kept on them.
Only citizens can vote.
Texan123
Obama lies. It has been proven, time and time again. The teabag voters want someone who will represent citizen taxpayers and voters over the needs of illegal workers who steal jobs and social security numbers.
As long as unemployment is high, do not expect too much sympathy for illegal immigrants or their right to jobs.
Karen
Re: “It is very arrogant for any Latino to think that they put Obama in office. It was more like the Black vote and then the combination of all other ethnic votes that elected him.”
Look at the state by state results Cookie. The majority of white people did not vote for Obama. He lost the white vote in a majority of states. Yet he won the election anyway. Blacks alone were not a big enough vote to make up the difference. Their votes are mostly concentrated in the deep South.
Latino votes are growing all over, and because of the Latino vote Democrats were able to win states they could never win in the past.
The media like to make it seem as though Latinos are only a significant vote in places Like Florida and New Mexico. But Latinos tipped the vote in North Carolina, Virginia, Indiana, New Jersey, Colorado, Nevada, and more. Not to mention California. Latinos are also growing in swing states such as PA, MI, OH.
Obama cannot win without the majority of the Latino vote. But he won without the majority of the white vote. And as I said, blacks alone are not a big enough group to push the Democrats over. Sorry, Cookie.
That isn’t arrogant. That’s just a fact.
And right now, I don’t feel compelled to vote for him at all.
http://www.slate.com/id/2204251/
http://www.slate.com/id/2204464/
Angel
Evelyn….Immigrants are not allowed to vote so no voting records are kept on them.
Actually Evelyn, newly naturalized citizens are known as recent immigrants, so they can be said to vote if they can shed the apathy that envelops birthright citizens.
cookie
Baloney, Karen! There are many white Democrats in this country. The Latino vote is nothing in this country when there are 260 million non-latinos in this country vs 40 million Latinos and just how many of them can or do vote?
The arrogance of Latinos is really mind blowing. So because Obama has been unable to produce a CIR/amnesty for your precious LATINO illegals in less than a year you Latinos are going to throw him under the bus now? Do you know how much he had to deal with on his plate when he took office and still does? Making your precious illegals legal is not nor should be a priorty with him nor any other president. Securing our borders and implementing e-verify should be the only consideraton in regards to some so-called CIR. Right now we have healthcare reform, jobs and the economy to deal with. You know, things that affect ALL of us.
cookie
Actually, presidents have little power. The corruption is in congress and that is where we need to clean house.
Evelyn
Angel :
Evelyn….Immigrants are not allowed to vote so no voting records are kept on them.
Actually Evelyn, newly naturalized citizens are known as recent immigrants, so they can be said to vote if they can shed the apathy that envelops birthright citizens.
~~
I looked for a clue or evidence that new citizens were aka recent immigrants, and could find non.
Apathy, you did say apathy?
LOS ANGELES — Hundreds of thousands of Hispanics who responded to a massive campaign to seek citizenship and vote in 2008 have created a backlog of applications that the government has indicated it can’t process before the election, undercutting the voting power of Latinos.
Univision, the largest Spanish-language network in the U.S., launched the campaign last year along with Spanish-language newspapers and Latino grass-roots groups. With the slogan,
“Ya Es Hora! Ciudadania!” (It’s About Time! Citizenship!), the campaign was integrated into local newscasts and aired in public-service announcements throughout the day in cities across the country.
Nearly 1.2 million green-card holders, the vast majority Latino, applied to become naturalized citizens in 2007, surpassing the campaign’s target of one million.
http://www.naleo.org/pr011808.html
Conservative propagandists are moving on to the next frontier: proof of citizenship to register and vote as a means of restricting access to the ballot. They have to work hard to overcome the ludicrous notion that undocumented immigrants are intentionally risking criminal felony charges and deportation to do something nearly half of the rest of the adult citizen population in the U.S. can’t be bothered to do – register and vote.
Angel
Cookie: Actually, presidents have little power.
In truth they have a lot of power, the power to do much harm to the country through incompetency, just like BO is doing today.
Evelyn, applying to become a citizen is not the same thing as voting. Anyway, those applicants are legal residents who have been stampeded into taking action by vile advocates for illegal aliens through fear mongering. It has nothing to do with a desire to vote. They are not likely to sympathize with illegal aliens who have brought undue negative attention to Latino immigrants and incurred the anger of the rest of this country.
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