Election Season Breeds Latino Voter Cynicism
Forgive me for being cynical, but we’re getting to the point in the political season when candidates become suddenly aware of the Latino community and spend money and time paying attention (again) to Latino voters.
There’s a story told about the Mexican revolution, where opposing armies would march through towns within days of each other. The loyalty of the locals was measured by a simple question, ¿viva quien? The answer determined the future of the townspeople. So the smartest answer to the ¿viva quien? question was a simple “di tu primero.”
Campaign season in the Latino community feels much like that. It isn’t until they need Latino votes do candidates bother to address the Latino community. The worst part about it is that we know it. The cynicism comes from the fact that the politicians know that we know, and they do it anyway.
An Obama campaign “insider” (whatever that means) was recently quoted in a UPI.com story:
“Hispanics could very well decide this election.”
The “insider” was talking, of course, about the 2012 presidential election and the concentration of Latino voters in swing sates. Whoever wins the presidential vote must rely heavily on Latino voters to do so. This has been proven statistically time and again. So it’s no surprise that the candidates from both parties have been stumbling over themselves in their effort to secure the Latino vote. They’ve done it before, may times. Any time there’s a presidential election the candidates and the political parties bring flowers and promises to the Latino community. And once the election is past their attention goes someplace else.
The Democrats are so used to the formula that they can’t help themselves; and Latino Democrats don’t help by letting it happen and fawning over the candidates when they come calling. The Republicans are touting the victories of their Latino poster-candidates: Brian Sandoval in Nevada, Susana Martinez in New Mexico and Marco Rubio in Florida. It sounds good for them, only it wasn’t Latinos that elected the Latino Republican candidates. In all three cases the majority of Latino voters voted for the Democratic opponent (in Rubio’s case the non-cuban Latino voters went against the Latino candidate). What gives the Republicans hope is that they see these poster-victories as a first step in widening their support in the Latino community.
So the political armies are at it again, marching through town, asking for votes. We’ve seen it before.
Cynical or not, there’s little reason to believe that the cycle won’t repeat itself. Republican’s want the Latino vote, but aside from the poster-three the party is about as lily white as a political party can be. And the Democrats, as used to the Latino vote as they are, don’t look very different at the top levels of their leadership.
What do you expect when you come calling every four years and your entourage looks nothing like the people you’re colling on? Excitement?
You’re going to get cynicism. Even if your candidates drape themselves in Latino elected officials when they come calling.
The one thing that Republicans seem to be doing better than Democrats is recruiting and supporting Latino candidates. At least that’s what the Sandoval, Martinez, Rubio victories seem to indicate. Politically speaking, it’s much better to support a candidate than it is to make promises.
But so far neither party has gotten high marks in that regard. That’s what breeds the cynicism. And soon the old Mexican revolution story will be turned on it’s head. It’ll be the Latino voter who asks the ¿via quien? question. And the candidates should have a better response than “di tu primero.”
Follow victor Landa on Twitter: @vlanda
[Photo by Bygone]
