WASHINGTON, D.C.—Minority groups are playing crucial roles in the highly contested 2008 election on the Democratic Party side.
African Americans propelled Barack Obama to victory in South Carolina and other states where African Americans constitute a large portion of the Democratic Party, while Hillary Clinton won Nevada, New Mexico, and California with a majority of the Hispanic vote.
Texas, with its large Hispanic population, became the new battleground. Not just Democrats, but Republicans too, George W. Bush and John McCain, for example, have also done well with Hispanics.
The impact the African-American and Latino voting blocks are having on the 2008 election was the topic of discussion at the Center for American Progress Action Fund in Washington, D.C. on February 26—taking place a couple weeks after the Wisconsin primary but before Texas voted. The speakers described the pitfalls of relying too much on the so-called "Identity" politics, where people vote for the candidate that caters to their racial or ethnic interests.
Some speakers dwelled on the importance of local history in shaping the vote of minorities. The in-fighting in Texas politics may not be well-known to the rest of the country, but can explain a lot of the dynamics of the Clinton-Obama contest.
Ethnic Splits Within the Latino Community
The panelists discussed how the Obama and Clinton campaigns are reaching out to the large Hispanic population in Texas. Hispanics in Texas constitute about 30 percent of the population, and is quite different from California's Latino population. The Texas Hispanic population is more native born, while California's Latino population is much more composed of immigrants, said Roberto Suro, professor from Southern University of California.
Texas Hispanics are generally very conservative, voting for Bush in past elections, and even conservative on the immigration issue, although they "feel the sting of the rhetoric of the immigration debate," said Ms. Gebe Martinez columnist for The Politico.
Martinez said the multi-generational Texas Hispanics like to be called Mexican-Americans. A survey was mentioned by Dr. Suro, which indicated that California Latinos identify themselves often as White Hispanic, while the Texas Latinos identify themselves more as "Mexican-Americans."
Another instance of diversity within the Latino community is generational, with older Hispanics feeling an allegiance towards the Clintons, and the younger Hispanics "rally around Obama and his message of change," said Martinez.
To understand the strong allegiance to the Clintons, one needs to know some history of the civil rights struggle in Texas by the Latino community. More than any place else, the Texas civil rights battles by Latinos mirrored the civil rights struggle of African Americans in the nation's Southeast, according to Dr. Suro.
Texas Latinos fought against "segregation of schools, public facilities, and lynchings," said Dr. Suro, and their struggle provided a strong Latino identity in Texas as Mexican-Americans. They also remember their competition with the African American community for "the seat at the table," said Martinez.
In Anglo-controlled towns, there would only be one seat at the table for the minority and an African-American tended to get it, and so Hispanics learned to work with, and rely upon, the Anglo, said Martinez. The older Hispanics "know" the Clintons, who have been around for some time now and are regarded as "synonymous with the Democratic Party," she said.
Hence, it was natural for the older Latino community to be loyal to the Clintons, as that is how the politics was played out in past contests. This history of competition with the Black minority is not forgotten by elder Hispanic political leaders.
Obama Campaign in Texas Not Deterred
Early in the presidential race, the Clinton campaign sought to block Governor Bill Richardson, of Hispanic descent, from taking the Texas Hispanic vote. Martinez said that Mrs. Clinton got nearly all the early endorsements.
The challenge for the Obama campaign was to come in very late into Texas with the Hispanic vote seemingly sewed up for Clinton. The old-line political structure in the Hispanic community would have to be pierced if Senator Obama was to make any headway.
When the Obama and his professional team finally came to Texas for the March 4 primary, they selected the Guadalupe Plaza on San Antonio's West Side. At first sight, this would seem an unlikely place to stage an Obama rally. It is a very old Hispanic parish that holds only 3,000 people. Senator Obama's rallies can easily draw 20,000 people.
Martinez wondered why would they choose such a location. The reason is that this parish best symbolizes the Latino community, and San Antonia was probably Clinton's strongest city.
"We wanted to send a message to Texas and the United States that nobody owns the Hispanic vote," said Martinez, quoting Texas state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, an Obama supporter who represents the area.
There were 2,500 persons unable to get inside the parish, whom Sen. Obama spoke to before entering, according to the student newspaper, The Paisano.
The Clinton people saw the threat and, immediately after the Obama rally, went door to-door in the vicinity.
The desire to go after the Hispanic vote despite the appearance of getting little back in return for the effort was again illustrated by Martinez with the visit Senator John Kerry paid to Del Rio, campaigning for Barack Obama. Del Rio is a remote Hispanic town near the border, which has gone for Bush in past elections and would heavily favor Clinton in a Democratic primary.
He also visited towns in the area of Galveston and Brownsville. There are few delegates to be won in this area, and so it would seem to be not an efficient use of resources to be campaigning there. Yet, the Obama campaign felt this was worthwhile or they wouldn't have sent the 2004 Democratic presidential candidate there.
Martinez said that Senator Obama received just 29 percent of the Hispanic vote in California on Feb. 5, compared to Clinton's 69 percent. She said Obama needs to prove that he can do better with the Hispanic community than he did in California, even though She said they know that they are not going to win the majority of the Hispanic vote in Texas. This goal explains why the Obama campaign is going all out, sending Sen. Kerry to remote areas, and campaigning heavily where there are few votes and delegates.
Identity Politics
The political pundits, campaign advisers, and survey analysts get their insights from the exit polls when voters tell their preferences to interviewers just after they voted. These are then tabulated and broken down by age, gender, race and ethnicity, and income and education.
So, one category might be a person who is female, African American, under 50, earning more than $50,000. The media has been reporting on the voting changes within such groupings, inferring either to the inroads a candidate is making with a particular demographic group or declines in his or her support.
But how accurate is it to refer to the "Latino vote" or the "Black vote"? Are the African American and Latino communities in a particular state monolithic and unified? Is it true that Hispanic voters are disinclined to support an African American candidate?
If you just look at the populations on the ground and stop inquiring after ascertaining whether they are Latino or African American, you will miss the dynamic changes that are occurring in 2008 election, according to Princeton University Professor Eddie Glaude. The "Identity" politics, where one is supposed to know how a minority will vote based solely on his or her race or ethnicity, was rejected by Dr. Glaude. Though he is African American, he doesn't presume to speak for his race's preferences, he says.
"This is the first time we have seen an African American candidate for president that is outside the civil rights movements," said Dr. Glaude, referring to Barack Obama.
When Jessie Jackson ran in 1984, the African American community knew he was not going to win. Instead, the purpose was to "galvanize the electorate," said Dr. Glaude. This time, Senator Obama is "a mainstream candidate." Dr. Glaude said that "…a new generation of African-American political voices is emerging" that is less tethered to racial/ethnic politics.
The three speakers agreed that this 2008 presidential election cycle offers a window into the future when the identity racial/ethnic politics will subside and be replaced with a focus on the issues.
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