Wednesday, August 07, 2002
The Right Way to Seek the Hispanic Vote
National Review Online carried a story today, "Tongue Tied: The GOP does outreach wrong". The author, Raul Damas, is a firm believer in "active engagement of Latino voters. Oftentimes this includes Spanish-language communications and fine-tuned messages." He adds "Trying to get Latino votes by only using English is like running a race with only one leg."
Interestingly enough, today's New York Daily News carries a story on N.Y. Governor George Pataki's pursuit of the Hispanic vote, "Latinos on Pataki's side". Pataki followed the Damas program to the letter -- even to the point of demanding the U.S. Navy cease training in Puerto Rico during wartime.
At first glance, the pandering worked. Pataki now enjoys a 75% approval rating among Hispanics. Only one problem: "Pataki fares worst among Hispanics whose main language is English, a potential danger as that group traditionally is most likely to vote."
Now why would English speaking Hispanics reject such a Hispanic-focused campaign? Perhaps because they find it insulting.
A speech to a Hispanic group given in either Spanish or English explaining Republican principles is outreach. A speech to a Hispanic group given in either Spanish or English devoted to the evils of official English is pandering, and ineffective pandering at that. It is the equivalent of Ross Perot's infamous address to the NAACP in which he addressed "you people" and talked of his family's kindness to tramps and hobos.
There are black and Hispanic people who see themselves as Americans first and loath being talked down to by some politician. They have been part of this country longer than my family has resided here. They would be natural Republicans -- if they were granted the dignity of being addressed like other Americans. For further details, consult "Assimilation, Not Amnesty: Time to Treat Hispanics Like Americans".
|posted by Jim on 10:57 PM|
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