Despite appearances and poll numbers, neither presidential candidate has a lock on the Latino vote. The National Council of La Raza convention in San Diego, which just ended yesterday (7/15/08), showed that both candidates have to overcome a strong measure of doubt among Latinos – Obama because of his race and the bitter primary battle, and McCain because of his backtracking on immigration reform.

Obama appeared first, on Sunday, and McCain the next day. They were both well received but not with the same fervor: Obama got a bigger crowd, strongest applause, and two times more press.

By the time McCain came around on Monday, the press corps was diminished greatly, many activists didn’t show up for lunch –the overflow room that was full on Sunday was virtually empty on Monday- and the excitement level had noticeably dropped.

It’s completely anecdotal evidence, of course, but it shows that the Latino groups and activist crowd that usually attend the NCLR conferences support what the polls are saying. The latest Gallup Poll of Latinos shows a 30 point difference in support between Obama and McCain. Obama is getting close to 60 percent and McCain has about 29 percent. (more…)

This week’s New Yorker cover showing Barack Obama in Muslim garb and his wife, Michelle, dressed as a Black militant has shown that even in a political campaign where race, gender and age barriers have tumbled, there are still some segments of American society that the media must handle with the utmost delicacy. The cover, meant as a parody of right-wing rumors about the Obamas, has instead re-ignited long-standing complaints by Arab Americans about mainstream media depictions of Islam.

Leading Arab American organizations have released statements and sent letters criticizing the New Yorker for falling prey to the same stereotypes that the magazine had aimed to dispel, or at least poke fun at, in regard to the Obamas.

“What this puts on display is the deep disconnect that exists between the “liberal snobs” of NYC and the rest of us,” Dr. James Zogby, President of the Arab American Institute wrote Feet in 2 Worlds in an email.

“They think this is cute. Those of us who get our lives threatened and our careers ruined by the bigots who believe this crap do not think it is cute,” Zogby added.

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Sen. Barack Obama’s speech at today’s National Council of La Raza (NCLR) conference introduced little new in terms of policy or rhetoric, but it served as a reminder that immigration reform could still be used as a wedge issue in the presidential election.

As he did in his speeches to the National Associate of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO) and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Obama made a speech that emphasized the importance of the Latino vote, promised to get an immigration reform bill passed within his first 100 days in office and attacked Sen. John McCain for ultimately withdrawing support for the 2006 immigration reform proposal he had originally sponsored.

La Opinion reported that for the nearly 20,000 people in attendance the reaction to the speech was emotional and overwhelmingly positive; Obama also got a standing ovation from the mainly Latino crowd of activists and advocates at last week’s LULAC conference, where the candidate emphasized his own immigrant background.

But outside the convention hall, Obama’s speech and promises on immigration reform were greeted with jeers. About sixty members of the Minute Men, the self-proclaimed anti-immigration militia that patrols the US – Mexico border to stop illegal immigration, lined up with placards in opposition to NCLR, the nation’s oldest Latino civil rights group – and one of the most powerful.

The San Diego Union Tribune reported that one man carried a sign that showed a cartoon boy urinating on a sign that read “NCLR.” The man carrying the sign claimed that it was not against Latinos but the organization that represented them.

Chuck Malon, another member of the Minute Men, told a La Opinion reporter, “NCLR helps the illegal invasion. Helps get drivers licenses. They’re destroying everything we’ve built in this country.”

The presence of the protesters, though small in number, is a reminder that despite the embrace of the Latino vote and the calls for immigration reform by both candidates, there is a segment of the American public that is as turned off by those campaign promises as those attending the conference were turned on.

It’s often the issues within the issue that can become lightning rods for controversy. Take the issue of drivers’ licenses for undocumented immigrants that Malon raised.

Last November, a highly publicized moment in a Democratic debate in Philadelphia showed Sen. Hillary Clinton unwilling to take a strong stand for or against drivers licenses. Clinton was criticized for not being a straight talker; after expressing initial support for New York’s then-Governor Eliot Spitzer’s proposal to extend driver’s licenses to some undocumented residents.   Clinton’s popularity, especially in Iowa where illegal immigration was a concern, took a dive. Obama, who had also quietly approved Spitzer’s proposal, hedged his answer a bit as well (notably at another Democratic Presidential debate in Las Vegas) but ultimately has maintained support for the measure.

A few other states, including New Mexico and Utah, have extended driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants who can prove their identity and state residency without using immigration documents.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNvdOYl63q0]

In the long run, in a Democratic primary, the issue never took precedence. But it’s often the nuances of highly publicized and polarizing issues that can turn even a bipartisan election year goal into the thorniest of political footballs. If anti-immigration sentiment grows over the course of the election cycle, look for Obama’s statements on supporting that measure to come up again.

Senator John McCain speaks at the NCLR conference later on today.

“Sticky rice” is no longer an option at the polls in this year’s presidential election, but that hasn’t changed Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin’s opposition to transliterating English names into Chinese characters on the November ballot.

A battle has raged for the past year between Asian American activists and Galvin over the extension of a 2005 voting rights agreement that has required Massachusetts to transliterate English names into Chinese characters on election ballots.

At the end of June, elderly Asian Americans marched through the rain to the State Capitol to demand a meeting with Gavin over the issue of bilingual ballots. However, Gavin has repeatedly denied requests to meet with the Asian American community over the issue.

Galvin said that transliteration, the practice of using Chinese characters to approximate the sound of a candidate’s name in Mandarin or Cantonese, is imprecise and would confuse voters. Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, for example, would literally translate to “sticky rice.” Democratic presidential candidate, Barack Obama, could translate as either “Oh Intellectual Overcome Profound Oh Gemstone” or “Europe Pulling a Horse.” Former Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Hillary Clinton, could translate as either “Upset Stomach” or “Like Prosperity.”

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In this year’s historic elections Latinos are poised to play a historic role. If Latinos vote in the precedent-setting numbers that marked their participation in the presidential primaries, they could be responsible for putting a candidate in office.

When Sen. Hillary Clinton exited the race in June, the support that she had among this voting block appeared up for grabs. Both campaigns released Spanish language ads and Sen. John McCain even traveled to Mexico and Colombia to appeal to Hispanic voters. Demographic profiles showed that Latinos could help decide who would win key battleground states like New Mexico, Colorado, Florida and Nevada.

But despite the hype, perhaps Latino votes aren’t really that swing-able? Ever since Clinton’s departure, polls have shown Latinos steadily moving to support Obama.  A recent Gallup Poll appears to confirm this trend, showing Latinos backing Obama 59% to 29% over McCain. The poll concludes that Latino support enjoyed by Clinton appears to have shifted to Obama.

The shift in poll numbers raise the question: Is this group really as elastic as the political narrative has suggested?

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Spanish-language media giant Univisión announced last week that its local evening newscasts in Los Angeles and New York were the first- and second most-watched local broadcasts nationwide among all viewers in any language in the coveted 18-to-49 age bracket (otherwise known as the media’s Holy Grail).

The announcement is especially striking given the continued shrinking viewership of traditional English-language nightly newscasts produced by local affiliates of ABC, CBS, and NBC.

On any given night, KMEX, the Los Angeles Univision affiliate, dwarfs its English- language competitors with evening newscasts that draw 331,000 viewers. The closest English-language newscast in the same area lags KMEX by more than 70,000 viewers.

In recent years, Spanish-language stations (including Telemundo, owned by NBC-Universal) have consistently had the most viewers in cities with large immigrant populations such as Los Angeles and New York.
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Senator and Republican presidential candidate John McCain is betting he can win the election using what he believes is his strongest suit: national security and foreign policy. It’s probably his best bet, but a risky one. (more…)

The battle for the Latino vote has returned to American soil after Sen. John McCain’s three day trip to Colombia and Mexico.

The campaigns engaged in their own Independence Day back and forth on who would best represent Latinos. Nothing that would resemble fireworks, but remarkable because the first attack ad the McCain campaign has launched was aimed at a Hispanic audience. (more…)

John McCain will meet with President Felipe Calderon of Mexico today and hot button issues like immigration and trade will top the agenda.

McCain has dismissed suggestions that his three-day trip to Colombia and Mexico are a way to woo Latinos.

However, his campaign has aggressively sought these voters, releasing ads on both radio and television that talk of support for free trade agreements and job creation in Mexico and the United States.

But the political notes that play well in Mexico City may ring sour in Michigan, and that raises the political question of the day.

Will reaching out to minority voting groups be enough to tip the scales in favor of one candidate over another, especially in battleground states? If the answer is yes, it could signal a seismic shift in electoral politics.

Over the course of the primaries much attention was given to white, working class voters. These are the voters who bore the brunt of job losses from NAFTA, who fear an influx of immigrants because they could lower wages, and who strayed from the Democratic Party as it embraced social service programs and policies targeted towards minorities that left many Whites feeling that the party had forgotten their concerns. Re-labeled Reagan Democrats, they were the key to victory for Republicans and the one Democrat, Bill Clinton, who successful courted them.

When Sen. Barack Obama couldn’t win this group during the Democratic primaries, many analysts questioned his ability to forge a winning coalition in November. But Obama had a new demographic formula: young voters, African Americans voting in record numbers and affluent, liberal Whites.

As the first African American to be a presumptive party nominee, Obama faces greater scrutiny about his ability to win over Whites, and is spending time and resources in cultivating favor with this group. McCain, on the other hand, doesn’t have to worry about that kind of political symbolism.

It frees him to conduct one of the most novel exercises in this already unique campaign cycle – campaigning for American votes outside of America. It’s a recognition that despite resistance in some parts of the American electorate, the dam has burst on globalization and the effects of this flood has blurred borders, mixed identities and is making the U.S. more politically accountable to her immediate neighbors than ever before.

Aligning with Latinos on trade and immigration, McCain may be the first candidate, if he’s successful, to prioritize the concerns of a minority group over the wishes and priorities of a large part of the country’s majority demographic group. His move reflects the shift occurring in the U.S. population, but campaigning in this way also invests power in Latino voters and provides them the platform to push their issue agenda forward, and by extension the agendas of the countries many in this group are tied to.

As the much publicized NALEO report showed, Latinos could be the swing block in the swing states. They have already provided McCain with one victory – in Florida. Winning the Sunshine state with the Latino vote allowed him to clinch the Republican nomination. Now will it allow him to clinch the presidency?