My two cents on why Latino and Asian voters tend to support Hillary

[senseandsensibility]

I'm not setting myself up as an expert on these two groups or how they think. But I have taught for nearly twenty five years in a neighborhood that is comprised of almost one hundred percent Latino and Asian families. I have worked with these parents and students for many years. In addition, most of the staff at my school is made up of these two groups.

That being said, I HAVE noticed that they support Hillary over Obama. This is one time when the comments I hear on the corporate media actually confirm what I am seeing in the real world.

I have asked some of my closest Asian and Latino friends why they are voting for Hillary. They seem surprised by the question. There response is along the lines of "Why not?" They like her. They like Bill. They remember the Clinton years very fondly. I have not heard any of them say a negative word about Obama.

Whey are they so positive about Hillary? I wondered about that for a while. Then I realized that my Latino and Asian friends barely even know who Rush Limpballs is. let alone the vile things he has said about Hillary for years. They don't listen to rightwing radio, don't talk to people who do, and aren't aware of how much opposition there is out there to her by conservatives. They haven't been influenced by the hate speech. They see her differently because of it, I think.

[AX10]

1. It is true that right wing hate radio...

has done alot of damage to this country.
Another OP said that hatred of Hillary is comparable to hatred of the Jews. Because she is hated without explanation, she must have done something to deserve that hate. In both cases, it is completely irrational.

[lligrd]

2. Nice Theory But Not Right

The Hispanic and Asian communities compete for jobs with Black communities. It is a racial thing brought on by economics.

[AX10]

3. Will the left stop with this...

"blacks are the only victims of discrimination" shit, ever?

[lligrd]

4. How In The Hell Did You Get That From What I Said?

I doubt that anybody ever said Blacks were the only victims of discrimination. In fact most groups have faced discrimination in this country at one time or another.

[McCamy Taylor]

36. Why is anyone who does not vote for Obama a racist? Listen to yourself?

Rich people vote Obama. The people who are doing well in this messed up economy and want more of the same. The people who are struggling to make ends meet, that actually need something done to fix this messed up system that rewards the rich and penalizes the poor--they voted for Edwards and now for Hillary. It isn't because they are racists. It is because they are sick and tired of being poor.

Latinos as a group tend to be more politically savvy than any other ethnic group in the US and they vote for their economic interests (rather than based upon emotion or liking the candidate or other bullshit issues), the way that union members do. Latinos also join unions if they get a chance. They tend to be working class with lower education, and the working class in America has been screwed by the elite.

This election is about class. Good old Karl Marx class . And because the powers that be do not want to give up their power and wealth a bunch of people are being divided from the working class and tacked onto the elite based upon their race . Only this time, it isn't Whites being lured by the Republican Party to vote against their economic self interest by promises of school vochures and other neo-segregations techniques. This time it is African-Americans, rich and poor being split from the working class and encouraged to vote with the Democratic corporate class. The DLC candidate is Obama. He is the centrist. There are working class Blacks in NOLA who would have faired much better with Edwards but who will end up with Obama---and they will end up like working class Whites under W. Courted for their vote during election time, tossed a few scraps, but always second in line to the corporate interests when it comes to legislation and favors.

[NOLALady]

15. I have wondered

why the Hispanic and Asian communities do not see the problem as those who are throwing out the crumbs, and not the Blacks who are also trying to survive?

Divided, all will go down.

[lligrd]

19. Exactly, Keeping The Economically Deprived Fighting

for the crumbs has worked masterfully for those at the top. And probably always will. At any rate, Obama has done an excellent job of cutting through some of it.

[yardwork]

29. I doubt that is true for most Asian communities.

Here in the southeast, most Asian-Americans outcompete everybody but one another for entry into the very best colleges, graduate programs, and top-level research and corporate jobs.

It may be true that racism and economic competition influence some folks' thoughts about Obama. However, the OP is reporting that his friends and neighbors don't dislike Obama - they like Hillary Clinton better.

Hispanic cultures tend to be more accepting of strong women than Anglo cultures. Many Latinas/Latinos are Catholic. They aren't freaked out at the thought of a woman running for president. This is a contrast to a lot of Anglos in the U.S., who are extremely uncomfortable with the thought of female leaders. I think that this is one reason for the support of Hillary among Hispanic Americans.

[lligrd]

33. Doesn't Apply Across The Board, Few Things Ever Do

I am stereotyping of course. I do know there is a big problem in CA between Hispanics and Blacks and Asians and Blacks that stem from living in the same communities and competing for the same jobs and economic opportunities.

[kurth]

5. Don't forget how the MSM demonized Asians along with the Clintons

John Huang, the Buddhist temple money, etc. etc. And the persecution of Wen Ho Lee. I suspect there was a lot of sympathy pain for the Clintons during the impeachment fiasco.

[Frances]

6. I think that if Obama were white,

African Americans would be supporting Hillary with an even higher percentage than Hispanics are doing at this time.

It's the economy, stupid.

They did better economically when Clinton was president than before or after.

I heard an Asian woman call into a radio program where most people were supporting Obama, she was for Hillary because she said that Hillary is a known quantity and her friends all liked knowing what they were getting.

At any rate, I just hope ALL Dems will support whoever is our nominee.

I don't like the sound of President Huckabee or President McCain.

[TriMetFan]

12. How true, but if Obama was a white female.....

he would haven't even gotten to the starting line, with how much experience he has.

[NOLALady]

23. If Obama were Hispanic or Asian,

do you think those communities would support HRC in such large numbers?

Everyone did better economically under Clinton. But, what does that have to do with voting for HRC?

[Frances]

25. If Obama were Asian and had a very real chance of

being the nominee, I think Asians would be supporting him, just the way Catholics supported John Kennedy back in 1960 and many Hawaiians are supporting Obama now.

For whatever reason, I think many working class people without some kind of tie to Obama (race, living in Illinois or Hawaii) have been supporting Hillary because they think she will be best for them.

Obama is the kind of candidate that well-educated, high-income Dems have always supported. It's just that young people and African Americans are also supporting Obama in record numbers.

[Frances]

7. self-delete

[cooolandrew]

8. Rush doesnt influence my impression HRC is DLC tat is a big issue.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

9. They're voting for Hillary because of Bill?

:eyes:

[cloud75]

10. you don't have to turn on right wingned radio to listen to the hate. Just watch

MSNBC tweety and co. do an amazing job of degrading the Clintons. Here are a few reasons why we are voting for HIllary.

* We are loyal to the Clinton's. HIllary worked on farm workers issues back when she was in law school.
* Clinton appointed HIspanics to prominent roles during his presidency (Bill Richardson, Henry Cisneros)
* Empowerment Zones were created in the 90's many of those where in hispanic communities.
* Bill made a big mistake but it was a family issue, we never criticize people who have family problems no family is perfect, the Clinton's are like part of our family and we circle the wagon during times of crises.
* HIspanics relate more closely with lower to middle-class anglo issues compared with lower-middle class african-american issues.
* While NAFTA has been a disaster for some parts of the of the country along the Texas/Mexico border it has spurned economic growth.
* HIllary and Bill have visited heavily populated hispanics parts of the country regularly since the 90's.


I have nothing negative to say about Obama excpet when he uses the phrase "yes we can" "si se puede" we take great offense because it is a rally cry for the hispanic community since the 60's made famous by the United Farm Workers Union who have endorsed HIllary.

[NOLALady]

17. Hmmmm.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Personally, I enjoy hearing people use the term "We Shall Overcome".

[cloud75]

24. it's more like pandering or mocking no imitation.

[judaspriestess]

26. Right on cloud75

I have made a comment before that I as a Latina do not appreciate the "si se puede" slogan being used by the Obama campaign. I take great offense to it. I feel he is pandering to the Latino community. ONE slogan being used and I'm supposed to swoon over the guy? I don't think so.

You make excellent points on the Clinton's. Although I am Edwards supporter, I solidly back Clinton as I have always liked them.

[cloudythescribbler]

11. Consider the issues of VARIATION of voting results from place to place & change over time

[mainer]

13. not true for Asians in hawaii

The word I hear from Hawaii is that they're crazy for Obama because they consider him a local boy.

[Frances]

14. I think if I were in Hawaii, I would back

Obama whatever my race because Obama grew up there.

[George_Bonanza]

16. Asians and Latinos are still "outsiders"

They're not as thrilled about change as Whites, or even Blacks, are. You have to be part of the system if you want to overthrow it. Asians and Latinos just want to get their feet in the door.

[fujiyama]

18. I think both communities are fairly conservative in many ways

not politically per se, but very family oriented in a traditional sense. So to them, Hillary vying for a job her husband had earlier is not so out of the ordinary. Many Latinos and Asians also have family owned businesses where the husband and wife may co-own the place.

Hillary brings to most Asians and Latinos a sense of familiarity. Also, as one poster here laid out in a great thread a while back, Latinos have a history of voting for women. To some extent Asians do to. Also, in urban situations, sometimes relations have been tense between African American and Latino/Asian American communities, but I think too much is made of the divisions between the three groups. Maybe racism plays a role among some (hell, the Obama-is-a-Muslim email has made the rounds among some fairly educated people as well) but both Bill and Hillary made huge inroads with both communities- more so than any Democrat in the past.

Now, my guess is Obama can do well with both groups in the general election. Maybe a few conservative sub groups will gravitate toward McCain (some in the Korean and Vietnamese communities and some Cubans), but even then I'd be surprised. McCain has used the word "gook" to describe his captors at the "Hanoi Hilton" where he was tortured. I can't imagine that kind of thing flying over well in Asian-American communities.

[jillan]

20. I think it's because she is more for the working class.

[cottonseed]

21. Washington can be pointed at to refute the numbers.

I think Clinton's machinery has just been around long enough, and was sophisticated enough to get the early jump on them. Obama's coming on with all groups the later this primary goes.

[AJH032]

22. exactly!

I am 100% convinced that liberals who hate Hillary were subconsciously brainwashed during the 1990s by the right's ceaseless attacks against her. Now, anything she does is deemed witchcraft by both sides.

[TheFarseer]

27. Their reason for disliking her

is vastly different from my reason for disliking her. Frankly, I've never been able to figure out the reason for all the hate from that side.

[yardwork]

30. The Clintons were slandered because the won the White House for two terms.

The right-wing doesn't tolerate anyone messing with their power. The Clintons had the White House, and while they were not ultra-liberal by any means, they slowed down the corporatist right-wing amalgamation of power. That's why the right tried to destroy them.

That's why I prefer Hillary to Obama in this primary season. That woman is a fighter. She's taken everything the right-wing machine thrown at her and kept on trucking.

I was born in 1960. In my lifetime the Clintons are the ONLY Democrats to hold the White House for two terms. The other three Democratic presidents were either murdered (JFK) or chased from office in media-manufactured disgrace after one term (LBJ and Carter). I've seen good, decent Democratic candidates slimed over and over again. Al Gore - a fine person who would have been an excellent president - destroyed by the media. John Kerry - a war hero, a good kind decent person who would have been an excellent president - destroyed by the media.

The right-wing corporatists have democracy on the run in the United States. The only ones who have been able to withstand it are the Clintons. Sure, they did it by accommodating, but they're still Democrats.

I'd trade one minute of Bill Clinton's terms as president for the hell we've endured for the past seven years.

[NashVegas]

28. That's An Interesting Theory I Hadn't Considered

Mexicans have had access to Univision, etc., for ages, but what about Asian TV in the US?

[elixir]

31. Thanks!

[senseandsensibility]

32. For what?

:hi:

[Jed Dilligan]

34. However, they vote, I'm glad this election has finally put a spotlight

on the politics of Asian America. The right's "model minority" has been reticent or ignored in American elections up until now.

[still_one]

35. I remember during the Elián Gonzalez incident, many in the Cuban/Spanish

community were not so much in love with Bill Clinton

Maybe I automatically associated Cuban with Mexican American, and that might have been why I might have been wrong


You do not think it has anything to do with amnesty or illegal imigration?