The Battle For Latino Voters
A weekly newsletter dedicated to Mexican American news, politics, and culture.
In today’s Daily Chela newsletter….
Spotlight: Begging For Votes
Election: Delegates Secured
Podcast: Kamala Launches
Book: ABCs Of Lowriding
Opinion: Latinas In Literature
More News and Links
Opinion: Both Parties Are Begging Latinos For Votes. Do They Deserve Them?
Despite a strong campaign launch last month by Kamala Harris, polls continue to show dwindling support for the Democrat Party among Latino voters, Black voters, and working-class voters.
This was evident last week after Kamala Harris drew only 2,000 attendees and raised $70,000 during her “Latino Men For Kamala” Zoom Call. By comparison, Kamala Harris drew 150,000 attendees and raised $4 million from the “White Dudes For Kamala” Zoom call.
The contrast in support is hard to ignore. However, it is unsurprising. After all, the perception is the Democrat Party only pops up in Latino communities during election years. Worse, it has spent the past half decade largely catering to out-of-touch elitists, mocking people of faith, and peddling obscure issues like “gender-neutral toy aisles” while flouting voter concerns over housing, crime, and the economy.
Inauthentic “woke” terminology like “Latinx” and “BIPOC” hasn’t helped. And while this doesn’t necessarily mean those Latinos are becoming Republicans, it does mean the Republican Party has the potential to land the largest share of the Latino vote since W. Bush this November.
In both 2000 and 2004, W. Bush garnered more than 40 percent of the Latino vote with his unique brand of “compassionate conservatism.” Yet as out-of-touch as the Democrat Party has become, the modern Republican Party is hardly the party of the early 2000s. On the contrary, the Republican Party has gained ground despite themselves, not because they have engaged in meaningful outreach.
So what do voters want?
It isn’t complicated. The average voter wants pragmatism. A stable economy, a safe neighborhood, a K-12 school system that prioritizes useful skills to succeed in real life, a reasonable social safety net, equal treatment under the law for everyone regardless of race (not manufactured "equitable" outcomes), and a government that puts its own country before others (less wars, more domestic production, improved infrastructure, etc.).
At least some of these issues are why Trump has been so successful at courting working class voters. In fact, last month Trump appeared to be all but unbeatable before Biden dropped out. Fast forward to this month, and polls now show a statistical toss-up between Trump and Kamala.
That makes Latinos potential tiebreakers in pivotal swing states like Arizona, Nevada, and Michigan. But it also raises the question: Does a broken Democrat Party justify a vote for Trump?
Many Latinos remain on the fence and rightfully so.
Trump, after all, built much of his presidency on racial and cultural division. He launched his presidency on the lie that former President Obama was born in Kenya. And he ultimately discontinued his presidency on the lie that the presidential election was rigged.
A lie, ironically, exposed by Trump’s own failure to introduce substantive evidence into the court of law, ultimately resulting in more than 50 state court losses, and two Supreme Court losses.
Yet while Trump’s more ardent supporters insist his presidency was a success, the truth is it was rife with policy failures, public relations disasters, and national embarrassments—all that are worth remembering, if only to never repeat them.
He increased the size of the federal government by 2 million employees. He spent a record $4 trillion dollars—prior to the coronavirus. He appointed dozens of lobbyists, despite claiming to “drain the swamp.”
He imposed protectionist policies that resulted in a lumber shortage. He broke up countless families at the border. He pushed for eminent domain along the border, in which the federal government attempted to seize the private property of Americans, so he could attempt to build a medieval wall.
He oversaw a slow federal response to the West Coast fires. He oversaw an abysmal federal response to the hurricane in Puerto Rico. He oversaw a botched and painfully inadequate federal response to the coronavirus, resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths.
He treated Christianity like a cheap backdrop in a strip mall photo booth. He schmoozed with dictators. He operated a private bank account in China, in which he paid $188,000 to the Communist Party of China, while dodging taxes in the United States.
He feuded with allies. He lambasted sports players. He whined about Joy Behar.
Indeed, nothing was below the presidency of Trump. Nothing was too small to blow out of proportion. And no hour was too late to threaten nuclear war on social media with 140 characters.
Yet as nauseating and horrific as Trump’s presidency was, it is also reason to be optimistic.
Despite his repeated attempts to twist the U.S. Constitution to his impulsive whims, the judicial branch reigned him in and did what it was designed to do, which is to provide checks and balances.
If anything, Trump’s rancorous, combative, and directionless presidency is proof of America’s strength and stamina, despite whatever imperfections it may still have. Or, if it isn’t proof of that, it is at least proof that Americans have an uncanny ability to hold their noses through anything.
With this in mind, the idea that any of that is going to change with the re-election of Trump is political fearmongering. That being said, there are still plenty of reasons to reject Trump, all of which I just listed. But there are also plenty of reasons to reject the Democrat Party.
The question this November will come down to whether Latinos have the courage to hold either or both parties accountable.
Brandon Loran Maxwell
Political Opinion Editor
More Informative Things For You…
Election 2024: Kamala Secures Needed Delegates
Vice President Kamala Harris has secured the Democratic nomination for president, according to an announcement by Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison on Friday. The news followed a virtual event with supporters and concludes a delegate voting process that began Thursday and runs through Monday evening.
Harris, now the clear nominee after Joe Biden’s exit from the race, is expected to name her vice presidential running mate early next week. Her choice will likely face Senator J.D. Vance, the running mate of former President Donald Trump, in future debates.
Last week, Trump stirred controversy by questioning Harris' racial background. During an event, Trump claimed he only recently became aware of her Black heritage. Harris, who is of Indian and Jamaican descent, was born to immigrant parents. Her mother is an Indian cancer researcher, and her father is a Jamaican-born economist.
Polymarket, the world’s largest prediction market, currently lists Trump winning in Nov. However, polling from 538 shows Harris with a 1.5-point lead over Trump. As of Friday morning, Harris garnered 45.0 percent of voter support, while Trump trails with 43.5 percent. This slight edge falls within the poll’s margin of error.
Kamala is expected to announce her VP running mate early in the week.
Weekly Podcast: Kamala Goes Nuclear
In last week’s podcast episode, Brandon discussed the latest political news, including Kamala Harris' latest get-out-the-vote campaign called "White Dudes For Kamala." This week, Brandon will discuss Kamala’s other get-out-the-vote campaign called “Latino Men for Kamala,” as well as Kamala’s new VP pick, the Trump campaign, and more. Don’t miss it!
Now Available: The ABC’s Of Lowriding
The ABCs of Lowriding is a new book by R. Cortez that teachers children the alphabet while also teaching them about lowrider cars and history. The book also incudes a special "seek-find" game built into the pages. The new book is currently available at AmericanHomeboy.com.
Opinion: Stop Ignoring Latinas In Literature
Not much is said about Latinas in literature. Perhaps because the opinion of so many is that these escritoras just don’t compare to their male counterparts. But while some may think this, I beg to differ.
Having had this conversation, it’s become obvious to me that Latina writers simply aren’t as well known as Latino writers. Unlike Latino writers, those who are familiar with Latina writers tend to have a prior knowledge of Latin American history or literature.
For those who know their basics, names like Gabriela Mistral and Isabel Allende are usually mentioned. But beyond that, most probably couldn’t name the first Latina author without deeper research.
The Real Story Behind “The Three Caballeros”
When reminiscing old classics from the Disney vault, we usually bring up “Bambi,” “Pinocchio,” “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” or other great animated achievements that the Walt Disney animators brought to life.
However, one movie that seems to have gone under the radar for Disney fans is the 1944 animated/live-action hybrid “The Three Caballeros,” starring Donald Duck and his Latinx co-stars, José Carioca from Brazil, and Panchito Pistoles from Mexico.
Watch now: American Homeboy Movie
American Homeboy explores the complex origins of pachuco and cholo culture which sprouted from American soil more than 100 years ago in response to wartime sentiment, social alienation, and government discrimination only to become a pop culture phenomenon.
More Links From Daily Chela
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