HISPANICS FOR OBAMA

March 1, 2008
Why Latinos in Texas will support Obama
By ROLAND GARCIACopyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

The March 4 primaries in Texas and Ohio are looming large for the Democratic presidential candidates Senator Barack Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton. Due to Obama's large delegate lead and one million popular vote lead, the commentators believe, and even former President Bill Clinton concedes, that Hillary Clinton must win Texas and Ohio by large margins to remain a viable candidate.

With Texas's population being 36% Hispanic, with nearly 8.4 million Hispanics and 3.6 million eligible Hispanic voters, comprising almost 25% of all eligible voters In Texas, according to the Pew Hispanic Center, the Latino vote for once will play a major role in the outcome of the Texas primary.

The Clinton campaign believes, or hopes, that the Latino vote in Texas will come through for Hillary Clintontheir candidate, as it did in California and other states. Many Latino elected officials and party bosses lined up early behind Clinton, and boasted of Clinton's inevitability.
Not so fast. A closer look at the dynamics of the Latino vote, and Recent trends show that Obama is poised to cut into Clinton's margin of the Latino vote, and thus prevent a major win for Clinton.

Why was there a perception that Clinton had a lock on the Latino vote? For one, the Clinton name is well-known in the Latino community. The Clintons have had a long history with Latino voters in Texas, starting in the 1972 presidential election when they helped organize get-out-to-vote efforts for George McGovern. Older Latinos fondly remember those days, and recallmember that President Clinton awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to farmworker advocate Cesar Chavez, posthumously.

But younger and well-educated Latinos with little or no memory of the 1972 election, and unconnected to the party bosses and political establishment, are taking a fresh look at the candidates. An example — my parents, Roland and Annie Garcia, in Corpus Christi, Texas, are diehard Clinton supporters. On the other hand, my brother Gilbert Garcia is an active Obama team leader and my daughter Kristin Garcia is a first-time voter and an Obama precinct captain.
There is another dynamic at play: As voters have more time to get to know Obama, his positions, his record and his persona, the more they are drawn to his candidacy. Between the South Carolina primary on Jan. 26th and the Super Tuesday primaries on Feb. 5 there was precious little time for Obama to get out his message to the Latino voters. But sincewith his string of 11 straight state victories, Obama now has since had more time to tell his story and make his case.

Similar to the Clintons, Texas voters are learning that Obama also has worked tirelessly for the Hispanic community for more than twenty 20 years — beginning as a community organizer fighting for neighborhoods on Chicago's South Side. They can appreciate his sacrifices coming out of Harvard Law School, when he passed up opportunities to work in prestigious judicial clerkships and major law firms, instead practicing civil rights law on behalf of the poor.

Latinos also can relate to his work as an Illinois state senator, where he championed legislation to expand health-care coverage to uninsured children and parents. They also applaud Obama's belief that all students, regardless of national origin, deserve an equal opportunity to a high quality public education. His support for comprehensive immigration reform, and legislation to keep immigrant families together, especially resonates with Latinos.

Latino Democrats, like all Democrats, want a winner for the general election. They know our slowing economy, the growing deficits, the assault on our civil rights, and our diminished standing around the world, cry out for change from the status quo. Like most everybody else, Latinos are tired of the Washington gridlock and the partisan bickering. They want something different.

So who is best positioned to win the general election? If you go by public opinion, the New York Times/CBS poll found that nearly 60 percent of Democrats believe Obama has the best chance of beating John McCain, compared to 30 percent for Clinton.
If you go by endorsements, every major newspaper in Texas endorsed Obama, and recently former Gov. Mark White endorsed Obama. Political guru George Strong recently stated, "I think Senator Obama can win the election, and I think it is time to give the next generation of Americans their turn at leading our country."

Obama is drawing record-breaking crowds across Texas. The euphoria for Obama is bringing massive numbers of new voters and independents into the electoral process, something we have not seen for a long time.

The trends are ominous for Clinton. Consider that in November Clinton enjoyed a 51 percent to 17 percent polling advantage over Obama in Texas according to the IRV poll. Just this week, the Public Policy Poll shows them dead even at 48 percent each. In fact, Obama actually won the Latino vote in Iowa, Virginia, Illinois, and Connecticut.

The more time voters have to get to know Obama, his track record, and his vision for bringing people together to solve problems, the more they gravitate to his candidacy.
Latinos are no exception.