Today's LA Times summarizes a few polls showing how nationally, and in the state of California, a healthy majority of registered Latino voters prefer Obama to McCain.
A new Gallup Poll summary of surveys taken in May shows Obama winning 62% of Latino registered voters nationwide, compared with just 29% for McCain. Others have found a wide gap as well. The pro-Democratic group Democracy Corps compiled surveys from March through May that showed Obama with a 19-point lead among Latinos. And a Times poll published last month showed Obama leading McCain among California Latinos by 14 points.
Previously it was felt that McCain had a possible wedge into Latino Democratic votes due to McCain's past work on immigration reform. While not the only issue, immigration is undeniably of huge concern to Latinos (and Asian Pacific Americans). The reasons range from family reunification to overseas remittances, and include maintaining ties and easy passage to and from the land of origin.
McCain's home state of Arizona is a border state with Mexico and therefore availability of green cards, I-9 citizenship scrutiny in the hiring process, tax benefits paid into the system by undocumenteds as well as resources they may disproportionately consume, and the difficulties faced by children who are citizens by virtue of birth on U.S. soil versus parents who may not be, are all pressing, immediate, and concrete issues. (Not by all means a comprehensive list.) However, lately McCain has tacked right to appease conservative hard-liners in the Republican party. (Apparently he is TOO SOFT on immigration reform for these folks, who have disapprovingly tallied up all his senate votes on the issue.) And people have noticed.
From the LA Times article cited above:
McCain must weigh two competing needs: attracting Latinos in the Southwest and Florida turned off by the GOP's hard-line opposition to his legislation and mobilizing conservative whites who could prove crucial in Ohio and other battlegrounds.
Obama's immigration policies stress family reunification (even at the expense of possibly alienating the strongly anti-Castro Cuban American community) and benefits such as citizenship and/or education funding plus in-state tuition extended to those lacking in documentation in exchange for a short period of enlistment in the armed services.
But in addition, Obama's shifting his approach to encompass a more personable, accessible connection to Latino voters with his credibly self-voiced Spanish-language ads. And he's emphasizing his "son of an immigrant" roots, and enlisting the efforts of Latino leaders and artists who vouch for him. (See the "Podemos con Obama" video and accompanying ad Obama did for Puerto Rico.) Smart. Reasonably authentic. And a good way to build on his lead at the moment with Latino voters.
Given how the McCain campaign has decided to steal the look of Obama's blog, and parrot Obama's "Change We Can Believe In" slogan with "A Leader We Can Believe In," what's next for McCain? Look for him to start doing The Macarena--about 13 years too late!--as an attempt to claim cultural solidarity with his Latino brothers and sisters.
Cynematic plans to snark McCain out of office because, well, when his policies aren't downright scary, they're laughably inept. She blogs at P i l l o w b o o k.
That is the best news I've heard in a while--thanks for linking to the story.
Posted by: desmoinesdem | June 07, 2008 at 01:51 AM