Campaigns & Elections' Politics - February 2008 - (Page 39) A Winning Strategy How can candidates secure their share of the Hispanic vote in 2008 and beyond? Interviews with a dozen top Hispanic experts—including strategists, consultants, academics and pollsters— provided the following tips: What Republicans Can Do… • Avoid immigration rhetoric that offends Hispanic immigrants and makes them feel as if they are under attack. • Be sure to distinguish between legal and illegal immigrants. • Include more Hispanics at top levels of campaign staff. • Use family, faith and fiscal policy to connect with the Hispanic community. • When talking about national security and the need to secure the borders, remember that Hispanic citizens are fiercely patriotic—and, like all Americans, they want to keep the country safe. What Democrats Can Do… • Do not rely, as Sen. John Kerry did, on independent 527 groups to motivate Hispanic voters. Keep in mind that an effective candidate must sell him or herself to all Hispanics. • Take leadership on comprehensive immigration reform. • Talk more about values, remembering that Hispanics care deeply about family and faith. • Establish connections with workers’ unions by attending meetings and campaigning during shift changes in areas that are largely Hispanic. These groups are powerful and tend to vote as a bloc. What Both Parties Can Do… • Remember that Hispanics are not single-issue voters. They care as much about education, healthcare, crime, the Iraq War and the economy as they do about immigration. • Hispanic voters value personal relationships based on mutual trust. So visit Hispanic neighborhoods, meet them in coffee shops and connect directly with Hispanic outreach groups. • Learn to speak Spanish. • Accept invitations to appear at Hispanic-sponsored events, like the Univision debate and the annual NALEO conference, the nation’s largest gathering of Hispanic elected officials. businesses in the United States, and these businesses are increasing in number at a rate nearly three times the national average. “Hispanics have traditionally been caretakers at home, and now they are caretakers of businesses,” says Michael Barrera, president of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. “This means they are also opinion leaders in their communities, and they care a lot about opportunity.” Housing—One of the greatest economic concerns for Hispanics is housing. Of the hundreds of thousands of homeowners hit by the sub-prime mortgage crisis, many are Hispanic. According to the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, foreclosures in this community will reach $24.8 billion this year. Could economic concerns like the housing crisis trump values in this election? Timothy Sandos, president of NAHREP, thinks so. “For the Hispanic family, the American dream is homeownership,” he says. “It’s the cornerstone of wealth and creates the economic stability that is key to economic equality for Hispanics.” Looking Ahead Strategists and political insiders agree that making long-term predictions about the Hispanic vote is impossible. Even if Republican rhetoric on immigration helps put a Democrat in the White House this year, that edge could disappear if the issue does. “I think the Hispanic vote will always be up for grabs,” says consultant Frank Guerra. “Hispanic voters go into elections undecided not because they are disinterested, but because they are discerning.” Is there a natural home for Hispanic voters? In the decades to come, most analysts say the majority will probably remain Democrats. Still, they say it’s unlikely that they will ever develop the reliably one-party allegiance of AfricanAmericans. And as their numbers grow, these discerning Hispanic voters can be sure of one thing: their importance. “Success in business means concentrating not on just the next quarter but the next century,” Guerra says. “That’s how politicians have to look at the Hispanic vote—as a market they have to pay attention to.” February 2008 Politics 39
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