TX: Clinton Camp Looks To Latino Supporters To Get Out The Vote

"RODHAM CLINTON
HUSSEIN OBAMA"

The Clinton volunteer waves her sign above her head. "Hussein means good," I point out. She isn't listening. "We don't want a person like that in the White House," she says. Likely this woman is part of the fringe element--and there is one--a geezer with a tickle in his throat about the superhighway between Mexico and Canada sticks to me like a burr--at the grand opening of the Clinton headquarters in Houston's crumbling and largely Hispanic East End. Since the campaign is short of money, Houston supporters make their own signs for the occasion. The "Hussein" sign is just flotsam bobbing to the surface from the undercurrents of this race for the Democratic presidential nomination in Texas. As David Plouffe, Obama's national director, predicted in a press conference call earlier in the day, 'It's going to be a harshly negative campaign."

There are two strands to the Clinton Campaign here. On the one hand, it's saddling up for range war. At the Clinton event, I talk to three women friends, all a Texas classic: blonde, attractive, vivacious and tough. "Politics is a blood sport," Nell says. "That's what it's supposed to be, and we're looking forward to it." "Yes, blood," Carol says, with relish. That's how some people like it down here. Texans appreciate Hillary Clinton's hard edge; they admire her resilience. Barack Obama is going to have to show some gumption, as well. It would be a good thing for his national communications team to lose the slightly whiney tone of the last week, in response to each perceived deviousness of the Clintons. (In contrast, Josh Earnest, Obama's communications director in Texas and a native Texan, knows to keep a stiff lip.) In the conference call/email war for the media, the Obama team is in danger of becoming the little boy who runs to the playground monitor every time the big, bossy girl in the class doesn't play by the rules.

The other strand is congeniality. Hispanics for Clinton are out in force, and they color her campaign with an infectious brio and are seemingly oblivious to how the odds of winning the nomination are not in their candidate's favor. This positive spirit is a powerful asset to the Clinton Campaign that it otherwise likely would not have at this point. Hence the atmosphere at the Clinton party, where the turnout (250 or so) is half Hispanic. "Hillary is our lady," Angie Ortiz says. "I love her husband, too," says Dave Morales. "She helped start the Texas Chips [SCHIP: the State Children's Health Insurance Program]. She's been there," Lisa Alvarado says. In talking to a hundred or so Tejanos over the last few days, I've heard the SCHIP program mentioned again and again as a reason for supporting her. But in the end, it's experience. Almost every single Clinton supporter, of all ethnicities, mentions "experience." Tejanos seldom bring up Obama. Anglos, however, are forthright in their criticisms of him, and several have flagged his refusal to debate in Wisconsin as a reason for doubting him.

What's left of the old patron system of Tejano politics is on display in the East End, as well. The guest speakers are Henry Cisneros, the fomer mayor of San Antonio, his wife Mary Alice Cisneros, a San Antonio councilwoman, and Antonio Villaraigosa, the mayor of Los Angeles. However, the bigwigs are late, and under the hot afternoon sun in the courtyard the crowd begins to melt away. Time goes by as the Cisneros entourage, which includes a Secret Service agent, is ushered from stretch limo around to the back of the building so that the pols can make a grand entrance into the dwindling crowd. Unlike their wilting audience, Cisneros, his wife and Villaraigosa are formally and beautifully dressed. The two mayors wear hand-tailored suits. Villaraigosa sports a very expensive pink silk tie. Mary Alice Cisneros has chosen a dinner suit in bright blue shot through with silver spangling that catches the light. There is no pretense here that he or she is "one of us." Maybe that's why Cisneros and Villaraigosa dazzle the circle of Clinton supporters. 'I've heard good news--the polls are up," Villaraigosa announces. None of the local press, mostly Spanish-language TV, calls him on this. It doesn't matter really what Cisneros and Villaraigosa say; the people like what they see, and every Tejano left standing has his or her picture taken with both of them.

Whereas the Houston-for-Clinton opening has been an endorsement showcase, Cisneros and Villaraigosa do some serious wooing at the meeting of the Harris County Tejano Democrats several hours later. Here, the thinking must have gone, are the hardcore political enthusiasts, the grassroots, who actually know what's going on and can get things done. Harris County Tejano Headquarters is packed with every candidate for local office and his or her supporters--all of whom have showed up for the Tejano club's endorsement night. The pace of moving through the Democratic roster and choosing whom to endorse has been glacial, but Cisneros and Villaraigosa don't know this when they interrupt the meeting to make the case for Clinton. Nor do they know, since they've helicoptered in, that they are preaching to the choir. In fact, the state-wide Tejano Democrats, at their convention, have already endorsed Hillary Clinton by a two-thirds margin. Every Tejano in the room, including the chairman of Harris County Tejanos, is a Hillary supporter. At times, the endorsement meeting has been more like a Hillary rally than a serious attempt to choose among the Democrats in contested races.

Nevertheless, the Clinton Campaign is taking nothing for granted with Houston Hispanics. Cisneros and Villaraigosa have been dispatched, and they both make long and eloquent cases for Hillary Clinton. "She's a person who has a big heart for the American people. She's the person who's ready to do it right now," Cisneros says. "In California, we voted overwhelmingly for Hillary Clinton," Villaraigosa asserts. The crowd's attention is wandering--nobody knows or cares about California, and Villaraigosa is talking a lot about himself in California. I'm woolgathering about the coincidence that Cisneros and Villaraigosa share with Bill Clinton scandal-tarnished reputations in the realm of marital fidelity. But nobody in the room seems to know or care about that either.

Earlier in the evening, the Obama Campaign has sent Texas state senator Rodney Ellis to make the case for Barack with the Harris County Tejanos. "Just in the event some of you are thinking about an alternative candidate," Ellis suggests. He recommends Obama as "a son of an immigrant," a characterization that is untrue (Barack's father was in Honolulu and then very briefly in Cambridge on a student visa) but widespread among Hispanic supporters. Since none of the Tejanos are going to change their minds, likely it doesn't matter that Ellis's case for Obama is weak. "It's the Obamakins," he says. He doesn't want to see all the young people who are enthusiastic about politics and are supporting Barack Obama to leave the Democratic Party. People don't think much of his argument. This is not a community that makes decisions to please their children.

Among the local candidates endorsed by the Harris County Tejanos is Armando Walle, an up-and-coming young man who is running against the Republican incumbent (widely perceived to be part of a corrupt cabal) in Texas state house district 140. Despite the gerrymandering that favors the incumbent, Walle and his team think they have a chance. Having launched a grassroots operation, they've been out registering to vote 40,000 poor Hispanics. If these new voters in #140 make it to the polls for Walle, they will vote the Walle/Clinton ticket. This is the circles-within-circles of influence and interconnectedness among Texas Hispanics that will have a ripple effect upon the presidential primary.

The situation for Barack Obama among Tejanos is not as discouraging as it might seem. The average age of a Tejano is 25. By an overwhelming majority, most Hispanics are under the age of 45. If younger Hispanics turn out in numbers for the primary, and if Obama can capture many of their votes, then the support for Clinton from the Texas Tejano political infrastructure will be countered. "The road to the White House comes through Houston, Texas!" This has quickly become a slogan to get out the vote here. But it's going to be a quick trip. The Clinton office in Houston has no phones, no computers, no posters--nothing. It's a warren of near-empty rooms with a few folding chairs and tables where volunteers can meet to organize and to learn how to be a precinct captain. So maybe it's not a question of money but of time. The primary is two weeks away, and early voting (weekdays 7 AM to 7 PM throughout the city) has just begun.

Comments

[LaSandra]

OKAY.... I was actually AT this meeting on Monday night and this is a VERY inaccurate post!!!!!
HALF of our membership are Obama supporters including myself!!! Some of us walked out because we simply couldn't stand to be scolded any longer by the two Clinton surrogates who pissed me off by telling me that I, as a Latina, have some sort of duty in voting for Hillary Clinton. Last I checked, I am a citizen of these United States, I have a brain in my head and I have the ability to decide for myself who I am going to vote for.
I really did not appreciate the incessant PREACHING by Henry Cisneros and was absolutely repulsed and incredibly insulted by the presence of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villa-Raigosa. This is a man who cheated on his wife and ran out on her while she was being treated for CANCER. Then he got caught playing in the Press Pool with Telemundo reporter.
What took the cake was the blatant disrespect for Dolores Huerta that was shown by these two losers at our meeting. When she walked in, I got very nervous and was truly star struck. She is a giant in the American civil rights movement. Yet she stood in the corner of that crowded, hot and musty room and listened to these womanizing losers admiring the sound of their own voices.
And just an FYI, people, Houston is NOT South Texas where Latinos are instructed how to vote by party bosses! People have a lot of nerve suggesting that Hillary Clinton has the support of all Latino voters.
Just you wait and see. Latinos for Obama are fired up and Ready to Go. On Day One.

[JamesMatsui]

como estas?

Latinos siempre estan con Hillary. Ella es mas simpatica y amorosa con Latinos de Estados Unidos.

We need a Latino President. I think Hillary is going to pick a Mexican for VP. Obama is not going to pick another minority. Recuerdalo el nombre Bill Richardson. El es el Gobernador de Nuevo Mexico y un Mexicano. Hillary y Richardson!!!

Viva Mexico!!
Viva Hillary!!

[xcrunner77]

Hillary just needs to "get off the stage!".

[Felicty]

Come on, my brown and black brethren in Texas; let's make Obama President.

[jcharliemiller]

I'm a Texan from where the votes are (SE Texas), that's Galveston and Harris County. My kin tell me that Texas is going for Obama in the South and East, those north and west Texans (Oklahomans in my book) are going to be voting for Hillary.
Harris county is home to Houston, which isn't going to Hillary in a million years. She'll win in the country where her bigotry will fly.

[MPeter]

Watch out, HRC is planning a crying session as the last tactic to win Texas. She tried the urban Sumbrero during the WI-Hawaii voting but saw her numbers sink even as she lost WI. Now she will have Bill attacking Obama, her minions fabricating stuff on Obama and she will cry both on radio and on TV, including during a CNN debate, helped on, of couse, by Wolf Blitzer to change the trajectory of the polls. Let's make sure this does not trip us. Let's see her busted.

[HumeSkeptic]

Thanks for the info. Let's make Obama win big in Texas.

[plutorage]

The problem Mexicans have with Hilary is NAFTA.

Mexicans know very well that Mexican farmers are not getting NAFTA prices for their produce.

If they did, they would be buying American products like a slice of Wisconsin cheese on their MacDonalds' cheeseburger, ipods, etc.

The NAFTA money is going to big Mexican middlemen who buy from Mexican farmers at rock bottom Mexicann prices and sell the product in the USA at Champs Elysee prices, as we all know from visiting the supermarket and buying Mexican vegetables.

Instead of buying American products made in Wisconsin and Ohio, the Mexican millionaires are plowing their money into Chateaus in France and 125FT yachts on the Riviera.

Saying that you have 35 years of experience hosing the mexican farmers and ohio blue collars workers with NAFTA agreements is not very impressive if you ask me. I'll take the inexperienced Obama and make do, thank you.

[ButterflyWeed]

A "range war" amongst her own party, a big spat with the DNC over delegates clearly penalized up front for non-compliance, an even bigger brawl planned for the Republicans and the Iraq War with no end in sight.
This is Senator Clinton's idea of SOLUTIONS?

[evahartselftlanguages]

TO: Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator Barack Obama February 19, 2008

Whether Senator Hillary Clinton or Senator Barack Obama wins Presidential Election for 2008, I want to enlighten people of what True,good healthcare is:

Psalm 41,"I will heal him on his sickbed and cure all his ailments if he is kind to the poor." King David On Thanksgiving and Sickness. God and Jesus are not socialists.

As cities grew people demanded healthcare,fire and police protection,transportation,playgrounds,libraries,art galleries,museum. The people put in three forms of city governments to obtain these services. It is Democracy to give healthcare to people.

In the Preamble to our Great Constitution it states,"In Order to Form a More Perfect Union we must have people work together in the States and people work together if they feel secure. I say Good Health will cause people to feel good. The Preamble also states,"We must obtain the good Welare of the People." This is in our Constitution as well in Art I,Section 8 to consider the Welfare of the people. This means good health as well. People want to protect their health and people who are sick and are not taken care of can spread disease which can effect communities' health too. Crowded housing can cause disease too. The health problem is of concern to all. We have health clinics and agencies to give us pure,clean water, and good healthful foods,etc. A smart person wants to live. We must keep America clean,healthful and care for others.

Eva Hart Christian In Army 62-70 670 Eddy St. Sfc, 94109 Rec job Sec of Def 64

[didimus]

When Obama falls from grace, which he inevitably will, his fair-weather fans will abandon him in droves. They won't know what to do when his leadership doesn't live up to his rhetoric.

Face it, folks, there's no superhero out there to save us. All of them: Richardson, Biden, Kucinich, Dodd, Clinton and Obama are decent folks trying to compete for the top prize. But none of them - NONE - deserve the kind of hero worship that Obama is currently receiving. We will surely regret this untrammeled adulation.

[TWOSHORT]

So God!Should we just line up and start gooes stepping behind only White Folk running for the white house?What has this man DONE[HARVARD GRAD!LAW PROF!ELECTED OFF FOR ILL] TO ANY AMERICAN, OTHER THAN RUN FOR THE WHITE HOUSE?Hate is a cruel mistress-you can't hide it when one speak's

[loisteagulp]

Richardson was Latino. (He did mention him in his post.) People always seem to forget that. Fortunately, if Hillary Clinton wins, she will have him in her cabinet again.

[didimus]

You presume I do not support Obama. Or - Egads! - that I must hate him. Not so! I suppose I have only sipped the Kool-Aid, though it sure is tasty.

[drmavis]

Great blog... I really enjoy your Texas reports.

Clinton supporters holding up "HUSSEIN" signs is an absolutely despicable way to attract votes, and whoever is in charge of her campaign at that site ought to put a stop to it. There's no doubt about it that they're going to play dirty!

[starboymikey]

I had no idea Hillary was Latina. She's been telling everyone she'd be the first black president since Bill.

[specultr]

This Latino (puro Chicano, guey) just voted early in Dallas for Obama. Barack the Vote!

He stood with us in 2006 during the marchas.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Of1ivCvWEDE
Where were Bill and Hill?

[GnitenGoodLk]

Bievenido hermano... NY latina for Obama. Speak to the peoples out there and get this man in office, please.

Saludos

[DANIELLECLARKE]

Here are the results from the Feb. 5-9 round of polling:

Feb. 5-9 Clinton Obama
Hispanic 63% 32%
Non-Hispanic 47% 44%



Here are the results from the most current round of polling, Feb. 13-17. (Sample size 2,022, MoE +/- 2% for total sample, with larger margins for subgroups.)

Feb. 13-17 Clinton Obama
Hispanic 46% 50%
Non-Hispanic 42% 49%



This is a very important little piece of data. Clinton won a sizable victory in California, more than anything, through her dominance of the Latino vote there. And her hopes for winning Texas must hinge, in large part, on the large Latino population there. If she has lost her edge with Latinos, that blunts her chances in Texas, and Texas is her absolute must-win firewall state.

The data breakdowns also see Obama taking his first lead among middle-aged voters (ages 35-54). In the Feb. 5-9 round of polling, Clinton won this group 49-42%. In the Feb. 13-17 round, Obama wins 51-42%.

Of course, these mirror the broader moves in support from Clinton to Obama (for instance, the daily tracking poll on Super Tuesday, Feb. 5, was Clinton 52%, Obama 39%). But the movement of these subgroups... and especially Hispanics, who are key to cracking the Texas firewall... really caught my eye.

[robertlockwoodmills]

If Hillary is a Latina, I am a snowman.

[Nommo]

Be careful of all the hot air roun' here.

[amanda85]

The "first Latina president" can't speak a word of Spanish or any other language than her own... How can people be so gullible? Hillary screams WASP out of every pore... She'd be really bad for minorities.

Latinas, don't be fooled, haven't you had enough of rich wasp christofascists who pretend to care about you?

[loisteagulp]

I am a third generation latina who also doesn't speak spanish. Thanks for marginalizing me.

[amanda85]

You should be ashamed of yourself for completely disregarding your cultural roots.
Let me guess, Hillary supporter...