Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search
 

Hero57

(39 posts)
Fri Sep 11, 2020, 03:14 PM Sep 2020

Does Biden have an Hispanic problem?

I am asking because election analyst like 538 Cook Political Report seems to say Trump might expand his non-white voter thershold from 2016. This could matter in states like Florida where Trump can eek out a win there

57 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Does Biden have an Hispanic problem? (Original Post) Hero57 Sep 2020 OP
No, some Hispanic voters have a judgement problem BannonsLiver Sep 2020 #1
Is it the machismo thing? Karadeniz Sep 2020 #2
It's a lot of things BannonsLiver Sep 2020 #4
+1 LizBeth Sep 2020 #10
I have to be careful here. DemocratSinceBirth Sep 2020 #11
Sure, under normal circumstances, lunatica Sep 2020 #21
Male oriented culture and huge Catholic population. I learned in 2016 the strongest red area was a LizBeth Sep 2020 #7
+1 K&R onetexan Sep 2020 #45
Unless things have changed, I think Latino men vote more Conservative, Latinas more Liberal. TheBlackAdder Sep 2020 #47
No DarthDem Sep 2020 #3
The media was trying to make one yesterday nt doc03 Sep 2020 #5
I get why the media/pundits are doing all of this concern trolling Proud Liberal Dem Sep 2020 #48
How on earth could Trump get any Latino support? Is it I got mine the rest of you doc03 Sep 2020 #55
Latinos are typically more Conservative and Catholic Proud Liberal Dem Sep 2020 #56
No. Aristus Sep 2020 #6
Some people think we're stupid. DemocratSinceBirth Sep 2020 #9
Yep. They think we're too dumb to see what's what..... FM123 Sep 2020 #13
That is the most annoying thing about the shtick. DemocratSinceBirth Sep 2020 #15
The stupidest thing about it is lunatica Sep 2020 #22
On other sites they have discussions how to infiltrate DU DemocratSinceBirth Sep 2020 #24
Those instructions don't work lunatica Sep 2020 #33
One of the things they tell infiltrators is to post in the DU Lounge and ingratiate yourself there. DemocratSinceBirth Sep 2020 #35
LOL! lunatica Sep 2020 #36
This has turned out to be a hilarious thread. DemocratSinceBirth Sep 2020 #37
What sites? cwydro Sep 2020 #40
The other site that has underground in its name. DemocratSinceBirth Sep 2020 #42
They actually have instructions on joining DU? cwydro Sep 2020 #44
Not to join but to be accepted DemocratSinceBirth Sep 2020 #46
Well, that's kind of funny. cwydro Sep 2020 #49
Well, they are used to dealing with their own... maxrandb Sep 2020 #34
No kidding. smirkymonkey Sep 2020 #53
Since you started the poll what do you think? DemocratSinceBirth Sep 2020 #8
Welcome to DU phylny Sep 2020 #12
-:) DemocratSinceBirth Sep 2020 #14
I don't get it either Polybius Sep 2020 #18
He did better with African Americans than Romney and McCain but worse than Bush or Dole. DemocratSinceBirth Sep 2020 #19
Message auto-removed Name removed Sep 2020 #16
He seems to have a Russian problem MyNameGoesHere Sep 2020 #17
+1000 smirkymonkey Sep 2020 #54
Welcome to DU mahina Sep 2020 #20
Democrats have a Some Hispanics issue qazplm135 Sep 2020 #23
No johnp3907 Sep 2020 #25
Hispanics really, really aren't a monolith Sympthsical Sep 2020 #26
It's not about thinking of them as a monolith. DemocratSinceBirth Sep 2020 #27
You are focusing too much on issues Awsi Dooger Sep 2020 #29
I might be focusing too much on issues. DemocratSinceBirth Sep 2020 #30
Oh, he's a racist through and through Sympthsical Sep 2020 #31
I don't think it is just whites Beringia Sep 2020 #32
Nope...not in Florida. The Castro thing hurt Sanders. Demsrule86 Sep 2020 #57
I would say Democrats have done an excellent job maximizing Hispanic percentage since 2006 Awsi Dooger Sep 2020 #28
This article based on Cadava's book has interesting points: appalachiablue Sep 2020 #38
Wow! Thanks for posting. I guess I need to be really worried now, huh? Stinky The Clown Sep 2020 #39
Eek. cwydro Sep 2020 #41
No, he doesn't StarfishSaver Sep 2020 #43
I lived in south Florida for many years. cwydro Sep 2020 #50
do you have a Biden problem? spanone Sep 2020 #51
I live in a 70% Hispanic ward of Chicago. former9thward Sep 2020 #52

BannonsLiver

(16,370 posts)
4. It's a lot of things
Fri Sep 11, 2020, 03:19 PM
Sep 2020

It’s about abortion, its about religion, it’s about residual hang ups from the Kennedy policy on Cuba, it’s about “I got mine so fuck you”. It’s about a lot of things. Cook is good and there is some polling that backs it up, but at this point you can lead a horse to water...I don’t know what you can say to people who have been singled out by the current administration for literal state sponsored discrimination and yet says “Mmm I need more of that.”

DemocratSinceBirth

(99,710 posts)
11. I have to be careful here.
Fri Sep 11, 2020, 03:23 PM
Sep 2020

If a candidate talked shit about the group I belonged to I wouldn't vote for him or her for all the blandishments in the world.

lunatica

(53,410 posts)
21. Sure, under normal circumstances,
Fri Sep 11, 2020, 04:10 PM
Sep 2020

but no one is worse or even equally as bad as Trump. No one. I think Hispanics vote for their own self interest just like everyone else. Right now, everyone’s self interests are better off with Biden.

LizBeth

(9,952 posts)
7. Male oriented culture and huge Catholic population. I learned in 2016 the strongest red area was a
Fri Sep 11, 2020, 03:20 PM
Sep 2020

little community of 15k, 71% Hispanic population in Hereford Tx voting for Trump. I have a friend there. As a matter of fact, she was steaming last night because someone had stolen her Biden signs. We have had conversations about the heavy Trumper community it is and it truly blows my mind.

TheBlackAdder

(28,185 posts)
47. Unless things have changed, I think Latino men vote more Conservative, Latinas more Liberal.
Fri Sep 11, 2020, 09:10 PM
Sep 2020

.

This is especially true if the candidate is a woman.

.

Proud Liberal Dem

(24,407 posts)
48. I get why the media/pundits are doing all of this concern trolling
Fri Sep 11, 2020, 09:25 PM
Sep 2020

but Trump is in trouble with just about everybody but a few select "base" groups.

doc03

(35,325 posts)
55. How on earth could Trump get any Latino support? Is it I got mine the rest of you
Sat Sep 12, 2020, 07:21 AM
Sep 2020

stay on the other side of the wall? Like the union workers that got a good middle class life through collective bargaining. Many now have turned Republican since they can join the country club and golf with management.

Proud Liberal Dem

(24,407 posts)
56. Latinos are typically more Conservative and Catholic
Sat Sep 12, 2020, 10:29 AM
Sep 2020

Trump is neither though- and certainly not very moral

DemocratSinceBirth

(99,710 posts)
15. That is the most annoying thing about the shtick.
Fri Sep 11, 2020, 03:41 PM
Sep 2020

The assumption that we are naifs that can't see what's going on.

lunatica

(53,410 posts)
22. The stupidest thing about it is
Fri Sep 11, 2020, 04:14 PM
Sep 2020

what do they possibly think they’re going to get out of it? Really? After 20 years of trying and utterly failing why keep ramming their heads into the wall?

Is it for the 2 seconds they get our attention? Maybe that’s it!

lunatica

(53,410 posts)
33. Those instructions don't work
Fri Sep 11, 2020, 05:52 PM
Sep 2020

unless being here for a minute is their glorious goal! But then no one can accuse them of learning from their mistakes.

DemocratSinceBirth

(99,710 posts)
46. Not to join but to be accepted
Fri Sep 11, 2020, 09:08 PM
Sep 2020

I haven't been there in years. They had a whole forum devoted to commenting on our threads.

 

cwydro

(51,308 posts)
49. Well, that's kind of funny.
Fri Sep 11, 2020, 09:32 PM
Sep 2020

In a creepy way.

Though perhaps that makes sense when I consider some new folks who come in and rack up thousands of posts in a very short time...hmm.

DemocratSinceBirth

(99,710 posts)
14. -:)
Fri Sep 11, 2020, 03:38 PM
Sep 2020

The Klansman is doing marginally better among POC than he did last time. I don't get it. If a candidate demonized my ethnic group he or she would never get my vote.


And whatever improvement the Klansman makes with POC will be dwarfed by his decline in support from college -educated whites, suburban dwellers, and seniors.

Polybius

(15,390 posts)
18. I don't get it either
Fri Sep 11, 2020, 03:44 PM
Sep 2020

Even in 2016, he did better among African Americans than Romney, McCain, Bush, or Dole did. Those candidates were all far less racist than Trump is.

DemocratSinceBirth

(99,710 posts)
19. He did better with African Americans than Romney and McCain but worse than Bush or Dole.
Fri Sep 11, 2020, 03:49 PM
Sep 2020

Those are details. I don't get it. He has dissed Blacks. He has dissed Hispanics. He has dissed Asians. If someone dissed my ethnic group he or she would never get my vote. Hell. I wouldn't vote for a clown who dissed someone else's ethnic group


*I don't think GWB, McCain or Rmoney were racist.

Response to Hero57 (Original post)

qazplm135

(7,447 posts)
23. Democrats have a Some Hispanics issue
Fri Sep 11, 2020, 04:20 PM
Sep 2020

but there's probably not much we can do about it.

25-30 percent of Hispanics are solid conservative.

They are anti abortion, they are anti socialism or even the whiff of socialism, the identify pretty clearly with the Republican Party.

We can chip away at them, but it's never going to be the case that we get Hispanic support to reach say AA support.

And in Florida, it's an even higher percentage because of the Cuban population and some other populations.

Biden probably could be doing a better job, and I'm sure his team is looking at it.

We need a little peel off there, and to continue his advantage with the 65+ crowd all the way to election and we win Florida with increased AA turnout. That's the path, but FL is always close. It's like they purposefully let in one new Red and one new Blue voter at a time.

Sympthsical

(9,073 posts)
26. Hispanics really, really aren't a monolith
Fri Sep 11, 2020, 04:37 PM
Sep 2020

Not only do you have religion and social conservatism in various quarters, but you have people coming from Central and South America who do not like even a whiff of the word socialism. Ask a Venezuelan ex-pat about their experience with socialism. They'll have things to say.

But there's always this kind of what I think of as white patronization. The idea that, "Well, Trump's border and immigration policies are bad for Latinos, so they should be against him." And I always want to reply, "Have you ever . . . met actual Latinos?" I have a lot of Mexican friends and family. A lot. They all came legally, worked hard, became citizens, and moved up economically. You know who they don't like?

Illegal immigrants. Their attitude is, "I worked hard and played by the rules. I waited my turn, paid my dues, and achieved my goal. Those people can, too."

But white patronization has this idea that there's some kind of racial loyalty, that most Latinos will automatically back all Latinos on policies and politics. It's just not so. So when people say things like, "What's wrong with Latinos?!" that is some white racial condescension. Instead of understanding how various Latinx communities believe and operate, there's a kind of, "You're brown, they're brown, why don't you have the same beliefs?!" And there's shock and confusion among white people that they do not.

Maybe we shouldn't be peddling in that so much. It's more than a little racist.

We understand this about different Asian populations (man, East and Southeast Asian populations are a massive mixed bag of politics). Why is it so hard to believe about Latinos?

DemocratSinceBirth

(99,710 posts)
27. It's not about thinking of them as a monolith.
Fri Sep 11, 2020, 04:47 PM
Sep 2020

Having lived in Miami which is predominately Cuban, having lived in Orlando which has a large Puerto Rican and Dominican population, and now living in Los Angeles which has a large Mexican population I can attest they are not a monolith. I was also the only non-Hispanic in a Hispanic study group in college.

Trump hasn't just attacked illegal immigration. He has attacked and demonized Mexicans and said Hispanics and African Americans are too stupid to vote for him. He also represents a white nationalist ideology that doesn't include them. I don't see how they can let that slip by.

Trump has on several occasions suggested Jews are preternaturally good with money. This Jew can't see letting that slip by as if he was talking about other Jews and not me.

 

Awsi Dooger

(14,565 posts)
29. You are focusing too much on issues
Fri Sep 11, 2020, 05:01 PM
Sep 2020

Same mistake Rachel Maddow made in 2018. Tons of voters don't care about issues. They have a general impression and prize it.

Trump exudes strength and fascination to some Hispanics who really shouldn't be considering him at all

DemocratSinceBirth

(99,710 posts)
30. I might be focusing too much on issues.
Fri Sep 11, 2020, 05:06 PM
Sep 2020

My response was highlighting the fact that Trump has demonized Hispanics and my puzzlement about their support for him has nothing to do with thinking of Hispanics as a monolith.

Sympthsical

(9,073 posts)
31. Oh, he's a racist through and through
Fri Sep 11, 2020, 05:09 PM
Sep 2020

But people will overlook that if they think their other interests are being served. Look at Evangelicals. Of course he's completely spat in the face of their endless moralism. But he's also filling the judiciary with people they like. That is a large part of why Republicans have been content to let him go wild. He's serving their long-term goals even if he's an immediate disaster.

When Trump started insulting Mexico, I thought for sure my Mexican friends and family would have a lot to say. They didn't. What I got was, "Well, he's not entirely wrong . . ." Mexico is a giant mess, and there isn't a lot of loyalty there where you might think there would be a little. Corruption and the cartels are ruining the country, and they hear about it from their friends and family who still live there.

It's similar with, say, Filipinos and Duterte. You can trash the guy and country's politics all day, and a lot of Filipino-Americans won't take umbrage.

That's why I say it's white condescension. But maybe a nearer term would be ignorance. A lot of us don't really know the dynamics of different countries or the relationship ex-pats may have with it. Why would we? It's rarely to never on our news, and a lot of white people are very insulated from minority communities. They may have minority friends, but that doesn't mean they have a deep understanding of the thought processes, emotions, and politics at work.

Beringia

(4,316 posts)
32. I don't think it is just whites
Fri Sep 11, 2020, 05:37 PM
Sep 2020

I follow the US poet laureate Juan Felipe Herrera and he asked on Facebook a long time ago regarding some article on how Latinos support Trump, and he asked if this was true.

I have searched for a Latino type discussion forum and I don't couldn't find one. I don't see this discussed on Twitter the same way as you can see many Black pundits talk about Trump.

Also, I am not sure how, but I was under the impression that Sanders had more Hispanic supporters than Biden did.
 

Awsi Dooger

(14,565 posts)
28. I would say Democrats have done an excellent job maximizing Hispanic percentage since 2006
Fri Sep 11, 2020, 04:59 PM
Sep 2020

It really shouldn't be a 70-30 block, given all the diversity. But that's where it's been.

Logically the percentage had to revert toward prior norms. That is happening now, jumpstarted by Hispanic loyalty to a known quantity, the incumbent. The mistake was believing in 2018 that the children in cages issue would shove Hispanics further away from Trump. I remember Rachel Maddow emphasizing that repeatedly. She shouldn't be commenting on anything regarding political math because she has no idea what the hell she is talking about.

There were articles all over the place in early to late 2019, indicating the Trump and the GOP were prioritizing Hispanics toward 2020 and making inroads. I think Democratic campaigns slept on this possibility, just like the midwestern white working class shift was rumbled all over the place following the 2014 midterm but Hillary's camp didn't pay enough attention.

Here are some of those 2019 articles. I always save bookmarks like this, especially when they are related to a blatantly obvious situational scenario:

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/02/24/2020-hispanic-voters-donald-trump-225192

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/07/surge-in-hispanic-voters-could-have-major-impact-on-trump-re-election-bid.html

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2019/11/26/latinos-for-trump-supporters-hispanics-mexicans-attacks-immigrants-column/4224954002/

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/new-poll-latinos-reject-trump-democrats-have-work-do-n1039361

***

Going forward, Democrats will never maintain 70-30 as dependable so given the lesser share of the Hispanic vote it is imperative to register and involve as many as possible, so the net vote advantage won't suffer as much, even if the percentage slips 5-10 points

appalachiablue

(41,131 posts)
38. This article based on Cadava's book has interesting points:
Fri Sep 11, 2020, 08:46 PM
Sep 2020

- How the GOP Built a Loyal Hispanic Base. For decades, Republicans used appointments and policies to win a reliable third of the Latino vote.- Washington Monthly, July 2020.

https://washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/july-august-2020/how-the-gop-built-a-loyal-hispanic-base/



..Cadava introduces us to the political evolution of various Hispanic subgroups, beginning with the Eisenhower years. The book gets off to a bit of a dizzying start (there are a lot of constituencies to get to know, and each of them is quite different), but it hits its stride as it takes the reader through time. After Eisenhower, one of Cadava’s first major subjects is Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater, who in some ways symbolizes the GOP’s tortured political relationship with Latino constituents. Like many future Republican candidates, Goldwater’s staunch anticommunism attracted some Hispanics, but his opposition to civil rights put others off. “The views Goldwater expressed about civil rights contributed to his extremist reputation and to the suspicion of many Hispanics that he just didn’t like them,” Cadava writes.

In a sense, then, it’s paradoxical that the Republican Party’s abandonment of the civil rights mantle—firmly seized in the 1960s by Democrats—helped spur its aggressive courting of Hispanics. But after the Civil Rights Act was passed, the party had to search for ways to make up the support it knew it would no longer receive from African Americans. To help do so, Republican operatives turned to leaders in the Mexican American and Cuban American communities who had a deep allegiance to values like religion, free enterprise, and anti-communism. These leaders, not willing to abandon civil rights altogether, hoped that they could move the GOP toward adopting greater respect for immigrants and greater educational opportunity. They became some of the party’s earliest Hispanic boosters.

The Nixon administration worked with these leaders to nurture a strong anti-communist base (remember those Cuban American Watergate burglars?) and devise new patronage-focused strategies to engage Latino leaders. Nixon concentrated on delivering federal programs to support minority entrepreneurs, including Hispanics. He also oversaw important milestones. Notably, Nixon became the first president to appoint a Latina as treasurer of the United States.
His selection of Romana Acosta Bañuelos was understood at the time to be a strong signal of Nixon’s respect for the community and his inclusionary intent. She also provided an irresistible PR opportunity; he could point to the dollars people carried in their pockets, which for the first time had a Latina’s signature on them. It is worth noting that this strategy has been followed by nearly every president since Nixon to diminishing effect; of the past 11 U.S. treasurers, seven have been Latinas...

 

StarfishSaver

(18,486 posts)
43. No, he doesn't
Fri Sep 11, 2020, 09:00 PM
Sep 2020

Some Hispanics have a problem with him. That's because many of them identify primarily as white, are conservative and tend to align themselves with Republicans.

The fact that Biden doesn't appeal to a segment of conservative white Republicans is not a "Hispanic problem." In fact, it's not a problem at all.

 

cwydro

(51,308 posts)
50. I lived in south Florida for many years.
Fri Sep 11, 2020, 09:33 PM
Sep 2020

The Keys are pretty blue, but mainland south Florida, which is heavily Cuban, is very Republican.

former9thward

(31,986 posts)
52. I live in a 70% Hispanic ward of Chicago.
Fri Sep 11, 2020, 11:02 PM
Sep 2020

(Chicago is divided into 50 wards) I have not seen a single Biden sign or any sign of Biden political activity. Does that mean anything? Maybe, Maybe not. Who knows?

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Does Biden have an Hispan...