Sleeping Giant No More
November 12, 2008 by U.S. Sen. Bob MenendezHistory will remember the election of 2008 – when Barack Obama was chosen to be our President – as a groundbreaking, unifying and uplifting moment for our nation. This is the stuff of history books, and it is a sign that the country we love is poised to head in a new direction.
In those same history books, I believe it will also be written that this was the time when the sleeping giant of the American political process – the Latino community – finally awoke.
Over the past year, I have been invited to speak in front of various groups to predict the Latino influence in the election. The message I delivered to those audiences was a simple one: Ya es hora. The road to the White House would come through the Latino community. This would be the time when the combination of a booming Latino population, a mass of Latino youths coming of age and ever-increasing registration and civic engagement within the Latino community promised to make the Latino vote a deciding factor. This is would be the political awakening many observers had long been waiting to see.
On November 4, Latinos did deliver in record numbers (a 25 percent turnout increase from 2004), and swung decisively for President-elect Obama (by a two to one margin). He was able to win in no small part because he parlayed Latino support in several key states into Electoral College votes. Because of Latinos, he broke the one-party rule over the Southwest and took the critical state of Florida. It’s a roadmap to the White House that future candidates will have to follow as the scope and influence of the Latino community continues to grow.
Latinos went overwhelmingly for President-elect Obama not because has was a Democrat, but because his policies and values are reflective of the values shared by many in the Latino community. His economic plan made sense to Latinos, who have the highest rate of unemployment. His health care plan showed promise to Latinos, who comprise the largest group of uninsured Americans. Even the rallying cry “Yes we can” spoke to Latinos who were familiar with the message behind Cesar Chavez’s Si se peude.
Of course, the point of turning out for a candidate and helping shape an election is not to have a blog post written about it – the point is to make sure your government is working for you. Now is the time for the Latino community to realize the power of its votes.
With Latinos having formed such a strong part of the coalition that carried President-elect Obama to the White House, I would hope that the Obama administration feels an obligation to include Latinos in all levels of the government, starting with the Cabinet . And it is our duty to assist and remind the administration of that obligation. The Latino community and its leaders will be watching.
I do believe that this administration and the countless other lawmakers elected on the strength of a forceful Latino turnout will be working hard to make sure they earned those votes.
That means greater attention to unemployment, health care and education in our community. It means dealing with the immigration problem in a way that doesn’t demean or demonize an entire segment of the population.
Ya es hora. Now more than ever, the Latino community has helped shaped the government. Now more than ever, Washington has a stake in the Latino community. The possibilities are endless.
November 13th, 2008 at 7:38 am
With all due respect Senator Menendez, all those people that voted for President-elect, Barack Obama, were not Latinos, “African-Americans”, et al., but pure and simple, Americans. I have always believed that self-labeling to one’s ancestry and identifying oneself as such in the political spectrum, only creates divisiness amongst the general population and animosity.
I was born in Puerto Rico, however, I have always identified myself as an American. I have been to many other countries and when asked about my nationality, I proudly answer AMERICAN, not Latino, Hispanic or for that matter Puertoriqueño. I am not ashamed to say that I was born in Puerto Rico, no more so that someone that was born in Arizona or New Jersey, in fact I am very proud of it.
This penchant for hyphenating one’s ancestry is absurd. We, the citizens of this great nation of ours, are first and foremost AMERICANS, not some hyphenated American. The beauty of being an American is that we originated from other cultures, thus we are not a homogenous people. So therefore, we can not claim to be superior to other cultures or natonalities as we all are from every corner of the world.
Sir, it has given me great pleasure and I am honored to have written these few words to you.
Cojalo suave,Senador.
September 7th, 2009 at 8:28 am
Ms. Mendez,
I wholeheartedly agree with you to a certain extent - if the newspaper wishes NOT to identify itself with the community it “covers” then so be it. A newspaper with that interest will come along from the community itself rather than a special interest group with political inclination.
I enjoyed reading you.. thank you for the encouragement.
Donald,
likewise, I’m inclined to agree with you to a certain point.
While it is true that “The beauty of being an American is that we originated from other cultures, thus we are not a homogeneous people”. Having said that, then it is also true that multiculturalism is the very definition of what it means to be an American, of the same of similar kind of nature but , however, at the same time proud of the identity we bring to the melting pot.
This identity is directly conveyed in the political arena by our chosen leaders which in turn represent “The People” (or population they represent) what elected them, in essence that is the political process , or is it not ?
We can see racial references all over the political spectrum. Take Atty. Gen Holden for example, when he said ” We are a nation of cowards ” or say Van Jones , who in my personal view does nothing but preach hate. These example are attributed and are a direct result of what it mean to be an ” American “. In the latter example you have 2 political leader who have a different perspective of that meaning, due to historical motivation or even personal experiences that might have rubbed them the wrong way.
As Americans we shared a common set of social values and respect for our fellow citizens (but not necessarily beliefs). The meaning of being an (hyphenated)American is generally subject to interpretation based on the “hyphenating” (or one’s ancestry) as you so well put it in your post to Mr. Menendez. That is to say, even those of Greek, German, Polish descent, who choose not to express their heritage so lively as we Latinos do, have their own culturally inclined view based on their upbringings, whether they elect to express those views in public is their choice. Case in point, NY Harlem Renaissance. Did you know that The Ottoman Empire was at one point the most dominant in the world? it accomplished that not because it excluded others but rather because it embraced them along with their culture.
In conclusion, diversity is the spice of democracy. From a political standpoint , aside from freedom of speech, there isn’t anything more beneficial to a democracy than diversity. It is a fact that the influence of the Latino community continues to grow and as educated voters we need to exercise caution when electing political leader, one must not elect simply on color/race/creed but rather on the political substance and attributes the candidate brings to the table. Latinos have does an exceptional job thus far in this regard.
I too am proud of being an American or multicultural emblazonment proportions