When Hillary Calls, Mex-Americans Come Running
February 6th, 2008, 3:34 pm · 9 Comments · posted by Joaquin
If you’re part of the Hillary Clinton political machine, there has to be one thought running through the collective brain - thank goodness Mexicans found their way to California eons ago.
On Super Tuesday, the descendants of those Mexicanos voted for Hillary - big time - and kept her head above the Obama wave. Barack Obama took 13 states on Super Tuesday compared to Clinton’s eight, but one of those eight was California. Had Hill lost California, it would have been adios to Bill and Hill’s excellent adventure to give America a second Clinton presidency.
Billary in good part owes its political survival to the astonishing Latino support that Clinton Inc., garnered in California. Billary took 69 percent of the Latino vote in Kali-for-nay, as Gov. Arnold would say, with Barack managing to get a puny 29 percent. Good try Oprah in making a splashy campaign stop for your man Barack on the eve of the Calfornia primary, pero, not even the mighty Oprah can shake Mexican-Americans from the Clintons.
Bad news for the Clintons: The next series of primaries and caucuses in February, (Virginia, Maryland, Louisiana, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Washington state), are places where not many Latinos live, so Hillary will have to look elsewhere to see who can bail her out. With that in mind, the Clintonistas need Texas in a major way when our state’s primary rolls around on March 4. Good news there, of course, for Hill and Bill since we have lots of Mexicans in these parts, with Hispanics making up roughly 25 percent of the Democratic primary electorate.
And there’s no doubt Lone Star Mex-Americans will be there for Hillary. It’s just a matter of how big they’ll back her up. In California, they went ga-ga for Hill. Nearly 30 percent of the California Demo electorate on Super Tuesday was made up of Latinos. In the 2004 Demo primary, California Latinos made up only 16 percent of the state’s Demo electorate.
You think Tejano Dems won’t turn out in droves to save their girl Hill from Barack? Are you kidding? Of course, they will. Mex-Americans in Texas love the Clintons, especially Bill. I’m not sure why there’s such a depth of amor for Bill and Hill, but it’s there, so no use trying to fight it, not even Oprah and her book club could put a dent in this love affair.
So, is it only admiration for the Clintons that explains the ties between Mex-Americans and Billary, or is there something to the theory that some Mex-Americans just can’t bring themselves to vote for a major presidential candidate who happens to be African-American? I think it’s both, more of the first, but some of the later. Sad but true, boys and girls, in putting it like it is.
So get ready, Rio Grande Valley, here comes the Clintons. They need you with Barack closing in on putting an end to their dream of a Clinton Restoration. As Hillary put it at a California rally, “Si se pueda.”
OK, she needs to work on her Spanish, but that’s fine. Hill is our girl. Winter, spring, summer or fall, Hillary, when you call, we’ll come running. You’ve got a friend, oh yes you do, as you’ll find out on March 4.
- Joaquin Tijerina, Chisme Blogger
February 7th, 2008 at 9:09 am
Is there really a Joaquin Tijerina or is it a nom de plume?
February 7th, 2008 at 10:00 am
What’s a nom de plume? I’m guessing that’s Latin but I’m not smart enough to understand ancient languages.
I’m proud to be a Tijerina as part of my family tree. Good South Texas stock from the monte of Victoria/Cuero/Yorktown area are we, the German and Mexican immigrants of yesteryear blending together like many of that era. A sort of nom de rainbow coalition, if you will, Texas style, polka and tamales, a real American success story.
February 7th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
yes, as part of your family tree, but is that the name printed on your paycheck?
February 9th, 2008 at 12:38 pm
There is no question that Sentor Clinton has aggressively courted the Mexican American vote and Cisneros and others have known the Clintons for two decades, but it is not clear that she is the better candidate on the issues that move the community. The Clinton years were good, but we can do better. Education and health disparities persisted through those years and our immigration system remained broken. These are key challenges Barack Obama is committed to addressing. He has also proven he can bring people together to achieve major reforms including ethics reform in the US Senate and health care reform in the state senate. She is too polarizing to bring people together to transfor the country. It is time for change. It is time for Barack Obama regardless of color, but especially if you are Latino.
February 11th, 2008 at 4:52 am
Senator Clinton sent my classmates off to die in a senseless war because she did not have the courage of a leader. Latino. Hispanic whatever. This is one Mexican that will never forget that fact
February 11th, 2008 at 4:54 am
No.Senator Clinton voted for this war and my classmates die daily. She does not get my vote.
February 12th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Carlos, Did your classmates think that the induction papers they were signing to get them into the all-volunteer military were food stamp applications or what exactly did they think they were signing up for. Sounds like you are a wanna-be hippie, and I have to tell you, the 60’s are over, and besides, all the 60’s crap was about the DRAFT. You can whine like a little girl when you are DRAFTED and have no choice in the matter, but you can’t whine when you volunteered. Quit the crying and go and sit in your student union and whine and cry about the wall.
February 13th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
hey carlos you have to be an american citizen to vote for a president. mexican arent allowed to vote for a U.S. president
February 14th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Taxpayer, what are you smoking? Some of that ole’ hippie stuff? As Americans, hell as human beings, we can certainly whine when our fellow human beings are killed daily for no good reason. People voluntarily join the army, sure. But, that doesn’t mean that our President and Congress can let those volunteers down and put them in harms way without having a reason that relates to America’s national defense. Those volunteers sign up to defend our nation, not to wage a dumb man’s war in a foreign land for the stupid reasons of greed and ego. Our elected leaders owe those volunteers more respect than they would give a plastic chess pawn. So, yes, we can all “whine” about a senseless and illegal war where our fellow men die every day. Yes we can.