Among Democrats, deep concern about Clinton’s Hispanic strategy
By Abby Phillip and Ed O'Keefe September 18 at 4:21 PM
Lagging support among Hispanic voters for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and congressional candidates in crucial races has stoked deep concern that the party and the presidential campaign are doing too little to galvanize a key constituency.
While Clinton holds a significant lead over Republican rival Donald Trump in every poll of Hispanic voters, less clear is whether these voters will turn out in numbers that Democrats are counting on to win. Clinton trails President Obama’s 2012 performance in several Latino-rich states, including Florida, Nevada, Colorado and Arizona. In those same states, on which Democrats’ prospects of retaking the Senate hinge, some down-ballot Democrats remain unknown to many Hispanic voters.
That reality has prompted a flurry of criticism of Clinton’s and the party’s Hispanic strategies. Despite a uniquely favorable environment with Trump’s repeated attacks on undocumented immigrants, Democrats are increasingly worried that the opportunity is slipping away to meet a long-standing party goal of marshaling the nation’s growing Hispanic population into a permanent electoral force. The concerns are compounded by Trump’s recent surge in several battleground states.
“We’re not seeing the Democratic Party take advantage of this moment in time, really looking to leverage more engagement in a more strategic way with our community,” said Janet Murguia, president of the National Council of La Raza.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/among-democrats-deep-concern-about-clintons-hispanic-strategy/2016/09/18/38d3b99a-7c54-11e6-bd86-b7bbd53d2b5d_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1
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It's not the job of politicians to "excite" voters. It's their job IMHO to be a sane and responsible steward of the people's business and, yes, of course, that means listening to what their constituents want/need and try to get them what they want/need but they aren't, nor should they be expected to have to pander to every constituency every second of every day and promise them a "goodie-bag" (most of which they may not be able to provide) just to win elections. If people- of any age, race, etc.- don't have enough of a reason to vote for Hillary Clinton vs. Donald Trump (or just stay home and refuse to vote period, which could conceivably lead to a Donald Trump win), then, well, I don't know what to say.
Maybe people might not have been able to whip up a ton of enthusiasm against, say, John McCain or even Mitt Romney, but Donald Trump? I sure as hell hope so!
