How to Capture the Dominican Vote (Part II of II)
May 9, 2008
Today’s guest blogger is Mr. Lu, a Dominican-American born in the Greatest City on the Planet, Lawrence, Massachusetts. Educated at some fancy school in Massachusetts and an even fancier school in CT, Mr. Lu currently writes for dr1.com, while pursuing other interests like girls, books, basketball and rock and roll.
It’s difficult to assume that any strategy could guarantee capturing the vote of a certain “group of interest.” If that were the case, Obama would have captured the “middle class white” vote, Hillary, if I may, would have been endorsed by Rev. Run and Jackson and lastly, John McCain would have convinced me that dirt is, in fact, slightly older than he. As we know neither candidate has been able to succeed in this category, so it leaves the educated mind pondering, “How do I get that illusive vote and propel myself to the Candidacy?” (Shameless plug, we know!) Well, here is a secret politicians have been hiding since the Romans began building arches, if you listen to the voter, they will vote for you!
Listen to the Voters
Capturing the Dominican vote is no different than capturing the vote of any other Latino group or ethnic/cultural group, in fact the case could be made that it is no different than capturing the support of any other voting group. You just have to listen. Like many things in Washington “listening” to the voter can easily be turned into “pandering,” and though that might have worked for my parent’s generation, standing in front of the Juan Pablo Duarte statue in Central Park or waving at me during the Dominican Day Parade will not get you my vote.
Now some of you might ask, “what’s the difference between you and your parents?” Well the difference is generational, if I can be vague about it. What I mean is that for my parent’s generation pandering, or whoring yourself for votes, would have been enough to get my mother to vote for you. I mean, wear a nice crucifix on your lapel, eat some sancocho, say something in really bad Spanish and take a nice drive through the “hood” in your limo and my mom would probably marked that box come November. Now its not that my mother doesn’t care about the issues, it’s just that for her generation American politics is still just a blurb in the newspaper. So pandering to her will work, but not me, not the 18-35 generation of new Dominican voters who can smell whoring a mile down Ortega y Gassette. You need to step up your game to get us to check that little box.
In trying to capture this voting group you must realize that as a candidate, you are a representative of the system, and you have a strike against you to start with. This new generation of voters has grown up in the shadows of “populist” politics, experiencing the second hand effects of Balaguer and Trujillo through our parents, so when we see you shaking the hands of potential voters we raise an eyebrow, weary of the man (or Clinton) in the nice silk suit. We are waiting for the con.
A few Simple Suggestions
Adding to the concern is the fact that Dominicans feel that they are just as worthy of receiving your pandering intentions as their Cuban and Puerto Rican counterparts, so the candidate must make them feel so. First off, learn where the DR is on the map. (Hint: to the right of Cuba and left of Puerto Rico. See that nub of land? That’s the DR.) What does an impromptu geography lesson have to do with it? It means that you must learn about this group and realize that their needs are different from other Latino group needs and thus investing time in them means investing time in your success as a candidate.
Get at the voters quickly and while they are young. If you want that older generation of Dominican voters go ahead and get the crucifix ready, but what good will it do you? Most of those older Dominicans will vote once and be done. So start at the college ranks. Realize that most Dominican youth are political by nature, as part of their heritage, which you would have already known after studying up on their history, and that they are heavily involved in grass roots and campus movements at the onset of their careers.
Next, make young Dominicans part of your campaign. By involving the young Dominican in the campaign process you give them a taste of what politics mean and will assure you a loyal participant for years to come. Try to get endorsements from the intellectual core of the Dominican community. Now getting David Ortiz to “swing” for your team is fine, and you should not be above a “Big Papi” endorsement, but by getting the intellectual Dominican endorsement you have then managed to close the generational gap and have secured mine and my mother’s vote.
And finally, give the Dominican voter more credit than you already do. Make us care about your campaign and we’ll make sure you are sitting in office come this fall.
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4 Responses to “How to Capture the Dominican Vote (Part II of II)”
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I find myself in agreement with Mr. Lu, especially his analysis on how best to connect with younger voters. And while it may seem common sense to simply listen and show respect to this important demographic, it is truly amazing that most (if not all) candidates display an alarming lack of both traits.
Both Democratic candidates and old John - and most candidates from previous contests - are products of a system they now proclaim a desire to change. So it’s no wonder 43 million eligible voters between the ages of 18 and 30 stayed home in November 2004. And despite all the noise about Obama rallying the youth, only 3.5 million new voters have signed up.
It’s the remaining 40 million (and the additional 27 million more who did not vote in 2004) that the Libertarian Party hopes to attract. Should our delegates have the wisdom to nominate Bob Barr - and me - later this month in Denver, it will be a very interesting summer.
And I’ll pledge this to Mr. Lu: Should there be a Barr/Williams ticket, I will come to the DR (and I know where it is) and campaign for a few days. No limo, no crucifix (or other bling-bling), just me. All I ask is that Mr. Lu be my guide.
Mr. Williams,
More than happy to be your guide and give you an insight into the Dominican and Dominican American experience. It’s a subtle differentiation, but one that I think you will find interesting, especially in reference to a possible campaign.
Cheers!
Mr. Lu
I live next to Lawrence, MA — When you come to the northeast to hit the Dominican enclaves, I’d be happy to buy coffee for Mr. Lu and Mr. Williams at either Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts.
I wrote a response to Mr. Lu’s post, stating HOW the Dominican vote in the US could tip the presidential election in November, in spite of the tiny electorate Domincans have in the US. Randall is figuring out if it will be a guest column.
Thanks to both Mr. Lu and dickmill. I look forward to the tours.