In September 2010, the Center for American Progress launched CAP en Español, a new website featuring content in Spanish, with the stated goal of furthering “ the Center’s commitment to reaching a diverse audience and engaging the broader community in its work.” At the time, the Center’s President and CEO John Podesta remarked “we are taking steps to be more inclusive in our work and this new website is a natural next step to reach out to the rapidly growing Latino community."
Going up against the candidate favored by many Latinos, Barbara Boxer, the Republican candidate Carly Fiorina thought it wise to reach out to Latinos online in hopes of courting one third of the population in California.
Although her website is strictly informational and her blog currently only offers a press release - which is not what blogs are for - the candidate opens herself up to the world on her Facebook page.
Unfortunately many are opposed to the fact that she's trying to reach them in Spanish (see the section on her wall where she announced the launch of the new site and the subsequent comments).
It should be interesting to see what kind of questions she gets regarding her support for Arizona's anti-immigrant legislation.
By now most people recognize that Latinos are changing the
US political landscape. But are political parties, both Democrats and Republicans,
listening to what Latinos have to say? Probably
not, or at least that is the reading of an article by Washington Post staff
writer Peter Levin on how “Republicans look to gain traction with Hispanic voters.”
Levin highlights a recent NBC-Wall Street poll that shows a
drop of Hispanic support for the Democratic Party, just a year after voting in
record numbers for President Obama.
The
article also cites hard-liners and “tea party” activists’ posture on
immigration issues as the main reason why Republicans are still struggling to
engage Latinos voters.
The article provides hard data on how political
parties should be paying close attention to Hispanic voting behavior and population changes.
Hispanics are the fastest growing segment in the US and their voting power has increased twofold over the last two decades. The article also
underscores how important is that politicians listen to Latinos to really understand their perspectives and priorities.
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