Dolores Huerta Chooses Clinton Over Obama
Rio Grande Guardian, News Report, María González-Escareño and Joey Gomez, Posted: Feb 19, 2008
LAREDO, February 17 - Hillary Clinton's ties with the Latino community date back 35 years ago, while Barack Obama's date back six months ago, said Dolores Huerta and Laredo's political and community leaders at a meet and greet breakfast Sunday.
“She's not the 'Johnny Come Lately',” said Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers union with César Chávez.
“When she was in her 20s, she was registering voters down in the Valley, right in the poorest parts of the United States of America for Latinos to live. Hillary was knocking on doors to register Latinos to vote.”
At a private room in Laredo's Cotulla Style Pit Bar-B-Q restaurant, more than 60 supporters, including political and community leaders, gathered to hear the Chicano Movement activist rally for Clinton. Laredo Mayor Raul Salinas and Webb County Judge Danny Valdez welcomed and introduced Huerta, who was accompanied on the tour throughout Texas by Tejano artist Johnny Canales.
Huerta, who campaigned for Clinton in the Southwest, including Nevada, California and New Mexico, said there might be Latinos who support Obama, but that there is no contest when comparing their ties to the Latino community over the years. This history, said Huerta, is why she has garnered the Latino vote in the states she has won so far, Huerta said.
“Hillary is a win for Latinos,” said Huerta. “If she wins, we win. We will have somebody out there who did not start advocating for us now, but who has been advocating for us for 35 years.”
Huerta also made reference to the Obama's campaign's use of the slogan Sí Se Puede - yes, it is possible. She told the audience the phrase originated in 1972 in Arizona, a state where farm workers first thought it was impossible to organize.
“We were trying to get people to support Cesar Chavez, when he was fasting to protest a law that would incarcerate anyone for six months if they went on strike,” said Huerta. “They said it's possible in California and Texas, but in Arizona no se puede. So I answered, 'Sí Se Puede.'”
“Now they're copying our slogan, but you cannot build a relationship nomas con una palabra - just with one word,” said Huerta, referring to Obama's campaign's usage of the phrase. Obama has recently made significant strides in the Latino community at the grassroots level, including an endorsement by the Mexican American Democrats organization.
Huerta also referred to the Elvira Arellano case, the undocumented immigrant who was deported in August 2007 after spending one year in a Chicago church, and argued that Obama did not support her. She said the Illinois senator could have made a difference in a case that “mattered so much for the Latino community.”
“You know that saying, nomas vienen a ver el nopal cuando tiene tunas...they only come to the cactus when it has fruit. That's what this man is doing,” said Huerta.
Laredo's list of political leaders who are supporting Clinton includes the mayor, who also referred to Clinton's historical ties with the Latino community.
“She did not only remember Hispanics six months ago,” said Salinas. “She's been thinking about Hispanics for over 35 years ago. She's been working for projects that affect the Hispanic community, she's been right there on the trenches and that's what it's about.”
Also present at the breakfast were Eddie Zavala, of the office of U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, and Michelle Raymond, wife of state Rep. Richard Raymond, D-Laredo. Webb County Democratic Chair Javier Montemayor and Texas Migrant Council CEO Mary Capello were among the many community leaders who attended the event.
Later in the day, Huerta spoke at Clinton’s campaign office in Pharr before 300 supporters, many from La Unión del Pueblo Entero, the community action group that grew out of the United Farm Workers union.
Asked if Hispanics really could change the course of the presidential election in Clinton’s favor, Huerta said yes.
“Absolutely, they can call it just by their numbers. If our numbers come out and vote that means she'll get more delegates to the Convention, and eventually become a candidate,” Huerta said.
“You know, in Nevada they did everything they could against her like in California but then the Latinos came out and that was enough to get elected. It is a very pivotal position in our community right now like never before.”
Huerta said voters should know that Clinton is the one Democratic candidate than can definitely win in November and that the Valley and South Texas will be “absolutely crucial” to that effort.
“We just look at what already happened in New York City where she was Senator and got 70 percent of the Latino vote, in California she got 65 percent,” Huerta said. “So, we can see that the Latinos are really coming out for her and I think here in the Valley, because of the organization that we have, can be even bigger.”
Tejano artist Canales said Valley voters owe it to the soldiers in Iraq to exercise their democratic rights.
“If we don't come out and vote those guys that are fighting for us, it's like a slap for them. I'm asking everybody to come out and vote because this is one of the privileges that we have, to come out and vote, one of the biggest that can be bestowed on us,” Canales said.
Guardian reporter Joey Gomez contributed to this story from Pharr.
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User Comments
Juan David on Feb 24, 2008 at 18:54:05 said:
Clinton overlooked meeting with undocumented Latino groups in New York during the time of the Immigration Rights Rally, instead focusing her attention to the "legalize the Irish" group. Does that sound like someone that is supportive of Latino immigrants or someone that is more concerned with the political implications of certain associations?
Obama's background in community organizing is much more reminiscant of Chavez than Clinton's.
Jamie on Feb 22, 2008 at 01:30:25 said:
Viva Cesar Chavez, Viva Sra. Huerta, y Viva Hillary Clinton!!!!!
Irma on Feb 21, 2008 at 17:30:29 said:
Hilary Clinton is the one that all the LATINOS need because she would help the once that don't have papers. She is also the one that would end up war with Irak.
diego on Feb 21, 2008 at 17:25:52 said:
IF I WAS OLD EVEN I WOULD VOTE FOR HILARY CLINTON BECAUSE ITS TIME FOR A WOMEN TO RULE THE U.S. ALSO, BECAUSE SHE WOULD HELP THE LATINOS AND IMMGRANTS.
C. Llanes on Feb 21, 2008 at 14:31:33 said:
Look we support Obama at THIS point because he is a better choice for the reasons below. I laid out an argument here about why the Clintons are NOT friends of latinos, for three main reasons.
Do you actually have a response to the Clinton atrocities or are you just going to say "blah blah blah" and use a totally hypocritical argument of empty words?
CarlosnLA on Feb 21, 2008 at 09:46:50 said:
Just more Blah ! Blah ! Blah ! from Obama supporters!...No Beef agian, just a bunch of Words and Non- Rooted Hopes and Promises !...Sick of all the TALK..Blah Blah Blah !!!! Heard all that OLD political rhetoric of "CHANGE" hundreds of times before. Obama is using the SAME OLD negative political character assasination tactics that all politicians have used over and over again against Hillary. Don't be so blind, he's just another politician NOT a Messiah. Let's leave preaching where it belongs, in the religious sector. Obama and his supporters' "Holier than Though" stance is of utmost hypocrisy. All that Blah, Blah, Blah = Lies, Lies, Lies ! Show the BEEF !
C. Llanes on Feb 20, 2008 at 19:51:32 said:
Words plagiarized? Every politician uses the rhetoric and words of people who came before him or her. Clinton is just as guilty of this, and she's taken from Obama's speeches herself. What really matters here is background and association.
I second Tejana on all of these points. NAFTA, immigration reform and welfare reform are three places where the Clinton administration SCREWED Mexico and her people, as well as latinos and low income people of color here in the states. Why this is SOOO overlooked by mainstream media has been beyond me for a long time, though after more research and insight into Clinton scandals (and I mean fundraising fraud and media manipulation, not fooling around with interns), it is clear that the Clintons have so much power it is frightening. This includes power over mainstream media. And I would include mainstream Latino radio and TV here, sources that continue to skew the issues, frame heroes and villains (sometimes worse than even Fox news) and perpetuate RACIST stereotypes among Latinos which further strengthen Black/Brown division, a powerful political tool.
My point: Hillary=corporate lawyer turned established politician=flip-flopping empty shell. This woman's stances change dramatically with every new opportunity.
Obama has been general in his words because it takes extreme strategy to get as far as he's gotten. But OBAMA IS FROM THE SCHOOL OF CESAR CHAVEZ. His background is grassroots, he has always worked with low-income people of color to help them combat their oppression, and he professed in constitutional law at one of the best universities in the country.
Furthermore, he's not part of the corrupted establishment. He is a real inspiration and unfortunately he must muffle the specifics of his extraordinary ideologies and accomplishments only to please the moderates and conservatives who will vote him into office.
Obama has a real charisma, and it comes from truth. True progressives still have major criticisms of this man, but we will strive to hold him accountable and make him listen to our movements.
Hillary is old guard, married to the biggest economic globalizer this country has seen.
AND ANYONE WHO THINKS VOTING 2 FAMILIES INTO POWER FOR 25 YEARS ISN'T AN ATROCITY IN THE BATTLE FOR DEMOCRACY is sadly naive.
I have HUGE respect for UFW and all of Dolores Huerta's accomplishments, but for her recent inappropriate mud-slinging tactics and shallow promises about Hillary, she should be ashamed. Obama represents the true beliefs and spirit of Cesar Chavez far more than Hillary could ever dream, and Hillary represents a family that tore Mexico and our people apart.
It's time for a change already!
Joe Ortiz on Feb 20, 2008 at 14:56:18 said:
Obama's 'Messianic' Message
By Joe Ortiz
Barack Obama is riding on a meteoric carpet ride to become the nation's next President, and his main message is that he is the best qualified to unite our country! He has promised to unite not only the US Congress and the US Senate, but all Americans, black and white, liberals and conservatives, rich and poor and red states versus blue states. His message is resonating and inspiring thousands of people, mostly the young and educated and, of course the black community.
Obama's rhetorical chants of "change we can believe in" remind me of the same ones we activists heard when we were involved in the early 60's civil rights era, the grape boycotts and the anti-Viet Nam war movement.
Many of those who are becoming motivated (and inspired) by his Messianic-like speeches were not around when truly inspirational leaders were basically extolling the same message; charismatic leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King, Caesar Chavez, Bobby Kennedy, Bert Corona, Corky Gonzalez, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, Jessie Jackson, Medgar Evers, Angela Davis, Andrew Young and many other (lesser known) leaders who have been fighting for civil rights in the trenches in the barrios and ghettos of America decades before Obama entered this arena.
Based on the last seven years of the polarizing exploits of George W. Bush, any message about "change" will obviously motivate an exasperatingly and frustrated electorate. Obviously, whether John McCain, Hillary Clinton or Barak Obama is elected, their will be obvious change from the dictatorial and insensitive regime of George W. Bush.
But will there be "change that we can believe in"? Obama believes he can do it! But how? He gives great and glowing speeches that he can accomplish this, but never tells us how!
How does Obama plan to bring about this unity? Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives, blacks and whites, rich and poor have always been divided by the dichotomies of race, gender, financial status, religion and red and blue state mentality. Does he believe he can merely say "Please" to elected leaders from the other side of the aisle and they will jump up and say, "Whatever you want Barack" without a fight? Does Obama believe that the political dichotomous turfs that have been in place for over a two hundred years will suddenly disappear because he extolled inspirational chants that "There is no such thing as liberal or conservatives, red or blue states, that we are all Americans?"
Does he believe, for example, that he can bring about calm and productive discussions with The Minutemen, the vigilante group of American citizens who are standing guard at the Mexican borders, with Mexican American citizens to mutually agree on the philosophical reasons as to why they actively guard the US-Mexican borders? Can he unite these vigilantes who claim they are there to protect America from and capture individuals who ostensibly want to re-conquer America and take back the land that was once Mexico? Will Obama set up meetings between the rich folks in the Hamptons with poor blacks who have been removed from their homes destroyed by Katrina, to discuss how the stock market is fairing? Will Obama inspire the thousands of Iranian, Pakistani, Jordanian and other Middle Eastern Muslims living in the US to have regular Sunday-go-meeting picnics with Jewish members of numerous Synagogues in New York and Los Angeles to discuss the customs and interpretative variances in their respective religions? Will Obama inspire members of the ACLU to meet with Christian right wing evangelicals to adopt a compromise of the Gay Marriage issue? Are these perplexing questions?
What is even more disconcerting is how journalists and media pundits throughout the land have failed to ask Obama these questions. All I hear are comments about how inspirational Obama's speeches are, always mentioning the huge throng at Obama rallies, but never, ever asking him the nuts and bolts question:
"Barack! Exactly and specifically how do you plan to unite the Congress, red and blue states, black, brown and whites, liberals and conservatives, rich and the poor? Gives us some specifics, Barack!"
"Barack? Will you get rid of the Patrriot Act? Will you stop the imperialistic journey this country has been in for the last 200 years?" No one asks Obama's these questions. Why?
Most journalists and pundits Ilke Chris Matthews) have been felled by Barack’s preacher-like charisma and the same rhetoric that existed 45 years ago, but too few of them were courageous enough to embrace it back then.
You, Chris Matthews, have become so enamored by Obama's rhetoric, that you swoon on every word he states and give him a pass by not asking him (or your guest commentators) these questions. You are obviously biased towards Obama. For example, during one of your shows, you projected your obvious preference for Obama as you mocked Hillary Clinton when she was on stage for clapping her hands along with an audience she was introduced to.
"What is all that hand clapping all about?" You smirked.
Watch carefully Chris! Obama does the same thing all the time whenever he is introduced to an audience and you fail to mention that same quirk.
Most disconcerting is the one key statement Obama has been making. He not only claims he will united the entire country, but he said he will also unite the entire world!! Good Grief! The Messiah is here!
.
Many of us veteran civil rights activists who have been fighting in the trenches for over forty to fifty years, to remedy the injustices of racial discrimination, employment inequality and lack of active participation in the American dream, have heard Pollyannaish rhetoric like Obama's before.
Many of us truly believed in our hearts the great dreams of Dr. Martin Luther King. Many of us believed that we could change the minds of the establishment to change their hearts and judge us by our character rather than the color of our skin, or the variance in our culture and language. While some gains have been made through active involvement within the system, today's media evoke the harsh realities of a jaded and still xenophobic citizenry. For one, the anti-immigration discussion glaringly has turned into one of the meanest and most heinous attacks against members of the human race ever experienced in history, not seen since the attempted annihilation of Native Americans.
Sadly, many of us would like to seriously believe that Obama's so-called Messianic message was being felt and accepted by the establishment (those who control the military industrial complex, especially) would see the light, would repent and use their vast wealth to overcome poverty, racial and religious discrimination and divisiveness, once and for all.
But guess what? It will never happen. No! This is not pessimism! It's realism! It all sounds good and many folks are getting excited. But, after election day is over, and let’s say Barack wins, he will soon face the reality of the ugly monster known as American politicks. The divisions will continue to exist, Republicans verses Democrats, whites versus colored, liberals versus conservatives, rich verses poor, secularist versus religionists, and more importantly, journalists versus the truth!
[Joe Ortiz is the first Mexican American to ever host an English-language talk show on a commercial radio station. He is the author of two recently published books, The End Times Passover, and Why Christians Will Suffer Great Tribulation. Published by Author House
Tejana on Feb 20, 2008 at 03:05:45 said:
This article is very disturbing.
How can Dolores Huerta say that Hillary is a "win for Latinos" when she supported and was part of an administration that helped institute NAFTA, an economic policy that favors private corporate interests over human rights and that has proven disastrous to the local economies of both the US and Mexico.
She also supported her husband when he signed the 1996 Immigration laws (IIRAIRA), a cruel policy that has disrupted and nearly destroyed our migrant and Latino communities because it greatly expanded the types of offenses for which someone, including long time legal residents, can be deported. Over 1.5 million people have been torn away from their families since the passage of this law and little to nothing has been done to address the plight of the US citizen children left behind without parents.
I am also amazed that there has not even the been the slightest mention of Clinton's welfare "reform" policy?
I admire and honor Dolores Huerta for her legacy of community organizing and change, pero who does she think she is trying to fool when asking us to support Clinton? Hopefully there will be many who choose not to fall for that political rhetoric.
CarlosnLA on Feb 19, 2008 at 19:42:49 said:
Bravo Dolores ! Some things never CHANGE, like the phrase "Actions speak LOUDER than words", especially when certain WORDS are plagiarized. Hillary on the other hand has gained the Latino support because she's done it the unchangeable old-fashioned way which is EARNING IT. What person in their right mind can argue that? Sen. Obamas' most recent defense that "WORDS DO MATTER" simply demonstrates his shallowness again. Our historical heroes matched their words with ACTIONS..MLK did'nt just say "I have a DREAM", he marched incessantly putting his life in danger to prove it, the Founders of the US did'nt just say "Life and Liberty for All"..."All Men are Created Equal" without first fighting for their Independence. Words do Matter but their meaningless without the ACTIONS to back them up !
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