Capturing the Dominican Vote

Here is a nice piece published today by Mr. Lu about the growing political influence in the U.S. This is the entire piece. If you want to see the original it is HERE

The illusive Dominican vote is just that: illusive. For many years, among minority constituents, the Dominican vote has been the one most difficult to capture, leading many candidates to disregard the Dominican vote and move on to other minority voters that could help guarantee a candidate success at the polls. When we see today?s politicians whoring for Black votes, we hear them speaking with southern twangs at Southern Baptists churches and praising the works of MLK. When the candidate wants to capture that Mexican/Latino vote we see them standing next to a Mejicano whilst wearing a cowboy hat. When the candidate wants to make a stance against communism we see them in little Havana dropping Dominoes like they?re hot and when it?s time to court the Puerto Rican vote the candidate is down in San Juan standing next to the governor drinking Bacardi and saying thank you in that terribly annoying gringo Spanish: ?Muchos Gracias!? But when have we ever seen that same presidential candidate in Washington Heights or in Santo Domingo?

Traditionally, the Dominican voter has abstained from voting in US elections for a myriad of reasons. Some Dominicans have feared that voting in the US would negate their Dominican citizenship. Though this was true at one point, times have changed and voting in both countries is now encouraged. Another reason why many Dominicans never voted in the US elections was the continued allegiance and interest in the home elections. While Americans were worried about bi-partisan politics, Dominicans have always worried about PRSC/PLD/PRD power struggles rendering the attention towards US elections almost nullified. Also consider the language barrier, the lack of social integration into the larger American fabric and a dissociation of political ideologies that have kept Dominican voters away from the polls. Will this change?

The answer is yes. The Dominican community is entering its fifth generation in the US and has, in the last 20 years, established itself as a formidable minority group. The need to attend to the Dominican community is becoming more apparent, but what will it take for Dominicans to vote in numbers?

The truth is that the Dominicans who will be voting in this election, in my opinion, will be younger Dominicans who have grown up in the US and have been integrated for more than two decades into the American way of life. This in itself will influence the trends of other Dominican generations. I am speaking specifically referring to 18-35 year old Dominicans who will, if the candidates play it right, have the opportunity to make an impact on this year?s election.

How can this be, you might ask? Well first of all this demographic of voters, the 18-35 year old group, is now a more educated group than their parents and has a better sense of the American political process. Add that this demographic, of which I am a part, has a better appreciation of how voting and the political system affects them directly. This generation has also grown up with more affluence and more education which translates into a more empowered group of ready-to-go voters. This range of Dominicans is by far the most educated and their social/political awareness must be harnessed now, before they become disenfranchised and dissociated from the American political framework.

Though this generation of 18-35 year old Dominicans have rejected many of their parents? political ideologies and are more integrated into the American fabric than previous generations, they are still political by nature and often inline with their parents? political heritage. This could be a key component in the arsenal of any candidate wishing to secure a place in political office. The Dominican voter is ready to shift its focus towards the American political system; the question is whether or not the candidates have a place for them in the campaign.

Part II of this post will outline ?how? to get the Dominican vote.

Nice job, Lu.

RHM

Robert said:

Nice piece! We trained him well! hehehehe

Click to expand...

Please, Lu's skills were sharpened on the mean streets of Lawrence.

RHM

Part II from Mr. Lu

Here is part II complete. The original is HERE

(Libertarian VP candidate Daniel E. Williams left Mr. Lu a nice comment there).

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.

RHM