Hillary Clinton’s Latest Hispandering Is Just Plain Insulting

By:
Oct 17, 2015
10:45 AM

In a response to the #TrumpEffect, the Hillary Clinton campaign recently decided to make a more targeted push to U.S. Latino voters (during Hispandering Heritage Month, by the way). Celebrities joined the cause as well as high-profile Latino politicians. At an event in San Antonio with former mayor and current HUD Secretary Julián Castro, she did her best to pander to a gathering of Latino supporters: “I’m not just La Hillary. I’m tu Hillary.” Another part of the Latinos for Clinton strategy was to create a post in Spanish on the campaign’s official site to let Spanish-speaking voters about the “six things you didn’t know about Hillary Clinton.” Written by Paola Luisi, it is perhaps one of the most blatantly condescending Hispandering pieces we have ever seen.

First, the piece is only in Spanish. There is no corresponding English-language piece that we know of. Maybe the Clinton campaign forget to read the latest Pew report from 2015, which clearly states this:

A record 33.2 million Hispanics in the U.S. speak English proficiently, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. In 2013, this group made up 68% of all Hispanics ages 5 and older, up from 59% in 2000.

At the same time that the share of Latinos who speak English proficiently is growing, the share that speaks Spanish at home has been declining over the last 13 years. In 2013, 73% of Latinos ages 5 and older said they speak Spanish at home, down from 78% who said the same in 2000. Despite this decline, a record 35.8 million Hispanics speak Spanish at home, a number that has continued to increase as the nation’s Hispanic population has grown.

To just provide such a post in Spanish only truly doesn’t reflect reality. But beyond that, let’s focus on the post and the six things you should know about Hillary:

She said “¡Basta!” to Donald Trump in Spanish.

We didn’t know that blurting out one word that we are pretty sure someone on her campaign suggested she say instantly connected you with U.S. Latinos. If there is any awkward moment for Clinton to show her truly Hispandering ways, this is it. Who says “¡Basta!” in any expressions these days? Maybe our older Spanish-speaking relatives, but most definitely not us.

She is a grandmother.

That is the reason U.S. Latino voters should vote for you? Why doesn’t the Clinton campaign just trademark this?

abuelita

Clinton’s mother Dorothy was a “domestic worker.” (empleada doméstica)

Seriously? That’s how you want to appeal to U.S. Latino voters? Does anyone else see how we are being played here? Anyone? Hey, we are not knocking down Clinton’s mom here, but to see it become a reason that is being promoted for Spanish-speaking voters is really low. The assumption that we as a community as just a bunch of striving “domestic workers” is reprehensible.

Hillary spent a summer registering voters in the Rio Grande Valley.

This was in 1972. 1972, people. That’s 43 years ago. It was for the George McGovern campaign, and she did it with her husband Bill. This point is just plain irrelevant.

Marc Anthony brought Hillary up on stage during one of his concerts.

Why would anyone think this is important? By the way, according to some who were there, she got a mixed response:

Hillary spent time gutting fish in Alaska. Seriously.

This happened right after she graduated after college. See our comments about the “domestic worker” belief. We have no more words for this one.

Meanwhile we are also wondering if people know these other facts about Clinton:

She wanted to send Central American kids back home last year.

Clinton gets campaign money from the private prison lobby.

Did you read the Intercept this past summer?

As immigration and incarceration issues become central to the 2016 presidential campaign, lobbyists for two major prison companies are serving as top fundraisers for Hillary Clinton.

Corrections Corporation of America and the Geo Group could both see their fortunes turning if there are fewer people to lock up in the future.

Did you read VICE earlier this month?

Depending on the outcome of the 2016 presidential election, the US could double down on these policies or reverse course by reforming the immigration system and rolling back mass incarceration. The industry doubled in size between 2000 and 2010 as the US cracked down on undocumented immigrants, and the two largest private prison corporations, the GEO Group and Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), now take in a combined $3.2 billion in annual revenue. Advocates see next year’s vote as a moment of truth.

This paragraph was interesting:

VICE reviewed federal campaign disclosures and found that lobbying firms linked to GEO and CCA have already contributed more than $288,300 to three of the leading candidates. Clinton’s Ready for Hillary PAC received $133,246 from lobbying firms linked to GEO and CCA. Rubio’s PACs and campaign have taken a total of $133,450 from private prison companies or groups that lobby on their behalf. Bush’s campaign and his Right to Rise Super PAC have received $21,700 from lobbying groups affiliated with GEO and CCA.

Don’t forget this:

the-politics-of-locking-up-immigrants-for-profit-body-image-1443989087

Will the Clinton campaign translate that into Spanish? In addition, will Clinton also share more about how she has flip-flopped on immigration for years?

And Don’t Forget About Honduras

Hey, we understand that Clinton and the Democratic establishment need the U.S. Latino vote, but they are doing it all wrong. Enough with the shallow marketing and stale metaphors. Start answering the real questions. Accountability is so much more important than you think. In fact, it is the most important thing.