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 News from Around the Americas | September 2007 
Immigration Tone Softens in Debate
 Jeremy Wallace - HeraldTribune.com
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More technology for the border
Sen. John Edwards on border patrols and Blockbuster video: "When you walk into a Blockbuster to rent a movie, you don't see anybody, but you hear a voice saying, 'Welcome to Blockbuster.' ... It seems to me we can figure out when somebody's coming into the United States of America ... if we use the technology that's available to us."
A second official language for U.S.
U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich was the only candidate to say he supported making Spanish the nation's official second language. "This is who I am. It's part of my career to stand up for Latinos."
Governor tries to speak Spanish
Gov. Bill Richardson, the only Hispanic candidate, tried to speak Spanish, even though the rules said candidates had to speak in English. He accused Univision of promoting "English-only."
Easing restrictions on nearby Cuba
Sen. Mike Gravel won applause by proposing easing restrictions on Cuba. "Why can't we recognize Cuba? Why - what's the big deal, after 25 years, that these people 125 miles from this country are discriminated against? It makes no sense at all." |
Coral Gables - With hopes of winning over the nation's 44 million Latinos, Democrats running for president squared off in the heart of Florida's Cuban-American community in what is likely to be their only debate in Florida until January's primary elections.
While the seven Democrats offered few differences on the key issues such as immigration and health care reform, their presence at the debate, in which all questions were in Spanish, was hailed for the message it sent to Latinos.
"It offered a direct view of how these candidates think about them," Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., said after the 90-minute debate on Spanish TV.
Non-Spanish-speaking Floridians likely would have had a hard time following the debate, which was translated and broadcast in Spanish. No English telecast was made, although Univision did offer closed captioning.
Most notable was the change in tone on immigration, Univision co-anchor Maria Elena Salinas said. Instead of the harsh rhetoric on immigration, Latino voters heard the candidates speak with more understanding on the issue, she said.
Each of the candidates took turns chastising the tone of the national immigration debate, warning the rhetoric had become too divisive. Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York said politicians and some in the broadcast world are "taking particular aim" at the Latino population and undermining national unity.
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina warned against the dehumanizing tone of the debate.
"They are no less human and no less value as human beings," Edwards said.
The forum went off in spite of the Democratic candidates pledge to not campaign in Florida because of a fight with the state over when it plans to hold its primary. Florida plans to hold its primary on Jan. 29, seven days before national party rules allow.
Florida Democratic Party chairwoman Karen Thurman said it shows Florida will still play a role in the election, despite the rift with the party.
"All of the Democratic candidates will be on the ballot on Jan. 29," Thurman said.
Those involved with the debate said what happened on Sunday was an historic moment for America's Latinos.
"This is bigger than Florida," said Donna Shalala, president of the University of Miami, who was secretary of health and human services under former President Bill Clinton.
The candidates were able to reach voters who might not have tuned in yet to learn about the candidates, said Frank Sanchez, a Tampa resident who is the Latino outreach coordinator for Barack Obama in Florida.
Although the candidates did not differ much on national issues like Iraq (all supported withdrawing U.S. troops), and on health care (all supported universal access to health care), Sanchez said the debate was significant in that it spoke to a new audience.
The three leading candidates, Clinton, Edwards and Obama, a senator from Illinois, had especially sharp criticism for leaders of the Republican Party.
They expressed concerns that Republicans were enabling anti-immigrant feelings and even racist attitudes, or at least not taking a tougher stand against them.
Clinton said an immigration overhaul, which all the Democrats at the debate endorsed, had been used by Republicans and some in the news media to attack immigrants and Latinos alike.
"It has been demagogued, and I believe it has been used to bash immigrants, and that must stop," Clinton said. "The Republican candidates need to understand they are doing a great disservice to our country."
Later, Clinton added: "There are many in the political and frankly in the broadcast world today who take particular aim at our Latino population. I think it's very destructive and undermines our unity in the country."
A spokesman for Clinton said after the debate that she was referring to the CNN personality Lou Dobbs and radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh, among others.
Obama, who is seeking strong support from both black and Latino voters, recalled a telegram the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. sent to Cesar Chavez that said, "Our separate struggles are one."
"I think that's what's been missing from presidential leadership - explaining to American people from all walks of life that our separate struggles are one," Obama said. "A president not only has to speak out forcefully against anti-immigrant sentiment and racist sentiment, but also make sure that all workers are being attended to."
Edwards put the blame for anti-Latino sentiment in the United States squarely on President Bush, saying he "uses absolutely every tool available to him politically to divide this country." He added, "That has to come to an end."
Several said they would try to overhaul immigration in their first year in office.
Richardson, the first major Latino candidate in either party, said his plan would create a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, punish employers who hire illegal immigrants and toughen border security with the help of greater technology.
Richardson also criticized the notion of a barrier or wall along the Mexican border as "horrendous." Clinton and Obama, along with another Democratic candidate, Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, had supported using federal money to start work on a barrier.
"If you're going to build a 12-foot wall," Richardson said, "you know what's going to happen? A lot of 13-foot ladders."
Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio said the problem of illegal immigration stemmed partly from trade agreements like NAFTA, which he said he would cancel as president. He said wrongheaded policies were to blame for illegal immigration, not the people themselves.
"There are no illegal human beings," he said to applause in the debate hall at the University of Miami.
The only Democratic candidate absent from debate at the campus was Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware.
Republicans were scheduled to debate on Univision on Sept. 16, but only Sen. John McCain of Arizona agreed to the debate. Univision officials say they are still working with the Republicans to set up another date for the forum.
Jeremy Wallace can be reached at jeremy.wallace@heraldtribune.com.
Information from The New York Times was used in this report. |
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