[Marxism] The Sleeping Giant Awakes: Latinos are Ready to Vote

[Dbachmozart@xxxxxxx]

The Sleeping Giant Awakes: Latinos are Ready to Vote
 
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In the spring of 2006 millions took to the streets in cities, large and  
small, across the nation. Carrying signs proclaiming, "Today We March â 
Tomorrow  
We Vote," they voiced their opposition to legislation intended to criminalize 
12  million undocumented immigrants, divide families, and foster a climate of 
fear  and intimidation. They demanded instead that meaningful, humane, and  
responsible, immigration reform be enacted.
 
 
Two and a half years later, no such legislation has passed, replaced instead  
by a toxic and divisive debate that has led to increased raids, illegal  
detentions, hate crimes, and the very climate of fear and intimidation the  
marchers took to the streets to oppose. These events have galvanized the Latino 
 
community like never before and set the stage for what could be a seismic shift 
 
in the American electorate. 
Recently released data on voter registration points to the dawn of a new  
political reality.   
Unable to pass new restrictive and punitive legislation, the Right resorted  
to a mix of increased discriminatory local regulation, increased workplace  
raids, reinterpretation of federal statutes to allow for civil rights  
violations, and a media campaign to attempt to legitimize their deportation  
agenda 
with the general public.  And while they have had some success in  riling up 
their base and redirecting their fears and prejudices towards a  fabricated 
"brown 
menace" and away from failed economic and foreign policy  decisions, the 
issue has proven to be an electoral non-starter.  Campaigns  that have relied 
on 
restrictionist rhetoric have been utterly unsuccessful.. 
But now it appears that the dogs of hate unleashed by the anti-immigrant  
crowd are about to turn around and bite their masters. Itâs now becoming 
evident  
that they woke a sleeping giant and ignited a flame that has fired up the  
nation's largest minority like never before. This November, Latinos, and other  
ethnic groups with large immigrant populations, hold the key to victory in not 
 only the obvious swing states, but a few that some might find surprising: 

 

The passion of the immigration debate has galvanized immigrants and  
motivated them to apply for citizenship in record numbers. As a result,  
millions of 
new voters are preparing to cast their first ballots in November.  These new 
citizens are joining long-time U.S. citizens of Latino background  who are 
newly 
energized to turn out for the first time in years. Combined with  the 
U.S.-born children and grand-children of immigrants who are coming into  voting 
age, 
this wave has created a formidable force of Latino voters in 2008.  Political 
scientist and Latino voting expert Matt Barreto of the University of  
Washington predicts turnout of over 9 million Latino voters in 2008, compared  
with 
7.6 million Latino voters in 2004 
full --  
<_http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/103403/the_sleeping_giant_awakes%3A_latinos_are_ready_to_vote/_
 
(http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/103403/the_sleeping_giant_awakes:_latinos_are_ready_to_vote/)
 >



 
 
âThe  great appear great to us only because we are on our knees. Let us  rise.
â

James Connolly
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