By Jennifer Parker

Nov 29, 2007 7:21pm

Richardson Courts Hispanic Voters in New York

ABC News’ Sarah Amos Reports: Between fundraisers in New York Thursday, Democratic presidential candidate Gov. Bill Richardson, D-N.M., attended a meet-and-greet with his hispanic supporters — the New York chapters of "Mi Familia con Richardson." 

"I humbly come here, asking for your support, not just because I am Latino, but because I am the most qualified candidate,"  Richardson told the crowd of mainly immigration activists and foreign journalists.

Richardson spoke to the crowd about America’s need to embrace their immigrants, while also building better relationships with foreign countries.  "I want an America that cares about Africa, Asia and Latin America," said Richardson to the cheering crowd. 

But perhaps the loudest applause of the night came during a question on giving illegal immigrants drivers licenses, an idea recently abandoned by New York Governor Elliot Spitzer. 

"You’re looking at a Governor that did drivers licenses for immigrants four years ago," said Richardson when asked where he stood on the issue.  "By giving licenses to undocumented workers, traffic fatalities went down, un-insured motorists went down, it is an issue of safety, it is an issue of bringing individuals out of the shadows and it works," he added. 

Because the Hispanic community has become a prominent voting block in many states, securing their vote has become more important than in past elections. Richardson, whose mother was Mexican and father was Nicaraguan-born, seems like the obvious choice for this voting bloc.  Yet his campaign has struggled with being embraced or even identified as a Hispanic by the Latino community.

In August Richardson began "Mi Familia con Richardson" an out-reach program to combat the recognition problem.  "This is how we are going to carry the word that Bill Richardson IS Hispanic,"  Richardson jokingly explained to the crowd.

But while the program has grown in recent months, Richardson has yet to reach a wide base of Hispanic voters.  Tonight’s event in midtown Manhattan, filled with a mainly non-Hispanic crowd, was an example of the uphill battle he is still facing. 

User Comments

Richardson courts Hispanic votes because that’s all he cares about. The rest of the ‘Americans’ can go to heck as far as he’s concerned. Ditto for all the so called Hispanic politicians. There’s no ‘American’ attached to their beliefs. Time to deport them all, legal or criminal (no such thing as an illegal, cross the border without paperwork you are a criminal the same as any other criminal) Time to quit BS’ing people about it.

Posted by: Scrapiron | November 29, 2007, 10:06 pm 10:06 pm

Deport legal immigrants as well, huh? Unless you’re Native American, you really need a reality check. You’re ancestors were immigrants and were treated the same way Hispanic immigrants are being treated now.

Posted by: Mitchel | December 3, 2007, 11:59 am 11:59 am

I AM CONCERN WITH PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE JOHN MCCAIN’S CHANGE TO HIS WEB SITE. HE ORIGINALLY SAID THE BAIL OUT OF HOME OWNERS SHOULD BE BASED ON CURRENT ESTIMATES OF SAID PROPERTY.
HIS WEB SITE NOW SAYS THESE BAD MORTGAGES SHOULD BE BAILED OUT BASED ON AMOUNT OF LOAN AT THE TIME LOAN WAS AUTHORIZED WHICH IS A LOT HIGHER APPRAISAL VALUE THEN PRESENT APPRAISAL VALUE IS TODAY.
THIS CHANGE WOULD MEAN THAT AMERICAN TAX PAYERS WOULD BE BUYING PROPERTIES ABOVE THEIR CURRENT APPRAISAL VALUE, AND OUR U.S. CITIZENS WOULD BE ON THE HOOK FOR THESE HIGHER COST. THIS MEANS THE TAXPAYERS WOULD BE PAYING FOR LOSSES OF THESE PROPERTIES IN DEFAULT BASED ON OLDER HIGHER APPRAISALS WHICH IS NOT FAIR TO AMERICAS.
IF WE CAN BUY DEFAULTED PROPERTIES AT THEIR CURRENT ESTIMATES, WE THEN MAYBE ABLE TO ACTUALLY MAKE A PROFIT ON THESE HOMES AS PRICES GO BACK UP WHICH MAY BE YEARS, BUT ITS BETTER THEN BEING DEEPER IN DEBT FROM THE DAY PROPERTIES WERE PURCHASE. NO HOME BUYER WOULD WANT TO PAY FOR A HOME AT OLDER HIGHER PRICES, SO WHY WOULD THE U.S. GOVERNMENT NOT BE ALLOWED THE SAME SENSIBLE PURCHASES.
MCCAIN CAMPAIGN MANAGER WAS BEING PAID BY FANNIE AND FREDDIE UP TO A MONTH AGO!
THE SURGE IN IRAQ WAS NOT THE ONLY TURNING POINT IN IRAQ BECAUSE OF THE TRIBES OF A 100,000 PERSON HAD GOTTEN INVOLVED IN IRAQI WAR. THERE WERE THE SONS’ OF IRAQ ALSO CALLED THE TRIBAL AWAKENING AND THE AWAKENING COUNCIL WHO HELPED WITH THE FIGHTING IN IRAQ. THE FIGHTING IN IRAQ FLARED UP RIGHT AFTER THE SURGE IN IRAQ HAPPENED. PLEASE NOTE THE QUOTE BELOW WEB LINK ON BIG OIL BELOW!
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2008/09/200893225527640103.html
“Iraq McCain emphasizes the ‘success’ of the surge pointing to a decrease in violence as evidence of the surge’s success. However, he fails to acknowledge the agreement made between Maqtada al-Sadr and the Iraqi government. Al-Sadr is the most powerful cleric in Baghdad. But for the agreement between al-Sadr and the Iraqi government, there would still be major violence.
In fact, after the surge had been harolded a victory, there was a spike in violence as the Sadr-Iraqi agreement dissolved. Sadr’s Mahqti army restarted their attacks. It was only after al-Sadr and the Iraqi government restarted negotiations that the violence was once more subsided. McCain only understands military force. His narrow mindedness is reflective of Bush’s approach to resolving issues. Even a religious cleric like al-Sadr is capable of understanding the usefulness of negotiations. It’s sad McCain-iacs are too psychophatically violent to think rationally. McCain is very misleading.U.S. Security How is Iraq a threat to U.S. security again? Oh, al-Qaeda will take over the Iraqi government if the U.S. leaves? For real? Did Patreus say that? Whatever government exists after the U.S. leaves will most likely despise America.
I doubt it will be al-Qaeda. The most likely ruler of Iraq will be someone like al-Sadr–If you don’t know who al-Sadr is, please do some research. Even if it isn’t al-Sadr, the next government will be anti-American. I imagine the citizens of a country that was unjustly invaded by another country, consequently causing the death of over one hundred thousand of its citizens due to the destabilization of the government, will abhor the invading country. That’s a natural reaction. And if the Iraqi government in place after the U.S. leaves reflects the desires of Iraqis, the Iraqi government will hate America. It won’t be al-Qaeda. I wish McCain would stop saying that.”
Israel
U.S. policy post 9/11 has increased terrorism: Syria
The “war on terror” declared by U.S. President George W. Bush after the September 11, 2001 attacks has caused more terrorism than it prevented, Syria’s foreign minister said on Thursday.
I REVIEWED PAPERS LIKE AL JAZEERA, IRAQ NEWS ETC WHO CALL THE U.S. THE INVADERS OF IRAQ. ONE PAPER WENT ON TO SAY THE NEXT GOVERNMENT IN IRAQ WILL BE AN ANTI-AMERICAN GOVERNMENT. WERE NOT LIKED THAT MUCH IN AFGHANISTAN BECAUSE OF THE KILLING OF THOSE COUNTRIES’ FAMILIES AND DESTRUCTION OF THEIR HOMES. I ACTUALLY THINK MCCAIN WANTS TO STAY IN IRAQ UNTIL HE CAN SECURE AN AMERICAN ALLIE COUNTRY BECAUSE OF OIL. DOES ANYONE THINK WE WOULD BE AT WAR WITH IRAQ IF THEY DID NOT HAVE MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF OIL? HEY PALIN, WOMEN HAVE ACTUALLY LOST SOME OF THEIR RIGHTS BECAUSE OF THE WAR. WHY HAVEN’T A FEW BRIGADES IN IRAQ BEEN SENT HOME TO REST AND THEN WE COULD DEPLOY 3 RESTED BRIGADES TO IN AFGHANISTAN.
A BILL TO FIX WALL STREET WHILE NOT SOLVING MILLIONS OF MAIN STREET AMERICA TAX PAYERS PROBLEMS STINKS. THIS MEANS THE PROBLEM WOULD STILL EXIST FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WHILE CONGRESS PAYS OFF WALL STREET’S MISTAKES WITH OUR TAX PAYERS’ MONEY. I DON’T BELIEVE IN PAYING HIGH BONUSES TO CEOs, CFOs ETC WHO DON’T DO THEIR JOBS. THIS BILL SHOULD NOT BAIL OUT MOSTLY WALL STREET. I HOPE THIS BILL WILL HAVE TRANSPARENCY, REGULATION, AND OVERSIGHT. WE ARE DEEPLY OFFENDED BY BUSH’S FIRST 3 PAGE BILL. THIS BILL AND BUSH’S ATTEMPTS TO PUSH THIS BILL THROUGH AS HE DID WITH IRAQ ISSUE SMELLS AS WELL. WOULD THE WORLD CRASHED IF WE TOOK MORE TIME ON BILL, AND NOT AD A LOT OF EXTRA POLICIES JUST TO SAY WE PASSED A BILL TO HELP THE ECONOMY?
WHY ARE WE CONSIDERING BORROWING MONEY FROM BANKS TO TO PAY OFF BANKS’ TOXIC HOME LOANS? WE NEED TO SECURE MAIN STREET AND NOT BAIL OUT ALL OF WALL STREET’S BAD DEBT BY MAKING U.S. CITIZENS PAY FOR WALL STREETS BAD LENDING PRACTICES. WE STILL FEEL WE SHOULD RESCUE MAIN STREET LOANS, AND NOT RISK TAX PAYERS’ MONEY BAILING OUT BAD OR TOXIC HOME LOANS CREATED BY POOR LENDING POLICIES. LENDERS BY HE WAY, WILL GET RELIEVE FROM THEIR APPROVED BAD LOANS. WE FEEL THESE LOANS AND LENDERS SHOULD NOT BE REWARDED FOR PUSHING BAD LENDING PRACTICES. CEO’s, CFO’s SHOULD NOT ONLY LOOSE THEIR LARGE GOLDEN PARACHUTS PAY, BUT THERE REGULAR PAY SHOULD BE CUT SO NO ONE MAKES MORE THEN THE U.S. PRESIDENT, BUT GETTING PAID LESS THEN PRESIDENT IS OK.
WE HIGHLY SUPPORT IMMIGRATION VERIFICATION BY E-VERIFY SOFTWARE. WITH OUR OPEN BOARDERS, WE CAN NOT AFFORD TO BE IRRESPONSIBLE ANY MORE AND LET IN JUST ANYONE. WE SUPPORT THE BOARDER FENCE THAT BUSH PUT ON HOLD, AND WE SUPPORT THE NEED FOR THE NATIONAL GUARD TO GUARD OUR BOARDER UNTIL THE FENCE IS COMPLETED. THE CANADA BOARDER IN SPOTS IS JUST SOME BIG ROCKS ON THE GROUND SEPARATING CANADA FROM THE U.S. WOULDN’T OUR BOARDERS BE A CONCERN FOR HOMELAND SECURITY AND THE PRESIDENT? WHY WAS THE FENCE’S COMPLETION DATE PUSHED BACK UNLESS BUSH IS SOFT ON IMMIGRATION.
I SAW A ISSUE IN TIME’S MAGAZINE ABOUT USING ELECTRIC VEHICLES TO SAVE OIL AND STOP SMOG. MY EXPERIENCE DRIVING A ELECTRIC FORD PICKUP WAS THAT IT WAS VERY QUITE WITHOUT A GAS MOTOR AND DROVE WELL. UNFORTUNATELY, I WAS LIMITED ON MILEAGE BY THE VEHICLE’S BATTERY. I HAD TO MAKE SURE I HAD ENOUGH OF A BATTERY CHARGE TO GET BACK HOME. EVEN WHEN I GOT HOME, IT TOOK HOURS TO CHARGE UP THE VEHICLE’S BATTERY. WHAT WOULD WE DO IF WE HAD CHARGING STATIONS IF THE BATTERY TAKES HOURS TO CHARGE?
MAYBE WE NEED TO SETUP NATURAL GAS STATIONS AND LOOK TO A NATURAL GAS HYBRID. ISN’T THIS A LEAST POSSIBLE? WE NEED TO DRILL FOR BOTH NATURAL GAS AND OUR OWN OIL NEEDS, AND WE NEED TO DRILL NOW. WE CAN NOT AFFORD TO KEEP SENDING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OVER SEAS FOR OIL, WARS, AND REBUILDING OTHER COUNTRY’S INFRASTRUCTURE. BUT PEOPLE LIKE T. BOONE PICKENS SAY WE DON’T HAVE ENOUGH OIL IN THE U.S. IF WE STARTED DRILLING NOW. EVEN AS WE CHANGE FROM FOSSIL FUELS TO NATURAL GAS, WE WILL NEED OIL FOR ALL CARS’ TRANSMISSIONS, REAR ENDS, AND CRANKCASES. PLUS THE U.S. CAN NOT JUST WAKE UP ONE DAY AND SAY WE ARE GOING TO NATURAL GAS HYBRID, OR WHATEVER, AND HAVE IT HAPPEN WITH OUT PLENTY OF MONEY AND TIME. PLUS THE MIDDLE CLASS AND POOR MAY NOT BE ABLE TO GO OUT AND BUY THESE NEWLY DESIGN ENERGY EFFICENT VEHICLES.
NATURAL GAS WOULD COST HALF AS MUCH AS REGULAR GAS. WE HAVE A LOT OF NATURAL GAS. HOW MUCH WORK IS TO SQUEEZE OIL SHELL ROCK TO GET OIL? SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA’S BUSES RUN ON NATURAL GAS AND THERE IS NOT THE GROSS SMELL OR A BLACK CLOUD OF SMOKE LIKE YOU GET WITH DEISEL BUSES. WHY IS DEISEL FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE TIME COST MORE THEN GAS. COULD IT BE THAT THE PROCESSING COMPANIES HAVE INCREASED THEIR PROFITS ON THIS FUEL.
AL GORE AND FRIENDS WILL PUSH FOR CORN FUELED FUELS BECAUSE THERE INVESTED IN THESE VENTURES, BUT I HAD HEARD THERE IS A GREEN PLANT WITH GREEN BUDS THAT TURN BROWN AND CAN BE USED FOR FUEL. I JUST HATE TO SEE THE PRICE OF CORN FEED AND HUMAN CORN NEEDS RAISED, AND CORN USED FOR FUEL BECAUSE FUEL IS MORE PROFITABLE.
*
Iraq’s Shiite cleric steps up call to evict US forces
Iraq’s Shiite cleric steps up call to evict US forces
AFP via Yahoo! News – Fri Oct 3, 9:38 am EDT
Radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr issued a fresh call on Friday for US troops to withdraw from Iraq saying there would be no sectarian violence after foreign forces quit the country.
“Look north, south and west of Baghdad and potentially lethal rivalries threaten to play out both as elections approach and after they are over, when there are new winners and new losers. Elections heighten the likelihood of increased assassination attempts, arrests of those viewed as “enemies” of the central or local government, and intimidation of political rivals.
While overall violence against civilians is down, official assassination numbers are unchanged and members of some political factions, including those affiliated with the Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr and the Sunni Awakening groups, can tick off lists of people they believe were killed for political reasons.”

Posted by: MICHAEL WERNER | October 10, 2008, 10:29 pm 10:29 pm

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