Republican Nominee Bush Works Hard for Latino Vote

N E W   Y O R K, Aug. 4, 2000 -- During another Republican National Convention in New Orleans 12 years ago, another George Bush uttered a phrase that would come to haunt him almost as much as his ‘read my lips’ pledge.

He introduced his three Mexican-American grandchildren to President Reagan as “the little brown ones.” The remark chafed Latino voters at the time. But a dozen years later, the son of that former president has forged inroads with that same segment of voters, even actively courting them, political experts say. The symbolism is all too apparent in Philadelphia, where Republicans are holding their 37th national convention.

Bush: ‘Venceremos!’As Bush arrived in Philadelphia Wednesday, the crowd chanted “Viva Bush!” The nominee, a Spanish-speaker, shouted in return, “Venceremos!” (“We shall win”) Cuban-American pop star Jon Secada wooed delegates with a bilingual version of “America the Beautiful.”

And one of those ‘little brown ones,’ George P. Bush, the 24-year-old son of Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and nephew of the GOP nominee, spoke Thursday about the party’s push for inclusion. Giving a bilingual speech, he called his uncle “fearlessly inclusive.” “At first blush, it is absolutely terrific,” said Arturo Vargas, executive director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. “It demonstrates that the candidate is focused on this segment of the electorate and that a certain amount of campaign resources have been directed to making him more attractive to Hispanic voters.” Latino voters are traditionally attracted to the Democratic Party, Vargas said.In the 1996 presidential election, Latino voters overwhelmingly supported President Clinton, giving him 72 percent of their vote to 21 percent for Republican candidate Bob Dole. In that election, 61 percent of the registered voters were Democrats. But because the nation’s Latino communities are so diverse, Vargas says, Latino voters cannot simply be grouped into one category. Florida’s Cuban-American voters, for instance, are distinctly different from Mexican-American voters in California or Texas.

Only 3 percent of the Republican delegates at the convention in Philadelphia this week are Latino, according to an Associated Press survey. About 83 percent of the attendees are white.

Family Values, Faith and Hard Work Latino voters, by and large, however, do tend to focus on three major issues — education, economic development and access to health care, Vargas said. And many Latino voters care about issues concerning their faith, families and hard work, he said. “It is the Republican party where it lies in the fact that I can be a true American,” said Daniel McComas, a Puerto Rican-born delegate and state legislator from North Carolina. “Being a Republican means that I believe in a hand up, instead of a handout. I don’t want it to be given to me. I want to earn it. I believe that it is my ideas, not my background, that has made a difference.” In Texas, Bush has managed to appeal to a good number of Latino voters. Two years ago, he won 49 percent of their vote to get re-elected. It is difficult to predict how well Bush will do with Latino voters across the nation in the fall, but, says Vargas, “there are a number of voters who are very excited about a Bush candidacy.” Former Florida Gov. Bob Martinez, the state’s only elected Latino governor, said that Bush has a natural appeal to Latino voters. “In Texas, there are an awful lot of Hispanics and Mexican-Americans,” the former governor said. “He basically grew up in that environment. He speaks Spanish and he clearly understands and shares their values.”

Mariachi Singer, Sombrero GrandeThe Republicans have made a big pitch during this convention to attract the growing number of Latino voters, which is estimated to be 5.8 million this year. Shortly before Bush was to speak Thursday and officially accept his nomination, the Republicans hosted a Latino show of sorts. Vincente Fernandez, one of Mexico’s leading mariachi singers, wore a sombrero and belted out the classic, “Cielito Lindo.” Members of the Texas delegation raised their cowboy hats in the air. Actress Bo Derek even got into the theme, introducing the Latin portion of the evening in Spanish.

For their part, Democrats have questioned the sincerity of the Republican efforts to reach out to non-white voters, calling the convention hoopla a “masquerade ball” meant to mislead voters.

Dagoberto Vega, a spokesman for the Gore campaign, said that while it is understandable that both candidates would use Spanish to reach out to Latino voters, the Gore campaign would eventually prevail on the issues.

“[Latinos] are like any other voters,” Vega said. “They can see past the rhetoric and the images the convention puts forward. In the end, they will want more substance from their candidate. Gore has a long-standing commitment with the community.”

Martinez said he believes the Democrats are merely defending what has traditionally been their turf.

“[The Democrats] are deathly afraid that this is going to work,” Martinez said. “They are afraid that the voters they have always relied on for a base and assumed to be their supporters — and often ignored — will begin to erode. That is their great fear.”