July 23, 1999
Commentary
By Domenico Maceri, PhD
In an effort to reach out to the Hispanic community, Newt Gingrich sent out a greeting in Spanish last year on of Cinco de Mayo. It came from "El Hablador de la Casa," which Gingrich's staff thought meant "Speaker of the House," but in fact translates more precisely as "Big Mouth of the House." Accurate, perhaps, but not great politics.
Gingrich's linguistic flop notwithstanding, using Spanish to try to connect with Hispanic voters may generate positive results for politicians provided that words are backed up by substance.
Showing interest in the language spoken by voters may be an emotional entree to voters minds which cannot be underestimated. More importantly, learning Spanish, even if they never become fluent, may teach politicians something about Hispanics that may escape someone who does not know the language.
Hispanics are very sensitive to language and at the same time very vulnerable. The more than twenty states that passed English-only laws and California's Proposition 227, which eliminated bilingual education in the Golden State's schools, are strong reminders of attacks on Hispanics. Aassaulting a language means bashing its speakers.
The opposite works just as well. Showing interest in a language can easily be interpreted as concern for its speakers. Thus, a number of Anglo politicians have made good use of their Spanish to garner support from Latino voters. Al Gore recently gave a talk to the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) using Spanish he had learned as a teenager in Mexico. The reception was most welcome.
Similarly, George Bush Jr., governor of Texas, often uses his knowledge of Spanish in his speeches to his advantage. Unlike many other Republican politicians, who routinely get small percentages of Latino votes, Bush received 49% of the Latino vote in his reelection as governor of Texas last year.
It would be foolish to attribute Bush's total success with Latino voters to his use of the language. It's his moderate policies that have made the difference. This contrasts sharply with Pete Wilson, the former governor of California, who made himself a villain to Latinos because of his support of Proposition 187, which denied benefits to undocumented workers, and 227, which eliminated bilingual education. Bush, on the other hand, has managed to create a tolerant climate in Texas with regards to Latinos and immigrant issues. Bush was helped by the fact that Texas has no initiative process similar to that of California, which might have generated anti-Latino propositions. However, Bush's moderate policies as well as his rhetoric have made him a leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination next year, while Pete Wilson has virtually disappeared from the political scene.
Another Republican has shown that the GOP can compete successfully with Democrats for Latino votes. John McCain of Arizona received the support of 55% of the Latino vote in his two elections as US senator from Arizona. He does not speak Spanish, but his rhetoric has not turned Latinos away. McCain consistently rejected some basic tenets of the Republican Party on immigration and minorities. He has strongly opposed English-only laws and other anti-immigrant proposals which were supported by Republican leaders.
The Senator received an award from LULAC for his support of "English Plus" which values bilingualism as an asset in today's global economy. McCain's speech to LULAC, which followed Gore's, was also very well received although he did not use Spanish. It was his consistent record of supporting issues dear to Latinos that mattered to those in the audience.
Ron Unz's record with Latinos in California's was as strong as McCain's but did not maintain the Senator's consistency. The software entrepreneur had been the only Republican candidate for governor of California to oppose Proposition 187. Thus when he started his campaign to eliminate bilingual education he benefited from his moderate record. Yet, Latino's early support of Proposition 227 as demonstrated by polls, vanished when election time came. Latinos figured out that 227 was detrimental and voted against it by substantial margins. If Unz is going to run for political office, he might have to look to non-Latino voters for support.
In general, Latinos see themselves better served by Democratic candidates than Republican ones. Thus in 1996 the Clinton-Gore ticket received 71% of the Latino vote and Gray Davis received 70% in his election as governor of California. The reasons for the Democratic successes have to do partially with Spanish but mostly with the politics of language and especially with substantive issues such as education, health, immigration, and economic opportunities.
As the number of Latino voters continues to increase to more than 7 million in the next presidential election, politicians' use of Spanish may mean an entree to Latino's hearts. Unless they show a genuine understanding of Latino issues, however, the language won't do them one bit of good.
(Domenico Maceri (dmaceri@aol.com) teaches foreign languages at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, CA.)
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