Hispanics

John McCain and Hispanic Voters

admin — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 12:13:43 -0600

John McCain believes he will get support from Hispanic voters because he has a "long record working with Hispanic leadership" and that "[e]verything about our Hispanic voters is tailor made to the Republican message." [CNN.com, 5/5/08]

But the reality is Hispanic voters have made it clear that they don't trust Senator McCain on the issues that Hispanic voters think are important-health care, the economy, and jobs-issues on which Senator McCain has proven he lacks the leadership and vision America needs. As Congressman Silvestre Reyes of Texas pointed out in an op-ed in the Washington Times this morning, it's hard to know where John McCain stands on the issue of immigration reform. [Pew Hispanic Center, 12/6/07; Washington Times, 6/27/08]

McCain and Republicans Are Struggling With Key Constituencies

kbolton — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 13:16:48 -0600

Among White Voters…White voters are key to a Republican victory, but while Bush took the white vote 58 percent to Kerry’s 41 percent in 2004, McCain only has an advantage of two points among white voters. [LCG Election Monitor Blog, 6/2/08]

Among Hispanic Voters…Two out of three Hispanics call themselves Democrats. A December Pew Hispanic Center survey found “57% of Hispanic registered voters now call themselves Democrats or say they lean to the Democratic Party, while just 23% align with the Republican Party -- meaning there is now a 34-percentage-point gap in partisan affiliation among Latinos.” [Pew Hispanic Center, 12/06/07]

NCDP Remembers Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

kbolton — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 07:34:25 -0600

The North Carolina Democratic Party pauses today to mark the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Dr. King was murdered at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was to lead sanitation workers on a protest against low wages and unsafe working conditions.

This grim anniversary comes at a time when Democrats are poised to elect the nation’s first African-American or female President.

We carry the embers of Dr. King’s unfinished work as Democrats have successfully worked to increase state and federal minimum wage rates.

Statement from the Rev. Barber, NC NAACP

admin — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 08:06:17 -0700

Statement from the Rev. Dr. William Barber, President of the North Carolina NAACP:

"The light of Christmas has shown on the dark nightmare that James Johnson has suffered for 42 months in a false incarceration on murder, rape, and kidnapping charges without a trial. Tonight the special prosecutor dismissed all murder, rape and kidnaping charges against him. It is a major victory for truth and justice.

"James is an innocent young man who was falsely accused. It is not yet a total victory because one count of accessory remains, but we will celebrate tonight, and pick up the fight tomorrow for James' full exoneration tomorrow."

To read full media coverage of the case and to add your comments, go to
http://www.ncprosecutorialmisconduct.com

NAACP offers 'fresh call' for activism

admin — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 14:42:01 -0600

By Angela Mack, Wilimington Star
William Barber expects state civil rights activists to get a second wind this week in their race to end racial disparities.

More than 1,000 NAACP members representing North Carolina's 100 counties are expected to attend the 64th annual N.C. State NAACP Convention in Wilmington from Thursday through Saturday.

"Members that come to this convention will get a fresh instillation, a fresh anointing, a fresh call to commitment," said Barber, state NAACP president. "We still have work to do."

Local NAACP officials believe hosting the convention will shed light on local issues. City leaders say the event will not only be a boost to the local economy but may also provide new ways to increase diversity and bring change to the city.

GOP Not So Grand Anymore

admin — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 15:10:06 -0600

At a time when the leading Republican presidential contenders have refused to even appear in front of a number of groups including African American, Hispanic and young voters, the promises of an inclusive "compassionate conservatism" seem to be a thing of the past. While Bush's low approval numbers account for some of the overall damage to the GOP brand, poll numbers show that the problems Republicans are facing run deeper than President Bush.

As the Wall Street Journal noted, "recent voter surveys, including private polling done by a leading Republican strategist, suggest a broader erosion of Republicans' appeal. In particular, three groups crucial to Mr. Bush's goal of a 'permanent Republican majority' are drifting away: younger voters, Hispanics and independents." [Wall Street Journal, 9/5/07, http://online.wsj.com/]

Even more revealing, poll numbers show the Republican Party's base is shrinking. A recent study by the Pew Research Center indicates two traditionally GOP-leaning groups are now moving away from the Republican Party: young evangelicals and economic conservatives. At the same time, more Americans are identifying with the Democratic Party and trust Democrats on key voting issues.

GOP Leaders Spurn Minority Vote

admin — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 09:03:39 -0600

Candidates Are Urged to Attend Forums Sponsored by Minorities
by Perry Bacon Jr., Washington Post

Key Republican leaders are encouraging the party's presidential candidates to rethink their decision to skip presidential debates focusing on issues important to minorities, fearing a backlash that could further erode the party's standing with black and Latino voters.

The leading contenders for the Republican nomination have indicated they will not attend the "All American Presidential Forum" organized by black talk show host Tavis Smiley, scheduled for Sept. 27 at Morgan State University in Baltimore and airing on PBS. Former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, former senator Fred D. Thompson (Tenn.) and Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) all cited scheduling conflicts in forgoing the debate. The top Democratic contenders attended a similar event in June at Howard University.

North Carolina Democrats Announce Unprecedented Election Protection Program

admin — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 11:49:15 -0600

NCDP Chair Jerry Meek announced today that state Democrats would participate in an unprecedented 50-state election protection program to prepare for the 2008 election.

North Carolina will participate in an in-depth nationwide survey to collect critical data on the often confusing and complex sets of administrative practices and decisions governing our nation’s elections. We will work with election officials throughout the state to help identify potential issues so they can be resolved well in advance of the 2008 election.

More specifically, we will work with local election officials to answer critical questions about voter registration, centralized voter databases, voting systems and absentee voting, provisional balloting, polling place procedures and Election Day preparation.

Data collected from the survey will be analyzed to determine the needs of each election locality and the next steps for strengthening the election process in that locality.

“North Carolina Democrats will not rest until every single eligible North Carolinian can register to vote, cast their ballot without fear of intimidation or harassment, and have confidence that their vote will be counted fairly and accurately,” said NCDP Chair Jerry Meek.

“Our commitment stands in stark contrast to what we’ve seen from Republicans both here in North Carolina and across the country,” Meek said. “From false reports of voter fraud and restrictive voter ID proposals to voter purging and voter intimidation tactics, Republicans want to place a variety of roadblocks that keep countless Americans from exercising their right to vote."

Feinstein Moves to Protect Voter Registration Drives

admin — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 21:20:35 -0600

Last week, the Senate Rules Committee heard testimony on the Ballot Integrity Act of 2007 (S. 1487). Senators Diane Feinstein and Christopher Dodd are the bill’s chief sponsors, but Senators Biden, Boxer, Brown, Clinton, Inouye, Kennedy, Leahy, Menendez, Leahy, and Obama have also signed on. While much of the bill is taken up with voting equipment standards, a significant number of voting rights issues are also addressed. These include increased safeguards for voters from being purged, uniform requirements for training poll workers to a set of minimal standards, and equitable allocation of polling place resources. Most importantly, the bill prohibits states from restricting voter registration drives.

Voter registration drives by nongovernmental entities play a critical role in the health of our democracy. They have been effective vehicles through which eligible Americans from traditionally disenfranchised communities have become registered to vote. According to the US Census, 12 million Americans have registered to vote through a voter registration drive, accounting for 8.5 percent of all registered voters. Minority voters, in particular, rely on the voter registration drives. Fifteen percent of Blacks, 15.5 percent of Latinos and 12.5 percent of Asians registered to vote through a drive compared to 8.6 percent for White non-Hispanic voters. In fact, Blacks and Latinos are 65 percent more likely to have registered through a voter registration drive than Whites.

Republicans Just Say No to Diversity

admin — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 16:00:29 -0600

Another week, another missed opportunity for Republican presidential candidates to address diverse audiences. This week the major Republican presidential candidates cited 'scheduling conflicts' to avoid standing before the National Urban League's Annual Conference in St. Louis and to avoid the National Council of La Raza's Annual Conference in Miami Beach. Only "long shot" candidate Mike Huckabee, the former Governor of Arkansas, and Rep. Duncan Hunter will represent the Republican Party in St. Louis, while as a group in recent weeks the GOP candidates have ignored major organizations that represent important communities, including America's teachers, young people, African Americans and Hispanics. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 7/25/07; AFP, 7/23/07; BET.com, 7/26/07; Bloomberg, 7/26/07]

Almost every Republican running for President has ducked major conferences of the NAACP, the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO), the National Education Association (NEA), the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the Young Republicans National Convention, and even the College Republican Convention. In each of these cases, just one or two of the 10 Republican candidates accepted invitations to address these organizations and their members.

By contrast, not only is the field of Democratic presidential candidates the strongest and most diverse in history, as a group they have accepted the opportunity to address Americans of all backgrounds. All eight Democratic candidates accepted invitations to address the NAACP convention, seven addressed the NALEO convention, seven addressed the NEA, five are addressing the College Democrats of America convention this weekend, and four are addressing the National Urban League.

"It's hard to blame Republican presidential candidates for shying away from defending their President's and their Party's abysmal record with young people and minorities," said Democratic National Committee spokesman Luis Miranda. "But the Republicans' snubs say as much about the future as they do about the past of the Republican Party. If the Republicans' top candidates believe they can say 'no' to entire groups of Americans, then they'll find those Americans saying 'no' to them too."