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Hillary?s Racial ?Firewall?

A little over a week ago I discussed (here) an argument by John Judis in The New Republic that Hillary?s real firewall against Obama was her support among Hispanics, who would be reluctant to support a black candidate.

It appears that Hillary?s campaign is very much aware of its reliance upon this race bias. Writing in the current New Yorker, Ryan Lizza reports on part of his conversation with Sergio Bendixen, a Hillary pollster who specializes in Hispanic issues.

When I asked Bendixen about the source of Clinton?s strength in the Hispanic community, he mentioned her support for health care, and Hispanic voters? affinity for the Clinton era. ?It?s one group where going back to the past really works,? he said. ?All you need to say in focus groups is ?Let?s go back to the nineties.? ? But he was also frank about the fact that the Clintons, long beloved in the black community, are now dependent on a less edifying political dynamic: ?The Hispanic voter?and I want to say this very carefully?has not shown a lot of willingness or affinity to support black candidates.?

Lizza concludes, the implications of Hillary?s strategy of relying on an Hispanic firewall ?are not necessarily uplifting.?

Not necessarily?

Full post as published by Discriminations on January 13, 2008 (boomark / email).