Should The Democratic Party Have A Latino On The Ticket In 2016?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

21 votes, 7 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	Yes
	3 (14%)
	Yes, if possible
	16 (76%)
	No
	2 (10%)
	7 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
Show usernames Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll

[dimbear]

1. If some brilliant rising star stands out, why not? n/t

[womanofthehills]

31. Julian Castro

He really stood out at the convention and I noticed the next night at the convention, Julian and his twin Joaquin had seats right next to Michelle.

[hamsterjill]

36. We need him in Texas first!

I want him to beat Perry first. Then the nation can have him. He is phenomenal!

[Blue4Texas]

45. They cannot win state offices

Unfortunately

[Warren Stupidity]

2. We should run the best candidate we have regardless of race ethnicity or gender.

[SoapBox]

5. You are so correct.

...let's hope the Pukes and Baggers never figure that out!

[Agschmid]

8. +1

[ProudProgressiveNow]

10. This Latino agrees!

[LuckyStrykes]

20. This AA agrees

We need to nominate the person best suited to lead the country. Regardless of sex or race.

[John2]

22. I

agree, but I do like the guy from Texas and the mayor of Los Angeles as candidates. I also like the Governor of Massachussetts and Biden's son.

[Chan790]

23. Yes, running candidates on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, orientation, religion, etc.

is tokenism and it's pretty offensive.

It's something I expect from the GOP...the same people that cannot figure out why women didn't turn out in droves to support Sarah Palin and are confused by Alan Keyes lack of support among black voters. At their pace, I expect the GOP to scour America to find the one female black lesbian Muslim conservative they can run as a running mate for some older doofy white guy in 2016...and they'll be shocked when they still lose.

[Blue4Texas]

46. Not tokenism if they are qualified

[Chan790]

56. No, you're right about that...

but it's about the qualifications first and the demographics second. I don't see a lot of people suggesting Julian Castro on the basis of his resume as opposed to the color of his skin. I'd wager that if I chose 5 random people advocating in this thread for him, 4 of them can't tell me his accomplishments or qualifications for higher office. I have a problem with that.

Suggesting Castro solely or specifically because he's Latino is offensive.

Is he the best candidate or just the token candidate chosen to pander to a key demographic?
If it's the second, how are we better than the pandering games the GOP plays?

[Blue4Texas]

65. Agreed

Just saying that if we have two candidates both qualified and one will help us win because of demographics we have to consider even if neither Mayor Castro or his brother a newly elected Congressman have served in state offices in Texas as part of their qualifications due to the gerrymandering red here. The best candidate is not always the most qualified candidate.

[Coyotl]

33. +++++++++++++++++++++++

[graywarrior]

39. Agreed.

[War Horse]

42. This /nt

[LukeFL]

51. As a Latina I agree. My fear is

That for 2016 Rubio will be picked for VP.. And there goes our chances.. They only need 40% of Latinos votes to win.. With Rubio on the ticket they will get that.

[Warren Stupidity]

52. That's what those fuckers thought they had with Palin.

Women weren't buying and neither will hispanic voters. Their bullshit has worn thin.

[LukeFL]

54. Florida will go for GOP

Cubans, puerto ricans and the rest will vote for it. Although in this past election cubans in FL went for Obama and Rombey equally they will rally behind Rubio.- just because he is Hispanic and the first in history to be nominated as VP. The comparison of Palin with Rubio is naive. Palin was crazy and rambled nonsense. Rubio is calmer and seems genuine compassionate.

[NewJeffCT]

67. A few points

1) Palin was a horrible candidate who couldn't do anything more than spout hateful platitudes.
2) Rubio gave a good speech at the GOP convention - one of the few GOP speeches that didn't put me to sleep. I didn't like its content, but it was well delivered.
3) Rubio has a good story as the son of immigrants. And, unlike Palin and her questionable academic & political credentials, Rubio has a JD and will have a full Senate term under his belt by 2016, and was Speaker of the Florida house before that.
4) He doesn't need to win the Hispanic vote, he just needs to get to somewhere around 40% to make a huge difference in swing states.

[ejbr]

55. + 1 n/t

[SoapBox]

3. I'm just not sure...

We'll know in a couple of years.

[lyingsackofmitt]

4. It's time

It's time for women to rise!

[flamingdem]

6. Why not an Asian, they're the fastest growing group n/t

[ready2go83]

15. Not enough of them

Not enough of them to make a big impact.

[flamingdem]

17. OK I'm in for the Latino then, preferably female!

Como no?

[Agschmid]

7. We should have the best candidate there is, regardless of what/who they are. n/t

[ProudProgressiveNow]

11. +1 nt

[Blue4Texas]

47. Agreed but

If one will win and one will not then let's not make the good the enemy of the best, just saying

[brewens]

9. I voted no because of the work "should". It makes me think we would do that for no other reason

than playing the Latino people. The Republicans might try that and they will see right through it. We could and we can, provided a Latino wants the job and really looks like a good candidate. Do you have anyone in mind?

[CBHagman]

16. I picked the same option for basically the same reason.

I'd welcome a Latino candidate, but first let's see who declares an interest, what strengths he/she brings, whether he/she has fire in the belly and political savvy. The race for president is, among other things, a long, grueling job interview, and moreover we don't know precisely what the national field of candidates will look like or, for that matter, what will be going on in the world.

[nsd]

38. +1

[LisaL]

12. How about we should pick the best person for the job.

Without demanding he or she be of certain race or ethnicity.

[aaaaaa5a]

13. We should run the best person regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation. nt

[graham4anything]

27. Hillary would be that person.

[aaaaaa5a]

29. I do agree.

[union_maid]

14. We really should not have two Caucasians

Of course we need the best people, but if the top of the ticket turns out to be a white person - male or female, I really think it would behoove the candidate to choose someone in a minority for VP. There should be plenty of very qualified candidates to choose from.

[BenzoDia]

18. Only of they're the best person for the job.

[LoisB]

19. Not just because he/she is Latino(a). We should have the two best qualified for the job of

President regardless of ethnicity. White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, Native, gay, straight, Christian, Muslim, atheist...doesn't matter to me.

[craigmatic]

21. Yeah we should either that or a woman.

[Blue_In_AK]

24. We should just have the best ticket, period.

[Tx4obama]

25. Presidential candidates should be picked by the 'Content of Character' not the 'color of skin'

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. — Martin Luther King Jr.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

28. Due To Demographic Trends The Republican Party At The Presidential Level Is In Its Death Throes

I want to take it out of its misery. If the Latino share of the electorate equals their share of the adult population and they continue to vote for Democratic presidential candidates at a 2-1 and 3-1 rate the Republican candidate will have to get upwards of seventy percent of the white vote to win. Even Nixon in his 1972 landslide got 68%.

I can see the promised land and it doesn't include a Republican party.

[theKed]

49. i would like to hope

that white people aren't the only ones who vote 'off-race' because of a superior candidate. The idea that a latino voter will vote dem because we have a latino candidate is insulting to a large swath of that base. the latino vote comes with sound policies, not color matching.

[abetterkid]

62. It's possible that

people also vote for a candidate who they feel to be just like them.

[graham4anything]

26. Hillary45/Castro46

[SheilaT]

30. And of course, there's nothing more important four years

before that election to start figuring out who will be on the ticket.

Yeah, what Obama might do between now and then isn't the least bit important. The only thing that matters is the next election.


You can decide if I'm being sarcastic or not.

[DFW]

32. We should have the best people we can find

I don't care if they're Hispanic, White, Black or Samoan.

I just want them to be progressive, competent, bright, and charismatic enough to blow away the opposition in the media.

[Jersey Devil]

34. not if we are picking him/her simply as a Latino

We should pick the best candidates regardless of color or ethnicity. Repubs seem to think just picking a candidate of a particular ethnic background, like Rubio, will win the Latino vote but I think that is very insulting. A candidate who supports Latino issues will win their vote regardless of race or ethnicity as we saw in this election.

[calico1]

35. If he or she is qualified.

And I say this as a Latina.

The GOP parade around their minority candidates because they think that's all it takes to get votes.

Let's not do the same thing as them.

[Mr.Turnip]

37. It should not be a priority, we should run who is best qualified to govern and best able to win.

[JRLeft]

40. We are not the token party we have upcoming stars of all races in our party.

We are the multicultural party and will have people of every ethnic group run. And yes I believe Julian Castro will be President one day and so does the Breitbart gang.

[hedgehog]

41. We should have two people on the ticket who uphold the values of the Democratic Party

and are capable of being President of the United States.

[demhottie]

43. Sounds like tokenism when asked this way

[Hutzpa]

44. I voted no for the simple fact that

ethnicity is not going to win elections, it is what that candidate believes in that's what wins election. Their policies of inclusion.

Asking question in this way reminds me of the republican saying that they should now start recruiting Latinos which is utter disregards of their needs and wants. It is another form of affirmative action.

[tevolit]

48. Lets look at 2008 Primary to see how important "Self Identification" is for undecideds.

I remember the debates between Obama and Clinton.

I think we could look to the % of Votes received from AA and Women to calculate the importance of pandering to an individuals ethnic and gender identity when a voter is not torn by the issues.

Where can we find these statistics?

P.S. We could look at DEM vs REP senate races to get a closer idea of how much effect there is when the candidates have disparate views.

[CitizenLeft]

50. Julian Castro

I'd love to see him grow, become a national figure first.

On the other hand, as much as I liked Barack Obama immediately upon reading about him for the first time in April 2004, and seeing the photo of his beautiful family, I didn't think he was ready in 2007. I wanted him to wait at least another senate term.

So there ya go.

[LukeFL]

53. Hahaha we just never know. Same thing

Here. I thought Barack was too young and did not have too much experience.

So there you have it. The rest of history.


At this point we just never know. I would like to see Castro more and be exposed more so public can see more if him. So yes, he would be great choice.

[socalfree]

57. I agree with Castro for VP

I don't think its fair to wait until he turns Texas blue because quite frankly its a very uphill battle. The state is big and democrats don't have a good ground game there. Having Castro as VP will still help in other south west states like Colorado. And if we nominate someone older like Biden or Hilary it will be good to have a young and energetic VP. He will be able to do the hundreds of get out the vote rallies that they probably won't have the energy for.

[nc4bo]

58. I don't think it's necessary, just as long as the Democratic Party continues to be inclusive

and fights for the rights of EVERY one and what is fair for all citizens regardless of race, gender, sex, ethnicity, religion, class. A token will never be necessity.

If a qualified candidate just happens to be Latino, well that's another story.

[quaker bill]

59. Not as a token

people see right through that and are usually put off by it. However if a Latino leader arises who is a logical compliment and good choice for the ticket, it would be a just fine with me.

[Lugia]

60. We should

have the best person for the job, whether he/she is Latino or not.

[cherish44]

61. We should just have the strongest possible candidates on the ticket

regardless of ethnicity or gender.

[lunatica]

63. Sure. They should also have

Asians, Blacks, American Indians as well as gays and Muslims and Atheists. You know, a broad sampling of the American electorate. It is a representative government isn't it?

[Daniel537]

64. Whoever is the most qualified, regardless of race

But my personal pick for POTUS would be Jon Tester, the VP position, we can debate.

[abetterkid]

66. I bet that...

the Republicans are going to place a token politician in their VP slot to try to out diversify us. I'm still surprised we won the Cuban vote this year though....amazing.

[Sunlei]

68. to choose by race is a loser republican tactic.

[BlueCollar]

69. Latino, Asian, African-America, Woman...whatever

As long as they are a progressive democrat I'm ok. Just don't put another Lieberman on the ticket...

[treestar]

70. If possible - the person being the best candidate

Julian Castro - the maker of a Convention Keynote speech seems to be the next nominee in at least a couple of recent cases!

[Freemont13]

71. re

Its not about so much about experience with Castro because he has some as a Mayor and how much more experience does Paul Ryan have or even any one term Governors or one term senators? He has the schooling and the leadership qualities.

[libdem4life]

72. Should the Democratic Party have a white person on the ticket in 2016?

Seems to have been a trend over the past few decades. There are hundreds of qualified individuals for national office, many of whom do not have the money, power, exposure, etc. Just as many people were intelligent enough to get BA or MA degrees ... still are ... but without access it doesn't much matter, now does it.

Hand-wringing that it's racist to even the playing field...heaven forfend we should actually mention heritage or identification by surname or visual identification...has no place in a liberal or progressive conversation.

We're leaning way over to accommodate fearmongers...and Obama and his "bipartisanship" has done his share. Liberals need to hang tough and to hell with the PC excuses. Make 'em come get us.