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Clinton and Obama camps court Hispanic vote

BY LETTA TAYLER | letta.tayler@newsday.com

8:37 PM EST, January 17, 2008

LAS VEGAS - Working the phones in Spanish at Barack Obama's campaign offices in northern Las Vegas, some Hispanic volunteers woo voters with the line: "Hi, I'm calling for El Morenito" -- a common term of affection for a person of color.

In barrios on the outskirts of the city, Hillary Rodham Clinton volunteers distribute cozy snapshots of her and Bill Clinton and fliers reading in Spanish, "Together With Hillary, our families will live a better life."

Across Nevada, the Clinton and Obama campaigns are tailoring their images to capture the Hispanic vote in Saturday's Democratic caucuses, the first party contest in a state with a large Latino presence.

The vote here serves as dress-rehearsal for the Feb. 5 primaries, dubbed Super Latino Tuesday because of the potential for tie-breaking Hispanic votes in New York, Colorado, California and Illinois.

"The Latino vote is a slumbering giant waiting to awaken and flex its political muscle," said Erik Herzig, a political scientist at the University of Nevada, Reno. But while most Hispanics are Democrats, they are not "a monolithic group of voters," he added, making the candidates' scramble for their ballots all the more challenging.

Hispanics, who represent nearly one-fourth of Nevadans, have a tradition of low turnout and could comprise just 6 percent of participants in the caucuses -- a word that doesn't even exist in Spanish. Canvassers use the English word with a Spanish accent, pronouncing it "COW-cuss."

But Obama and both Clintons are hoping to change that. They are stumping at Hispanic rallies and racking up Latino endorsements; those canvassing for Hillary Clinton include America Ferrera, the star of the TV show "Ugly Betty," about the travails of a Mexican-American girl. They both have Spanish-language Web sites and have barraged Latinos with Spanish-language fliers and TV and radio ads.

Even the attack-ad syndrome has gone Latino. One recent Spanish-language radio spot, sponsored by the parent union of the powerful Culinary Workers Union Local 226, which endorsed Obama, slammed Clinton in Spanish as "shameless" and "unforgivable" because her supporters sued unsuccessfully to prevent its members from voting in at-large caucus sites near casinos where they work. More than 40 percent of Local 226's rank-and-file are Hispanic.

Between stops at taco stands, Clinton emphasizes family and the legacy of her husband, who Latinos prize for appointing Hispanics to his cabinet and for an era of economic growth.

"There is a saying in Spanish that is better to go with something you know than what you don't know," said Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers union, who co-chairs Hispanic outreach for the candidate Latino supporters call "Hilarie."

Obama is stressing his early work as a community organizer in racially mixed Chicago and his heritage as the son of an immigrant -- no matter that his Kenyan father returned to his homeland.

"Hope is what led me here today. With a father from Kenya, a mother from Kansas and a story that could only happen in the United States of America," Obama says in English in a TV ad with Spanish subtitles.

Both candidates have appeared with the influential syndicated Latino radio host Piolín, where Obama crooned a Mexican folk song in Spanish. Both are focusing on themes polls show are dearest to Hispanic voters -- the economy, health-care, education, immigration. Both lay claim to the slogan "Sí se puede!" ("Yes we can!")

Political analysts are eager to see whether Clinton's gender or Obama's race affect Latinos. Many Hispanics value traditional family roles. Moreover, many Hispanics honor matriarchal societies or are dark-skinned. In the Iowa caucuses, Obama captured a slight majority of the scant Latino votes.

In Las Vegas, many Latino voters considered gender and race as added assets. "Hilarie is good but I support what's-his- name -- El Morenito -- because he is an immigrant and he has worked for people of color," said Zuly Morales, 25, a Guatemalan cleaning lady.

"Hillary has experience so she will know how to fix the economy and schools," said Patti Garcia, 42, a mother of six who recently lost her job. "But I also back her because she's a woman. It's a woman's world, too."