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Thursday, June 26, 2008
NALEO: Clinton “our sister, defender of Hispanics”
The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials scored some big name speakers at its annual convention Thursday, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Adolfo Carrion, NALEO president, introduced Clinton in Spanish as “our friend, our sister, the defender of Hispanics in the United States” and “the champion of Hispanics.”
Clinton thanked Latinos for their support during her hard fought yet unsuccessful campaign for the Democratic nomination and urged them to vote for her rival, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois.
“I was moved by the millions of Latinos who participated, from New York and New Jersey to South Texas and California,” Clinton said. “There was an activism and involvement that I haven’t seen before.”
She also said that the lives of Latinos and all Americans will improve if Obama is elected president and called him a man of “passion and determination.”
“We have to win this,” she said. “We cannot allow for four more years of the same. It won’t be good for any of us.”
Clinton also vowed that an Obama presidency would bring an immigration reform that includes an “earned path to citizenship” for illegal immigrants, stronger border security, and worker protections against possible exploitation.
As she spoke, a woman in the crowd screamed, “We love you, Hillary.” She answered, “I love you, too.”
Both major party presumptive nominees — Obama and Republican John McCain of Arizona — will speak at the convention on Saturday.
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NALEO: 9.2 million Latinos to vote in November
A record 9.2 million Latino voters will cast ballots in this year’s November election, according to projections released Thursday by the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.
The influential group — known as NALEO — also released a report which showed Hispanic voters are most concerned about the economy, the Iraq war, access to affordable healthcare, education issues, and immigration reform.
The expected surge in Hispanic voters follows an aggressive campaign by NALEO and other Latino groups and Spanish-language networks to promote citizenship and voter registration.
“We are at the turning point of history,” said Adolfo Carrion, president of NALEO. “We are the fastest-growing sector of this country.”
The group kicked off its annual conference in the nation’s capital with big-name speakers, showing the growing importance of Hispanics in the election.
Both major party presumptive nominees — Democrat Barack Obama of Illinois and Republican John McCain of Arizona — will speak at the convention on Saturday.
Political analysts say that Latinos could be a crucial voting bloc in several contested states such as Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and Florida.
“Latinos hold the key to the White House,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. “Latinos will decide who will be the next president of the United States.”
Pelosi squeaked out a speech despite a major case of laryngitis.
