Jesus G. Garcia, candidate for mayor, strode down the sidewalk on Monday evening, trailed by a giddy pack of supporters, volunteers and passers-by. They snapped pictures and chanted his nickname: “Chu-y! Chu-y!”
One man did not join in. An African-American who wore a knit Blackhawks hat, he glared at Mr. Garcia from the curb.
“I’m voting,” he said, when asked if he would take part in Tuesday’s election. “But I ain’t voting for no Chuy. I ain’t voting for a Mexican.”
Pressed to explain, he said he was tired of competing with Latinos for jobs. Then he walked away.
The scene exposed a fault line in Mr. Garcia’s campaign to unseat Mayor Rahm Emanuel in Tuesday’s runoff election. Mr. Garcia’s strategy was to build a coalition of white liberals, blacks and Latinos — angered by Mr. Emanuel’s closing of dozens of schools and supportive of a plan to shift development from its wealthy downtown to poorer neighborhoods.
But a Chicago Tribune poll released Tuesday showed Mr. Emanuel with a commanding lead. He not only has large margins among white voters, but a nearly two-to-one margin among black voters, 53 percent to 28 percent. Mr. Garcia has not been able to increase his share of the black vote.
Saturday, April 4, 2015
Chicago Blacks Aren't Going to Vote for the Mexican
NYT, noting skin color and ethnic backgrounds, reports:
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"Pressed to explain, he said he was tired of competing with Latinos for jobs. Then he walked away."
ReplyDeleteGuess no one told him that nobody is entitled to a job
But it's not racism, because he, as a POC, has no power.....right, feminists?
DeleteFor a time, it was amusing to me to hear people discuss an election as though votes mattered. Now it's a little irritating. People who keep on voting are as large a part of the problems we face with politicians as are the politicians and their paymasters.
ReplyDeleteI think that a voter turnout of about 2% of eligible voters for a few election cycles would be a good indicator of a general withdrawal of consent. Really, though, I can't see the current gang of politicians admitting that consent had been effectively withdrawn.