A couple of months ago, a reporter from the Rocky Mountain News in Denver contacted me to ask what story the newspaper could tell about New Mexico in the 2008 presidential race that wasn’t being told by other media outlets.
I suggested that she skip Albuquerque, one of the main battleground areas in
She did, and the result is a fantastic journalistic package that includes an in-depth article, good photographs and video that tells a story about the culture and demographics of
I’ve written several times about this Democratic stronghold being conservative and Hillary country and about the difficulty that creates for Barack Obama in the presidential race. The Rocky Mountain News captured that reality well.
Click here to read the newspaper’s article. In it you’ll find some interesting quotes, including this gem from state Senate Majority Whip Mary Jane Garcia, D-Doña Ana, who cried as
“I don’t know one single Hispanic over 50 who will cast a vote for Obama,” Garcia, who is in her 70s, was quoted as saying. She added that “there have always been conflicts between blacks and browns” and she believes Obama has come off as being condescending and arrogant.
There was, by the way, at least one Hispanic over 50 quoted in the article as supporting Obama.
But Garcia’s point is valid. The article states that, “If Bill Clinton was the ‘first black president,’ then, to many around
Garcia was joined by Emma Jean Cervantes, who is called “the ‘
“I’m a Democrat through and through. They represent the ordinary, average population of
“Voting for (Republican presidential candidate John) McCain is not a choice Cervantes wants to make,” the article states. “But she and many in southern
“I’m a traditionalist. I’m for preserving land for agriculture,” Cervantes was quoted as saying. “It’s not an easy life here, but I love the family values.”
Check out the article when you have time. Here’s the link again.