{"id":3579,"date":"2008-08-15T12:50:00","date_gmt":"2008-08-15T18:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/08\/paper-profiles-dona-ana-countys-role-in-prez-race\/"},"modified":"2008-08-15T12:50:00","modified_gmt":"2008-08-15T18:50:00","slug":"paper-profiles-dona-ana-countys-role-in-prez-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/08\/paper-profiles-dona-ana-countys-role-in-prez-race\/","title":{"rendered":"Paper profiles Do\u00f1a Ana County’s role in prez race"},"content":{"rendered":"

A couple of months ago, a reporter from the Rocky Mountain News<\/a> in Denver contacted me to ask what story the newspaper could tell about New Mexico in the 2008 presidential race that wasn\u2019t being told by other media outlets.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

I suggested that she skip Albuquerque, one of the main battleground areas in New Mexico<\/st1:State>, and instead come to Do\u00f1a<\/st1:PlaceName> Ana<\/st1:PlaceName> County<\/st1:PlaceName><\/st1:place>.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

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 Do\u00f1a<\/st1:PlaceName> Ana<\/st1:PlaceName> County<\/st1:PlaceName><\/st1:place> in the context of the 2008 presidential race.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve written several times about this Democratic stronghold being conservative and Hillary country<\/a> and about the difficulty that creates for Barack Obama<\/a> in the presidential race. The Rocky Mountain News captured that reality well.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to read the newspaper\u2019s article. In it you\u2019ll find some interesting quotes, including this gem from state Senate Majority Whip Mary Jane Garcia<\/a>, D-Do\u00f1a Ana, who cried as Clinton<\/st1:place><\/st1:City> conceded the Democratic primary to Obama:<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know one single Hispanic over 50 who will cast a vote for Obama,\u201d Garcia, who is in her 70s, was quoted as saying. She added that \u201cthere have always been conflicts between blacks and browns\u201d and she believes Obama has come off as being condescending and arrogant.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

There was, by the way, at least one Hispanic over 50 quoted in the article as supporting Obama.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

But Garcia\u2019s point is valid. The article states that, \u201cIf Bill Clinton was the \u2018first black president,\u2019 then, to many around Las Cruces<\/st1:place><\/st1:City>, Hillary could have been the first Hispanic president. They identified with her that closely.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Garcia was joined by Emma Jean Cervantes, who is called \u201cthe \u2018Chile<\/st1:country-region> Queen\u2019 of the Mesilla<\/st1:PlaceName> Valley<\/st1:PlaceType><\/st1:place>\u201d in the article, as expressing doubts about Obama. Cervantes is the mother of state Rep. Joseph Cervantes<\/a>. She also supported Clinton<\/st1:place><\/st1:City> in the caucus.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a Democrat through and through. They represent the ordinary, average population of America<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>,\u201d the newspaper quoted the elder Cervantes as saying. \u201cBut I\u2019m going to have to really study Obama. I personally think he lacks a lot of experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cVoting for (Republican presidential candidate John) McCain<\/a> is not a choice Cervantes wants to make,\u201d the article states. \u201cBut she and many in southern New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:State> are looking for someone who feels familiar to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a traditionalist. I\u2019m for preserving land for agriculture,\u201d Cervantes was quoted as saying. \u201cIt\u2019s not an easy life here, but I love the family values.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Check out the article when you have time. Here\u2019s the link<\/a> again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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\u2019t being told by other media outlets. I suggested that she skip Albuquerque, one of the main battleground areas in New Mexico, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3579","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3579"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3579\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}