About the Buzz:
Since the New Politics Institute (NPI) began in May of 2005 we have held a number of public forums in Washington DC and have put out a series of reports, surveys and white papers. Our work has been picked up in the national and local media, as well as made its way around the web and the blogosphere. Our staff and fellows have been used as a resource for journalists trying help the public understand the changes in politics.
Below are excerpts from various web and traditional media outlets that reference our work or draw off members of our network. They are currently organized with the most recent at the top.
Latest Buzz Entries:
Others suggested McCain's party may have erected too many obstacles for him to overcome with Hispanics.
"To me, the decision for the Republicans to demonize immigrants has been one of the greatest strategic mistakes of a political party in modern times," said Simon Rosenberg, a Democratic strategist.
"It's putting the Republican Party on the wrong side of what is one of the defining demographic changes in 21st-century America."
"McCain revs up efforts to woo Hispanic voters [1]," Arizona Republic, July 10, 2008
Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Florida all have a significant number of Hispanic voters. President Bush narrowly won all four states in 2004, and they could all be hotly contested this year.
"When you look at the battleground states, at least four of them are very heavily Hispanic," said Simon Rosenberg, head of a think tank called NDN, formerly the New Democrat Network. "We will see more (campaign) media heaped on Hispanic voters than at any time in American history."...
"Just looking at the demographics, whichever party ends up winning the Latino vote will be the majority party in the 21st century," Rosenberg said.
"Hispanic Voters Gaining Strength in Key States [2]," Associated Press, July 1, 2008
With Latinos appearing key to the respective general election strategies of both John McCain and Barack Obama, experts say spending on Spanish-language media is set to shatter the previous record [3] of nearly $9 million, the overall number achieved by both parties and outside groups during the 2004 race between President Bush and John Kerry.
"The spending is going to be unprecedented," said Simon Rosenberg of NDN, a liberal group that itself spent over $2 million in Spanish-language ads in 2004.
"Primer Impacto: How Spanish-Language Ads Could Decide The Election [4]," The Huffington Post, June 30, 2008
...McCain now says, in a move that appeases conservatives, that the U.S. must first secure its borders before devising a guest-worker program.
That does not sit well with Andres Ramirez, who is a strong Obama supporter.
“Today McCain failed me,” said Ramirez, the vice president of Hispanic programs at the New Democratic Network, which, he stated, worked with McCain and Kennedy on the immigration legislation.
“He has been talking about border enforcement first and comprehensive immigration, those are not the same thing. I was hoping he would clear that up. Today he mentioned both and he was not very clear.”
He added that Obama is receiving a lot of support from Hispanics because they are upset at Republicans over immigration and the state of the economy. But it is far from a slam-dunk for the Democrat.
“Obama can’t take that [support] for granted,” Ramirez said. “He has to be able to deliver and show Hispanics that he has earned his support.”
"McCain, Obama battle for Hispanic votes [5]," The Hill, June 28, 2008
...at Washington's New Democrat Network, President Simon Rosenberg argues that that there's increasing evidence McCain will never be able to match George W. Bush's ability to win 40 percent of the Latino voter bloc. He insists McCain will be viewed as a flip-flopper who "threw Latinos over the side" and abandoned them when he sponsored - and then walked away from - his own immigration reform bill.
"Obama, McCain make strong bid for Latino votes," San Francisco Chronicle, June 26, 2008