“Están registrados para votar?” I asked my grandparents over dinner on Sunday. They shook their heads, despite having become naturalized citizens about five years ago (I helped them study for the test!).
“You should register them,” my mom suggested.
“I can’t, at least not for the primary election,” I informed my mom. “But they can register for the next elections in June and November.”
Then my mom turned to me and asked me what she’s been asking me since I was 12, “who should I vote for?”
“Well, I’m going to pick my candidate like I chose my car,” I responded in between bites of chicken.
“On color?” she asked.
“Yup,” I said and smiled. The main reason I chose to buy a Dodge Stratus rather than a Neon was because of the color. (To make me seem less shallow, I chose the Stratus after a weekend of driving my brother’s Stratus.)
“Obama?”
“Yup…”
Okay, so it’s not that simple. I’m not choosing Obama simply because I want to vote for the black candidate. I’ve voted for black candidates before (hello, Assemblywoman Karen Bass and Rep. Diane Watson). What black/brown divide?
“Actually,” I confessed to my mom, “I’m still undecided. But I know who I’m not voting for.”
I didn’t make my decision until this afternoon when I read the news about John Edwards backing out of the race. Hopefully I’ll be able to articulate my choice after the townhall with Senator Obama tomorrow.
Lotería Chicana 
I OWN A DODGE STRATUS! PEOPLE ARE AFRAID OF ME!
My mom asked me the same thing: “Who should I vote for?”
I’m trying to convince them to vote for Obama. 🙂
My mom voted for Hillary. I lobbied hard on Obama’s behalf, but in her eyes, it was more important to have a woman than “un jovencito.” The argument that Obama came out of a family existence like our own (single mother), didn’t sway her. Oh well.
I do think it’s interesting that generally speaking this aspect of being an immigrant is rarely discussed. Folks talk more about kids having to translate for their parents at the doctor’s office (I guess it’s a more frequent occurrence), than about having to translate election choices.
I’ve been hearing a lot of white people talk about Latinos not voting for Obama because “blacks and latinos don’t like each other.” I’m curious for your take on that. Do you hear any (ignorant) friends saying anything about not voting for Obama because he’s black?
I’m really curious if we’ll see an Obama/Richardson ticket in the end 🙂
um has anyone noticed neither Hilliary nor Obama are talking about:
– ending the war
– prosecuting those who lied to get us into war
– making peace
– re-establishing good relations with THE WORLD
– the environment & global warming
– neither has brought Gore in, and he WON a NOBEL PEACE PRIZE!!!!
– education reform and the failures of no child left behind
– etc etc etc.
you want change? well it ain’t coming from anyone the corporate media aims its cameras at.
write in: Kucinich!!
Ironically enough, I was asked this very same question yesterday. I haven’t made my mind up yet, but like you… I know who I’m NOT voting for (republicans).
I am a firm believer in the fact that experience is not always a good thing. People are talking about Obama’s lack of experience and Hillary’s supposed White House experience. This is what supposedly sways people towards Hillary.
In my opinion, someone who isn’t “experienced” in the whole White House politics would probably be a better candidate simple for the fact that he’s not going to run the same shenanigans the previous administration did.
I’m reversing my choice till I hear one of the two candidates talk about the real issues that matter in our society now. Personally, I was hoping Edwards would win… 😦
If there’s an Obama/Edwards team I think my choice would get easier.
For P3000 – Kucinich dropped out… 1/24/07
I liked Fred Thompson but since he dropped out I am considering whether to vote for McCain (little too lefty for my taste) or third party. As much as I dislike McCain though, I will probably end up voting for him anyways, only because the lefties scare me alot more.
As for my family, one by one, I am making them all Republicans (and my sister is working on her high school friends too). They don’t like the war but see it more as a debatable point than a litmus test. My step-mom just got her citizenship a few months ago and she will be participating in the elections for the first time in November.
for Y, ‘write in’
I don’t believe that we have honest politics. Voting machines and hanging chads etc. So I vote with who agrees(d) most closely with what I believe, whether or not they will ‘win’ or are running anymore. My vote is at least one person who doesn’t follow along with the flow and intentions of the corporate owned politricks.