Can someone remind me what year we're in again? The fact that so many Republicans voted against Carrillo on name alone is disgusting. Basically Republican voters take a look at a ballot and see "Porter" and "Carrillo" and automatically check the Porter box without thinking twice. This basically sends the message to other Hispanics and minorities that there is no place for you in the GOP. This is another reason why I can't bring myself to vote Republican. It's bad enough that the party was hijacked by the Religious Right, but this primary is proof that blatant racism is still alive and well in the party - even in a reasonably tolerant place like Texas. http://www.statesman.com/opinion/all-the-election-drama-was-down-ballot-311735.html
I'm not sure the logic here. If they got voted out because of racism, how did they get voted in in the first place? Did these people just become racist?
So could it then be that no one ever liked him and he was voted in by default, and as soon as someone better came along, people booted him out?
Back in the day . . . a lot og Jewish folx changed their last name for this very reason. People still see 'Ethnic Names' on Applications and immediate basically trash it. I have friends with 'ethnic names' who worry for their job prospects Yes. . it is Racism . . no matter how you dress it up. MonoCulturalism - assimilate and for get everything about you and yours and just basically turn into the Main culture .. . basically a clone except with different skin tone. Rocket River
Certainly true - but generally, those people don't vote in primaries as much. While you have a more liberal and conservative base voting in primaries, you also tend to have a more politically knowledgable base because low information voters are less likely to participate in primaries.
It's possible there is bigotry involved, but it definitely not blatant since it requires us to theorize that it is the cause without any evidence to support that idea.
I think when you get to nearly invisible candidates for low-profile state offices that might not hold true, in addition, calling these folks "high information" voters, given the fact that a lot of them are birthers etc....is probably a misnomer of sorts....
Not terribly surprising and I imagine it impacts elections in every other state and country in the world. When you're in the voting booth and have to pick between 2 people who want to be the county dog-catcher, the name is likely going to be the only information you have. I don't think it is constructive to blame the voter for his inherent racism. It'd be better to blame a system that sends voters to the polling station to pick between people they've never heard of before. Even a passing familiarity with the actual people will probably quash most of the name bias that occurs. When I voted yesterday, there was one democrat named Porfirio Diaz, and I had to do a double-take. His parents were Diazes and they chose to name their son after the dictator of Mexico? The guy so bad they had to have a revolution? And, then the son decided to run for office with that name?
And here it comes. http://www.statesman.com/blogs/cont..._speaks_up_on_tuesdays.html?srcTrk=RTR_169636 Dear Family, Friends, Colleagues, Supporters: As you now surely know, last night I was defeated (61% / 39%) in my statewide Republican Primary by my opponent, David Porter. Porter, an unknown, no-campaign, no-qualification CPA from Midland residing in Giddings filed on the last day that he could file while I was waiting in Abilene to bury my dad. He has never held any elected office, has no geoscience, industry, or legal experience other than doing tax returns for oil and gas companies. I was handily defeated in spite of spending over $600,000 to do the following: 1) Distribute two direct mail pieces to almost 500,000 Republican primary households; 2) Run a 60-second radio spot on TX State Radio Network, supplemented by key conservative talk and Christian radio stations; 3) Run ads in several targeted newspapers; 4) RoboCalls to thousands of “Independent” households; 5) Distribute election push cards, website, Facebook page, bumper stickers, letter writing; 6) Actively campaign in-person by my campaign staff and me. Early polling showed that the typical GOP primary voter has very little info about the position of Railroad Commissioner, what we do, or who my opponent or I were. Given the choice between “Porter” and “Carrillo” — unfortunately, the Hispanic-surname was a serious setback from which I could never recover although I did all in my power to overcome this built-in bias. I saw it last time but was able to win because the “non-Carrillo” vote was spread among three Anglo GOP primary opponents instead of just one. Also, the political dynamics have changed some since 2004. Many of you have begun to call and/or write to express your concern over the whole situation. You are correct to be concerned over the fact that the GOP (our party) still has these tendencies to not be able to elect or retain highly qualified candidates who WANT to continue serving the public as I do. It is indeed a shame. Nevertheless, I refuse to walk away in shame because I know that my team and I did just about all we could have done to ensure that the primary electorate knew of my qualifications, expertise, and experience. The rest was beyond my control. I also urge party leaders to not alienate the Hispanic/Latino voter in Texas, as we now comprise about 39% of the population and we remain the fastest-growing minority group in the nation. However, none of you should be concerned about me and my family or my staff. Justin, my dedicated chief of staff and former student, gave up an excellent position to come back to help me through a most difficult time in my personal life with regard to my health and campaign. He remains a trusted friend and advisor and I will do all I can to ensure that he and his dear family are well positioned to allow his true, full potential to shine. As for me and my family, I have learned much over the last several months of personal tragedy — after my own brain surgery/recovery, the death of my half-brother at Thanksgiving, and the death of my Dad (my best friend) in January: THE SPECIFIC OUTCOME OF MY PATH IN LIFE IS NOT IN MY CONTROL, BUT WHOLLY IN THE MERCIFUL HANDS OF MY LORD & SAVIOR. HE, BEING SOVEREIGN, KNOWS WHAT IS BEST FOR ME & HE ALONE REMAINS IN FULL CONTROL! AS FOR ME, IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL! So please don’t fret over my situation! God has known my path from before the beginning of time and He guides my path and I am fully confident that He will work things out for His ultimate glory! I do, however, seek your continued prayers for my wife (Joy) and my daughters (Laura, Christina, Grace), that they not overly worry about our future. I also covet your ongoing prayers for my 86-year old mother (Alicia), who continues to grieve the loss of her firstborn son and my dad within a six-week time period. Sincerely, Victor Carrillo
Major, it is more likely that the voters went in to vote for high-profile elections but ended up voting for all elections on the ballot. I don't think this upset was the job of "high-information" voters.
If that letter is correct and the guy really didn't campaign at all and has no qualifications, it certainly does look that way. To me, the original article just seemed to be jumping to conclusions without exploring other possibilities.
Agreed. If Carillo's report on what happened is accurate, it is very disappointing. Edit: Though it is not surprising and it also goes both ways. Like his surname hurts him rural white voters, other candidates in the inner city are hurt by their skin color. Good luck being a white man challenging Sheila Jackson Lee for example.
I somewhat agree with your sentiment, but that's a bad example. Everybody knows Sheila Jackson Lee and a Congress seat is a pretty high profile position to elect. People should self-check themselves in the voting booth when it comes to being uninformed.
