El Paso Won't Vote for a Black Man

After reading Charles Ponzio’s ‘Open Letter to Gov. Richardson,’ I opine that there is an illogical and unproductive animus among El Paso Mexicans towards African-American candidates for political office.

Mr. Ponzio, in his letter, has buttressed this notion of unreasoned and futile bias in the Mexican community.

First, Mr. Ponzio says: ‘Your (Gov. Richardson) continued inability to say what you mean and mean what you say, has been for me, the biggest letdown of the 2008 presidential campaign.’ Yet, three paragraphs later, Mr. Ponzio also duplicitously distinguishes Gov. Richardson as a great choice for Secretary of State; saying his deeds would supersede those of Henry Kissinger, arguably the standard bearer of what a Secretary of State should be.

Although I agree with the latter, as Gov. Richardson was undoubtedly the most experienced Democrat running for President in the 2008 Democratic Presidential Primary, I take issue with Mr. Ponzio’s characterization of Gov. Richardson being mercurial just to later surmise that he is the best choice to be America’s top diplomat.

Mr. Ponzio, this is illogical. Saying one thing and doing another is not an admirable trait for an envoy.

Mr. Ponzio, either Gov. Richardson has the potential to be a great Secretary of State or he is wishy washy –the two are mutually exclusive.

Secondly, Mr. Ponzio decries a ceremonial appointment to Vice President by either Mrs. Clinton or Mr. Obama; arguing that Gov. Richardson’s talents are best utilized in a cabinet post where he can favorably address the interest of this “troubled nation.” Almost simultaneously, Mr. Ponzio suggests that Gov. Richardson dimwittedly endorsed a candidate who was politically unable to make him his Vice President.

Mr. Ponzio, which of your polar assertions do you hold truest:

-- Gov. Richardson should not endorse a candidate because endorsements are meaningless.

-- Gov. Richardson should endorse the candidate that has the political viability to make him a Vice Presidential nominee.

-- Gov. Richardson should not hold the ceremonial position of Vice President because his talents would be best utilized in a strategic capacity…i.e. Sec. of State, Sec. of Defense, and Ambassador to the United Nations.

-- Gov. Richardson fumbles when in high-level discussions or being interviewed by the likes of Tim Russert.

Sir, it is not Gov. Richardson who needs to say what he means, and means what he says; it is you, whom needs to adopt this ethos.

In my opinion, your sudden disdain of Gov. Richardson, and the ensuing illogical assumptions, are predicated upon him doing the unthinkable, unfathomable, and unconscionable – supporting the ‘black’ candidate.

This futile and historical bias towards African-American candidates in El Paso has been counterproductive. El Paso Mexicans, like Ohioans in the 2004 Presidential election and 2008 Democratic presidential primary, have voted against their best socio-economic interest repeatedly (for El Paso Mexicans this has occurred when African American candidates have been on the ballot).

Why does the notion of an African American president of the United States elicit such antipathy from the Mexican community?

When the oligarchy is able to use the schism of race to influence our politics, we all lose.

Contrary to the perceptions of many in this community, the African American and Mexican communities have far more in common than that which separates us. According to the Commonwealth Fund Health Insurance Survey (2005), a study done by the Commonwealth Fund, Hispanics and African Americans are at greater risk of experiencing gaps in insurance coverage than whites. The same study shows that over 30 percent of both Hispanics and African Americans were uninsured at some point in time in 2005, as compared to 18 percent for whites. Meanwhile, poverty and the uninsured transcend all racial lines; over 40 percent of all races, which live below the poverty line, are with out health insurance. Among Hispanics, the rate of uninsured for those living in poverty is a staggering 76 percent.

Similarly, adverse economic conditions disproportionately and adversely affect both African Americans and Hispanics more so than whites. Although the subprime mortgage problem has infected large portions of the U.S. economy, it was minorities that were the main targets of these predatory lending practices and their usury charges.

In a study titled, “Risk or Race?” done by the Center for Community Change, a non-profit consumer advocacy group, it concluded that upper income African Americans received three times as many subprime loans as their white counterparts. Meanwhile, upper income Hispanics received two times as many subprime loans as their white counterparts.

Mr. Ponzio, my response to your letter is threefold: State an observation, highlight the similarities between African-Americans and Hispanics, and lay the lines of logistics for political amalgam between the two groups.

A rivalry between these two respective groups is only fortuitous for those who benefit from our inability to politically consolidate these two distinct groups.

As Gov. Richardson declared in his endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama, ‘'It is time for the Democrats to stop fighting among ourselves and prepare for the tough fight … a house divided against itself cannot stand.”