It was no coincidence when Secretary Clinton mentioned Alicia Machado at the end of the debate on Monday. She was amazing and because of her strong, confident performance DJT week has been quite crappy. As I expected, my mother called me the next day and asked me to talk politics. She watched it on Univsion and didn’t miss a moment. Since becoming a citizen she doesn’t miss a primary or general election. In the 2008 primary she voted for Hillary in and I voted for Obama. (My daughter went for Bernie, but she can’t vote yet.) Well, she was over-the-moon about the debate and how well Hillary had done, but what most impressed her was that she mentioned Alicia Machado. My mom is a 68 year old Latin woman and as an immigrant who did housekeeping, she takes issue with the Donald calling a young woman Miss Housekeeping in order to put her down. My mom told me she’s talking to all her (old) friends in her retirement community and asking them to vote for Hillary and that they tell her they are going to vote and are even sending $10 donations to the campaign when they can. Hillary’s team is on point with their messaging to each of the constituents that need to turn out and vote.
Alicia was well-known in the Latino community, especially here in South Florida, where she has a following of fans and a strong connection to the local Venezuelan community, which has increased dramatically over the las decade. They know her for the pageant but also for the telenovelas and as an outspoken critic of Hugo Chavez/Nicolas Maduro. What people like the most about her is that she didn’t let him keep her down and that now she is using her voice and sharing her experiences to empower others to take action to never allow a dangerous, racist misogynist to be elected in the U.S. I know that we will increase the turnout in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. I believe Latina women are going to become a very crucial and reliable part of the Democratic base, just like African-American women. (Let’s make sure they don’t take us for granted after the elections!)
Finally, I wanted to share this link with you guys. I think you’ll find it very interesting as I did and so you can see how diverse this area is. It’s a story from our local public radio station of a Russian community in Sunny Isles (Miami Beach). Guess who they are voting for?
I tell my husband politics to me is like what sports are for some people. I can’t get enough and every four years it’s my Superbowl. South Florida is a great place to watch the election year unfold with all it’s splendor; campaign signs and commercials. The excitement builds by the day and the flyers pile up in your mailbox and the robocalls on your machine. I’m loving this community that is helping me get through this crazy election cycle and I wanted to share my first post. I will keep my eyes and ears open to all that is going on around here, especially with early voting starting soon ( October 24).