Maid dispute could hurt Whitman's Latino strategy

[Liberal_in_LA]

Maid dispute could hurt Whitman's Latino strategy
By SAMANTHA YOUNG, Associated Press Writer

(10-01) 16:39 PDT Sacramento, Calif. (AP) --

The airwaves in California have been dominated by images of a teary immigrant housekeeper claiming she was mistreated by her billionaire employer and turned away when she asked for citizenship help.

It's far from the message Republican Meg Whitman wants to send to the state's crucial Latino voting bloc as she runs for governor.

--------------

The narrative of a Hispanic maid feeling she was mistreated by her wealthy employer is a personal one for many in the Hispanic community, and such a scenario playing out in a campaign could hurt Whitman, some experts say.

"The message she sent is a distant, patronizing figure who is willing to use immigrants but doesn't understand their plight," said Louis DeSipio, chairman of Chicano-Latino Studies at the University of California, Irvine. "To the extent Meg Whitman did reach out to Latinos, she's probably lost that initiative."



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/09/30/national/a131312D70.DTL#ixzz119lsqYTG

[mix]

1. I feel for that woman.

I hope Whitman falls, hard.

[hughee99]

2. I'm just going through this trying to figure out what the "right" thing to do would have been?

Refuse to hire the woman because she suspected that the drivers license and SSN provided at the start were fake?

Fire her when she got the letter from the SSA and call INS/ICE?

Continue to employ her even after deciding to run for governor in hopes of keeping her quiet and that no one would find out?

As far as I can really tell, the "safe" move here was not to even interview anyone suspected of being an undocumented worker, or to not do anything that would invite public scrutiny.

[warrior1]

3. Comedian Paul Rodriguez backs Whitman in gov race

http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_16190198?nclick_check=1

SACRAMENTO, Calif.—Comedian Paul Rodriguez has endorsed Republican candidate Meg Whitman in the California governor's race, praising her outreach to the Central Valley.

The endorsement was announced by Whitman's campaign Monday.

His support might help Whitman secure votes among Hispanics in the Central Valley, which has been hard hit by the recession and water shortages that have led to fallowed farm fields. Rodriguez has been an outspoken advocate for bolstering the state's water supplies with new dams.

In a statement provided by the Whitman campaign, Rodriguez says Whitman is a fresh, independent-thinking candidate who cares about jobs and education.

Whitman has said she favors more dams and a new delivery system that would send water around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to Southern California and Central Valley farms.

[mix]

4. Malinchista nt

[1955doubledie]

5. "Maid dispute could hurt Whitman's Latino strategy"

Ya think?
:popcorn: