Clinton And Villaraigosa: The Downside Of Hispandering

[VDARE.com note:

Hispandering is a term meaning
"pandering to Hispanics." It was invented by Mickey Kaus in


2002, and we immediately adopted it in place of


Hispano-Pander, which we`d been using previously.
Hispano-Pander sounded too much like


a classic automobile.]

When I watch

immigration enthusiast politicians spouting nonsense from
coast to coast, one question—with two variations—keeps rolling
over in my mind:

• Who advises them?

• And why do they listen to the advice
  they get? Or why don`t they seek out better counsel in the
  first place?

Here`s a prominent example from this summer. As she has every
year for as long as I can remember,

Sen. Dianne Feinstein predicted that without an immigrant
guest worker program,

crops would rot in the field and California would suffer
untold billions of dollars of losses.

Is there no one on Feinstein`s staff to whisper in her ear:
“Senator, we`ve used this one for over a decade. No one is
listening because

nothing is rotting“?

What`s possible is that everyone has warned
Feinstein but since she is old and crotchety, she doesn`t
listen…and since the people around her would like to keep their
jobs, they`ve stopped bucking her.

Or there`s presidential aspirant

John McCain. Why would he risk further infuriating potential
conservative Republican supporters by naming well-known
reconquista

Juan Hernandez as his “Hispanic
Outreach Director“? No one performs the function of
reaching out to Hispanics more slavishly than McCain himself, as
his Senate voting record conclusively proves.

Finally, in the strangest case of all, we have

Hillary Clinton`s appointment of

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa as

co-chairman of her national campaign.

That Clinton, a woman who suffered through the humiliation of
her husband`s tryst with

Monica Lewinsky, could choose a man whose personal life
makes Bill Clinton look like a saint defies all
logic…desperate as she may be for the coveted

Hispanic vote.

But, as we`ll see when we examine the facts, there`s no
conceivable way that Villaraigosa could have been an asset to
her.

Villaraigosa has been in the headlines these past few days as
he hosted Mexican president

Felipe Calderon who

wound up his five-city tour in my now-unrecognizable
hometown. [Mexican
President Calderon Meets With LA Mayor Villaraigosa, By
Greg Risling, Associated Press, February 14, 2008]

Maybe Villaraigosa caught a break in his personal life
considering that

Calderon`s visit fell on St. Valentine`s Day.

Since

the women in his life aren`t speaking to him —both wife
Corina and former mistress Telemundo reporter Mirthala
Salinas [Picture
and video here] —how else would Villaraigosa spend the
day traditionally reserved for lovers if not billing and cooing
with

Calderon?

La
señora Villaraigosa filed for divorce after her husband`s tawdry
affair became public. And Telemundo transferred Salinas,
after suspending her for two-months, to its Inland Empire bureau
in the California hellhole known as Riverside. If you have

been to Riverside lately, you know how cruel Salinas`
punishment was. Not surprisingly, she is reported to have quit.

When it comes to extramarital philandering, Villaraigosa is a
multiple offender.

In 1994, while combing California allegedly “researching”
the viability of his political career, Villaraigosa and married
family friend Marta Reyes were instead shacked up in a Silver
Lake motel. To make the story even more distasteful, at the time
his wife Corina was home recovering from cancer surgery.

Corina soon discovered Villaraigosa`s affair—and foolishly
forgave him, only to suffer another day. (All the dirt is dished

here.)

Villaraigosa is whatever name you would give to someone whose
ethical standards don`t even reach the level of your
garden-variety lounge lizard.

Okay, so this is

Hollywood.

Shameless sex…marital infidelity… phony names on
registrations at

cheap motels… lies compounded by bigger lies…what else is
new?

But that`s the most amazing thing: despite repeated open
demonstrations of moral turpitude that should force him “into
the shadows” forever, Villaraigosa became one of
Clinton`s prominent spokesmen.

How is it possible?

Any rational person would expect that, given Clinton`s
experiences with

her cheating husband, the

mere mention of Villaraigosa`s name would make her

vomit. Under no circumstances should Clinton want to be in
the same room with the depraved

Mechista.

That`s not what happened. In

Clinton`s pandering effort to appeal to Hispanic voters, no
cad is too unworthy to represent her.

With the wheels now apparently coming off of Clinton`s
campaign, might Villaraigosa`s role in Iowa where she finished a
distant third to Barack Obama have been the beginning of the end
for her?

The political pros and cons of the Clinton-Villaraigosa
connection never added up for Hillary.

In New Hampshire, where Villaraigosa first stumped for
Clinton, he had no impact. The state, which Clinton won, has

almost no Hispanics (about

2 percent according to the U.S. Census Bureau). Therefore,
Villaraigosa probably couldn`t have helped her—especially when
you factor in the prevailing statewide attitudes towards
Californians.

As someone who has spent a good deal of time in
New Hampshire, I can report that most Granite State
residents view us as people with whom they have no connection.
They`re aware that

Los Angeles exists but it is unlikely that, even if you put
an airline ticket in their hands,

they`d have much interest in visiting.

Who in New Hampshire then would take seriously anything a

Mexican mayor from Los Angeles would have to say? Even
though Clinton won the primary, she demonstrated poor judgment
by letting Villaraigosa represent her.

On to Iowa, where Clinton`s vulnerability first surfaced, and
a different story played out. Illegal immigration in Iowa is
important. In recent years, the state`s alien population has

risen rapidly.  And voters are angry about it.

Illegal immigrants took well paying jobs in the

meat packing industry away from

Iowans where, in many cases, several generations had worked
in the factories before aliens were recruited at drastically
lower pay.

Villaraigosa to the rescue? Not hardly.  Like New Hampshire,
Iowans view Californians with suspicion…too much

glitz and glamour.

To confirm Iowans apprehensions, Villaraigosa arrived on the
Clinton campaign trail fresh off an Aspen, CO.

skiing vacation.

Iowans don`t associate snow with the high-life. To them, it`s
what they

shovel off their driveways all too often on winter mornings.

Having a $400 haircut (Villaraigosa and John Edwards have the

same stylist) is a negative in Iowa.

Clinton finished a distant third behind Barack Obama.

How much Villaraigosa`s high profile appearances on her
behalf set Clinton back can`t be quantified. But, as in New
Hampshire, Villaraigosa`s endorsement provided no readily
apparent upside.

One could argue that Villaraigosa, who made several
supportive appearances on Clinton`s behalf, was an asset in her
successful California primary victory.  But—an important
distinction—Villaraigosa lives in California. That`s a
lot different than traveling half way across the country to do
Clinton`s bidding.

Bad behavior does have its consequences, however. Two years
ago, after Villaraigosa won the mayoral election, his

name was bandied about as a likely candidate for governor in
2010 when

Arnold Schwarzenegger terms out. Some speculated that he
might pursue a U.S. Senate seat if and when Barbara Boxer or

Feinstein mercifully retires.

All that talk is over. In fact, Villaraigosa may have trouble
keeping his current job when he runs for re-election in 2009.

Walter Moore, a lawyer and

Republican mayoral candidate in 2005,

notes that Villaraigosa`s out of state trips are an express
violation of the

Los Angeles City Charter that requires the mayor and each
city council member to “devote their entire time to duties
related to their offices…”

Moore, who will challenge Villaraigosa again, further
observes that the charter forbids the mayor from accepting “compensation
. . . for his services" other than city salary and benefits.
Moore wonders who picked up the tab for Villaraigosa`s expenses.

Summing up the strange and curious case of Villaraigosa and
Clinton: the only logical conclusion is that thoughtless pursuit
of the

Hispanic vote doesn`t pay off—and has the unintended
negative consequence of damaging candidates with voters of all
races.

Joe Guzzardi [e-mail
him] is the Editor of VDARE.COM Letters to the Editor.
In addition, he is an English teacher at the Lodi Adult School and has
been writing
a weekly newspaper column since 1988. This column is exclusive
to
VDARE.COM.