ALL HANDS ON DECK – TO PENNSYLVANIA
With only several weeks left to November 3, 2020, the battle to win the hearts and minds of the American (U.S.) people has intensified. The American people face an existential threat with the possible re-election of Donald Trump. Candidate Trump now seeks to replay the successful Nixon Republican strategy of 1968, essentially focusing on “law and order,” withdrawal from foreign conflicts (“peace with honor”), and the encouragement of a white backlash based on fear. Added on is the now customary appeal to American nationalism, jingoism, xenophobia, racism, and economic populism. Taking advantage of the Covid pandemic, the Republican Party seeks to discourage voting and to raise questions about the legitimacy of a possible electoral defeat.
On the other hand, the Democratic Party faces the challenge of insuring a massive turnout during a pandemic. The Democratic Party must win back the voters that they lost to Trump in 2016, particularly among the male white working class. Throughout the primaries, Senator Bernie Sanders indicated that the key to defeating Trump was to insure a historic massive turnout, particularly from those who traditionally have voted in lower numbers.
Over the last few years, Sanders has been able to move the pendulum to the Left, though it might have been too much to expect to go from a right wing to a “progressive Left” government. Bernie has taught us all a lesson in understanding that we must all unite to defeat the greater right wing enemy, as we continue to build radical political movements at all levels throughout the country.
Which brings me to the title of this blog, and the battleground state of Pennsylvania, with its more than 440,000 Puerto Rican population (half of all Latinos in PA), and 3.5% of PA’s total population. The immense majority of this population is working class, and concentrated in urban areas. In 2016, Donald Trump won PA by 44, 292 votes out of more than 6 million, a narrow margin of 0.72%. Therefore, a large Puerto Rican voter turnout on November 3rd can play a decisive role in defeating Trump in 2020.
That’s why I am calling on all Puerto Ricans and other Latinos throughout the Northeast to concentrate their energies and efforts in Pennsylvania, as a Biden victory is assured in other states in the region. BUT PA IS A BATTLEGROUND, AND A TRUMP DEFEAT IS NOT ASSURED. You may have noticed the Trump campaign’s efforts to reach out to Latino and African American males, and they are sparing no efforts regardless of the pandemic. Likewise, there are concerns about the weak efforts of the Biden campaign in the Puerto Rican and Latino communities.
We must take on this battle to support an anti-Trump, Puerto Rican and Latino turnout in Pennsylvania. We should be prepared to support our sisters and brothers in PA, including manning phone banks from our various locations to registered voters, financially supporting efforts where possible, and any other ways possible. I personally am working with a group of Puerto Ricans and Latinos in Philadelphia in the next few weeks that understand that they can be the difference in the 2020 elections.
IF YOU CAN JOIN THIS BRIGADE OF VOLUNTEERS, PLEASE CONTACT ME. ANYONE CAN HELP! ANYTHING CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE! BE THE CHANGE!
