Dear Editor,
America votes on Tuesday (02-11-10), in critical elections that will decide the nation’s agenda for the next year and provides a clue on whether President Obama is electable for a second term in 2012.
Indications, going by poll numbers, Obama’s Democratic Party will take a severe beating in the elections, losing around 70 seats in the House.
Based on interviews, Guyanese and other Caribbean American voters are not showing much voter enthusiasm in the elections and that has been Obama’s problem.
And even if this trend reverses and Guyanese do turn out to vote in full numbers, they will not have much impact on the outcome except in some races in Florida, New Jersey and New York.
In general, Guyanese identify with the Democratic Party and most are likely to vote for Democratic candidates except in some seats where moderate Republicans have been supportive of immigrants and other minorities.
Opinion surveys say there will be a Republican blow out in Congress similar, if not greater, to the one that decimated the Democrats in 1994 when Bill Clinton was President.
The Republicans captured 52 seats from the Democrats in that mid term election. I hope voters have a change in heart or the opinion polls are wrong because I don’t think the Republicans can solve the nation’s ills.
In local races in Queens, Guyanese American turnout could mean the difference between a victory and a loss for Democrats in NY State Senate, as well as the outcome of District 28 race in the heart of Richmond Hill for NY City Council. Albert Baldeo, a former Magistrate in Guyana, is one of seven candidates vying for the vacant seat.
My analysis shows a toss up among three serious contenders who have a real shot at winning. All three have their offices in Richmond Hill and all three are funded by Guyanese Americans.
Guyanese are splitting their support among the three including for Baldeo who has a real shot of creating an upset if he can get strong Caribbean American backing.
Baldeo has assisted a lot of voters in the district, including in communities where Guyanese don’t reside outside of Richmond Hill.
If they repay him with some support outside of Richmond Hill, which added to Caribbean Americans, he can pull off an upset.
But it is an uphill task especially that he is going up against two other strong candidates Nicole Beltre Bell and Ruben Wills.
The former has strong name recognition and has the backing of Congressman Greg Meeks and Rev. Al Sharpton.
With regards to State Senate races, Guyanese American John Sampson is expected to be a shoo-in. Richmond Hill based Guyanese raised a lot of money for him even though he is running for a seat in Brooklyn.
Democrats are not expected to suffer any losses in the State Assembly holding on to it, but the state Senate will see some close races.
The Democrats won the Senate two years ago and it appears they can hold on to it, even though several Senators have been accused of corruption.
Only two seats separate the Republican and Democrats including the Richmond Hill seat held by Joe Addabbo, who won it with Guyanese support and needs their support again to hold it.
Elsewhere, Democrats are fighting for their political lives. Unless Democratic voters, Hispanics, Blacks, and other minorities, come out in massive numbers, the Democrats will lose the House in Congress and possibly the Senate as well.
The Democrats are a pariah in most states, even trailing in Barack Obama’s former Senate seat from Illinois where the President campaigned last week, but is not making any difference in the outcome, showing how much his popularity has fallen from 90% just two years ago.
Obama failed to deliver on immigration reform and although it is not his fault, minorities are blaming him and planning to stay home on Election Day to teach the Democrats a lesson for ignoring them.
Obama told Hispanics last week that it is not his fault Congress does not want to grant amnesty to illegal immigrants. But they don’t want to hear it.
Guyanese and other minorities are urged to vote to limit the clobbering of Obama’s Democrats.
Vishnu Bisram
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