It’s the eleventh hour of the election.
The candidates and their teams are working overtime, and they will continue to do so until the polls close tomorrow night. Much of America is exhausted from the psychological drain brought on by Facebook propaganda and political smear campaigns. But many citizens, especially Latinos, need to be ready to act—ready to vote for their candidate and poised to move forward to rebuild a united, more productive future.
Congressman Joe Kennedy III shares the sentiments of many of our readers, and while campaigning for Hillary Clinton in Lancaster, Pennsylvania this past weekend, he spoke openly with me about his take on this historic election. Kennedy shared his perspective, emphasizing the tremendous power of the Latino vote. He also gave me his prescription for repairing the current divineness present in so many of our communities. His message was clear.
The remedy for tomorrow begins with the Latino communities action today.
Fernandez: What brings you to Pennsylvania?
Kennedy: We’re in Pennsylvania because there’s an election coming up in a couple of days. And the world’s eyes are going to be on the United States, and the eyes of the United States are going to be on Pennsylvania. This is a critically important state that is going to, in all likelihood, decide the next President of the United States. The community energized, and specifically, the Latino community is active and engaged. They understand [their votes] have the power to potentially sway the trajectory of our country.
Fernandez: As a member of a presidential family that many Americans hold in high regard, what have you seen differently in this election compared to past elections?
Kennedy: This is an election unlike any that I’ve certainly ever seen personally, and I think it’s different for a lot of people. For one, I think the Democrats have a extraordinarily qualified and talented, dedicated nominee in Secretary Clinton. But I think most jarring has been the tone and tenor of the campaign waged by the Republican nominee.
I’ve had my differences with other Republican nominees for the presidency [in the past]—John McCain, Mitt Romney, even George Bush—but those have been differences of policy, politics, and potentially choices of judgment. They’re not about character or about integrity. Donald Trump has chosen to take advantage of a country that is still emerging out of a very deep recession. We have made progress, and that progress has been real; but we need to make more of it.
But [for Trump to] take advantage of that for his own political gain and try to tear the fabric of the country apart? That breaks character of the Republican Party that I know, and many Republicans that I know and respect.
His characterizations of Latinos, of women, of the disabled, and of immigrants—we’ve never seen anything like this before. And Latino women in particular, putting the politics aside, I don’t know of a single person that would want their daughter, their mother, their wife, or their grandmother described in the way that Donald Trump has talked about women, people like Alicia Machado, calling her “Ms. Housekeeping, Miss Piggy.” It is antithetical to the values that we want in a President.
Fernandez: Thank you for your words. What do you think the new President elect would need to do to unify such a divisive country?
Kennedy: It’s going to be a lot of work. There is a broad based acknowledgement that we need to fortify our infrastructure in the country, but this is also something we as community members can’t wait for politicians to resolve. Yes, I believe the Republican campaign has a Republican nominee who has exacerbated the problem. But, this is a problem that Hillary Clinton is not going to be able to solve all on her own.
This is a problem that has to be addressed person-by-person, block-by-block, community-by-community.
Local communities and community groups need to engage members to work on issues that unite people that rather than divide them, to find again those common threads that pull communities together rather than trying to take advantage of them for political gain. I think that’s exactly what Secretary, soon to be president Clinton, will do.
Fernandez: I agree. What is your message to Latinos, and really to all diverse communities regarding the importance in participating in Tuesday’s election?
Kennedy: This election is so critical. The policies and the choices at stake on the ballot will affect the future, and the two nominees could not be more different when it comes to policies affecting the Latino community—from Donald Trump’s decision to try to build a wall as an immigration policy to how he characterized immigrants, women, and minorities.
It’s also a chance for the fastest growing minority demographic in our nation to make their voice heard in a very politically powerful way. Particularly in Pennsylvania, the Latino community votes will send a signal that no future presidential candidate can come to Pennsylvania and win without paying attention to the Latino community here.
So, this is a chance for the Latino community across the nation—but particularly here in Pennsylvania—to be able to claim a powerful platform to make sure that the policies crafted by our elected leaders include the members of this community.
And I hope they’ll take advantage of it.