Open Letter To Sen. Ted Kennedy

Dear Senator Kennedy,

Yesterday I heard of your plans to endorse Senator Obama over Senator Clinton in the Democratic Primary. While I firmly respect your right to choose one candidate over another I have to say that I am deeply disappointed in your decision. I've always had a deep respect for you and your family because of the issues that you have taken a stand on. Many of the issues and rights you and your family have fought for have positively affected the quality of my life.

You all have always been a friend of the Latino community so it troubles me to see you have decided to support Senator Obama over Senator Clinton. I'm particularly troubled by your decision because of what I saw occur during the Nevada caucus. In Nevada the pro-Obama group, UNITE HERE, ran Spanish radio ads that tried to paint Senator Clinton as disrespectful of the Latino community. Both Senator Clinton and John Edwards called on Senator Obama to renounce the ads and asked they be taken off the air. The radio ads were beyond insensitive-I'd say they were downright racist, but Senator Obama allowed his surrogates to inject racism in Nevada and I can't condone or reward his silence.

Believing you a friend of the Latino community it puzzles me that you'd reward the dangerous and vile sentiments the radio ads could have created among Latinos against Senator Clinton. As a resident of IL I have always felt that I was invisible to Senator Obama. I've never experienced any efforts from Senator Obama to reach out to my community until it was too late and seemed to be politically beneficial. Dolores Huerta said in Nevada that during all of her years of being an activist and visiting Chicago she never once met Senator Obama. I expect to be ignored by Republicans but I've never felt such a dismissive attitude towards my issues from a Democrat, like I have from Senator Obama.

I live and vote in IL so I can't threaten you with the loss of my vote like I can a local politician. But greater than my vote you've lost a lot of my respect, I thought you understood my community better and what we needed. In a time of economic uncertainty we need a leader like Senator Clinton to put us back on the right path. Hope and dreams and promises don't pay the bills.

Regards,
Latino Voter
Chicago, IL


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