Race And The Race

By, Katie Glueck and Tarini Parti

POLITICO: Bobby Jindal is Indian-American, but you’ll never hear him describe himself that way. Marco Rubio insists he’s an “American of Hispanic descent.” And Ted Cruz “certainly” identifies as Hispanic, but he didn’t run for office as “the Hispanic guy.”

These Republican lawmakers, along with African-American conservative favorite Ben Carson, look poised to make the 2016 GOP presidential field the party’s most diverse ever. They are all mulling over White House runs as the GOP continues to struggle with minority voters and as racial tensions over police conduct have captivated the nation.

But none is planning to play up his race or ethnicity in a presidential campaign, or even to stress the potentially historic nature of his candidacy. Instead, according to interviews with donors, strategists, aides and several of the possible candidates themselves, each is more likely to hit broader themes such as the American dream and the importance of hard work, which, for Jindal, Cruz and Rubio, would include nods to their parents’ immigrant experience.

Such messages would, in theory, have more universal appeal by stressing the commonalities of the American experience instead of its divisions — while also avoiding the identity politics that are toxic among GOP primary voters. It’s a tactic that may be welcomed as an expression of unity by some minorities, but it is already seen by others, especially advocates for immigrants, as dismissive of unique hardships facing their communities.

In a 25-minute interview, Cruz described his approach this way: “When I ran for Senate, I didn’t run as, ‘vote for the Hispanic guy.’ I ran as the strongest conservative in the race … Now, is the fact that my father came as an immigrant from Cuba, penniless, seeking the American dream, an integral part of who I am? Absolutely.”

Cruz’s success in deep-red Texas in 2012, however, came as the GOP was trounced among minority voters; presidential nominee Mitt Romney captured just 27 percent of the Hispanic vote, which was still significantly higher than what he earned among blacks, whose robust turnout levels helped reelect Barack Obama, the first African-American president.

Republican leaders say they have invested significantly in reaching out to minorities, but the party continues to struggle among those groups, and GOP lawmakers’ overall resistance to comprehensive immigration reform has frustrated Hispanics in particular. So the fact that the party’s emerging 2016 field could be so diverse is striking.

“It’s a fascinating twist given the rap on the GOP, that it’s just a party of white men,” said Whit Ayres, who consults for Rubio.

Like Cruz, his colleague in the Senate, Rubio is the child of Cuban immigrants; Jindal, the governor of Louisiana, was born to Hindus who immigrated from India; Carson grew up in inner-city Detroit and ultimately became a famed pediatric neurosurgeon.

Rubio is perhaps the most open about his heritage. The Florida senator grew up in Miami and Las Vegas, appears on Spanish-language media and often discusses his parents’ experiences as immigrants.

He led the charge to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill in the Democratic-controlled Senate, though he later backed off the proposal, which got nowhere in the GOP-controlled House and raised fury among the conservative base. This past week, Rubio emerged as the leading GOP opponent of the White House’s decision to normalize relations with Cuba — a highly charged issue among Cuban exiles in Florida.

But don’t expect Rubio to tout himself as the “first Hispanic-American candidate.”

“I’m proud of my culture, I’m proud of my heritage, I’m proud of where I come from,” Rubio said in an interview. “One of the great things about America is it allows you to keep all of those things, influence our society, but ultimately we’re united by this common strain … We’re united by what I think is a common aspiration: That is, ensure everyone has an equal opportunity for a better life.”

Cruz also uses the framework of the American dream when he discusses his father’s rise from penury to success in his adopted country — a concept Cruz suggested will inform his overall message to voters should he run in 2016.

“A point I made repeatedly on the campaign trail was, my entire life, my father has been my hero, but what I find most remarkable about his story is how commonplace it is,” Cruz said when asked to preview his message. “Every one of us is the child of those seeking freedom. That’s what ties us together as Americans.”

But Cruz’s hard-line stance against immigration reform disqualifies him among many Hispanics.

“It’s not enough to be of Hispanic descent, you have to actually understand where someone’s coming from — be able to identify with them,” said Maria Teresa Kumar, the head of the Hispanic young voter advocacy group Voto Latino. “And all we unfortunately hear from Ted Cruz is, ‘we have to close the border,’ ‘the crime of being undocumented.’ It’s hard for Latino voters to swallow.”

The Texas senator, a favorite of social conservatives and the tea party, however, sees no conflict between appealing to minorities and his secure-the-border first position, casting the latter as a matter of the rule of law. Cruz says that, according to his internal numbers, he outperformed Romney among Hispanics in Texas in 2012.

“If Republicans are perceived as the Democratic caricature tries to paint us — as rich, out-of-touch kleptocrats — we lose, and we lose in the Hispanic community,” he said. “If we are instead perceived as, and actually fighting for, working men and women … people struggling to climb the economic ladder but filled with hopes and dreams to achieve the American dream, that’s how we win nationally but also how we win in the Hispanic community.”

If Jindal decides to run, he, too, will most likely offer a pitch centered on restoring the American dream — bolstered with stories about his parents’ immigrant experience — but he won’t specifically highlight his Indian background, said Timmy Teepell, partner at OnMessage Inc. and former chief of staff to the governor.

“As a son of immigrants, he never took for granted the fact that they got to live in America,” Teepell said of Jindal. “That has had a profound impact on him … He’s the first Indian-American governor in the country’s history. That’s fantastic, but that’s not why he ran for governor. He ran for governor because there weren’t enough opportunities in Louisiana for people to pursue the American dream.”

The Louisiana governor, who changed his name from Piyush to Bobby as a child and later converted to Catholicism, said in a statement to POLITICO that he’s “against the idea of hyphenated Americans.”

“My parents immigrated to this country some 40 years ago looking for two things — freedom and opportunity,” he added. “You know where they found it? Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is considered naive these days to talk about America as the great melting pot. But the fact is, that is the right construct. It’s not our skin color or ethnic heritage that binds us together. It’s our shared desire for freedom, for colorblind justice and for opportunity for everyone — regardless of our race, the income level of our family or the circumstances of our birth.”

Compared to Jindal, Cruz, Rubio and most others in the emerging 2016 GOP field, Carson’s chances of gaining the nomination are virtually nill. Still, if he runs, he also isn’t expected to talk about much about race, although he may emphasize his story of working his way out of poverty and into medicine, where he earned plaudits for his expertise in separating conjoined twins.

Strategists close to Carson suggested that he would bring more blacks into GOP politics simply by asking for their vote. “I’m trying to think if he’s ever mentioned that he’s black,” said Vernon Robinson, campaign director for the National Draft Ben Carson for President Committee. “He doesn’t talk about race.”

The Democrats have recent experience with “historic” candidacies: The 2008 Democratic primary saw both a woman, Hillary Clinton, and an African-American, Obama, win major swaths of the party vote. The Clinton-Obama dynamic generated major excitement with the base, party leaders said.

“It drove great enthusiasm among folks,” said Scott Brennan, the Iowa Democratic Party chairman. “We saw diversity at our state convention like we had never seen before, particularly among the African-American community, but, in addition, certainly a lot of folks were very interested in a seeing a woman elected.”

Still, both Obama and Clinton walked a careful line on the identity issue, possibly to avoid alienating men and white voters.

Obama drew some criticism for not saying more about being African-American and what he would do for the black community, a criticism that still crops up from time to time. And Clinton sometimes shied away from the gender angle throughout her campaign. (The former secretary of state has signaled she may be more comfortable embracing the “first female president” tagline in a run in 2016, and of course she famously bowed out of the 2008 primary by saying, “Although we weren’t able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it’s got about 18 million cracks in it.”)

This time around, it appears more Republicans will have to navigate the identity politics — and not just among the crucial conservative primary voters who may view emphasis on race and ethnicity as something reserved for Democrats.

For instance, the Indian-American community is emerging as one of the wealthiest ethnic groups in the country and one that’s increasingly active in politics.

Jindal could benefit from their financial backing, but the governor has been criticized by some politically active Indian-Americans for distancing himself from the community too much and not supporting them on issues such as immigration reform.

“That’s a perspective we have heard off and on,” said Sanjay Puri, chairman of the U.S.-India Political Action Committee, a bipartisan group. “He reaches out only when there’s a campaign involved and he’s raising money.”

Puri noted that Jindal is a “role model to a lot of Indian-Americans.” But, he added, even if Jindal doesn’t consider himself a hyphenated American, that’s the way many people will view him. “Your heritage should be a matter of pride,” Puri said. “When you look at Bobby Jindal, you see an Indian-American. That’s a fact.”

Authors: Katie Glueck  @katie_glueck | Tarini Parti  @tparti

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/12/race-and-the-race-113812.html#ixzz3NIWXZFNN