For many Fil-Ams, Hillary Clinton is the choice

NEW YORK, USA – Sani Guillena was wearing an ill-fitting barong the night I met him at a presidential forum at the Philippine consulate in Manhattan.

The former editor of Peryodiko Mindanao is an ardent supporter of Rodrigo Duterte for president of the Philippines.

On the other hand, Jesse Arteche is a proud ‘brod’ in the fraternity Alpha Phi Omega to Vice-President Jejomar Binay, who he strongly believes will provide the leadership needed by the Philippines.

Businesswoman Loida Nicolas Lewis, who is well-known in Fil-Am circles in New York, puts her faith in administration candidate Mar Roxas.

The 3 are as different as can be in the candidates they support for Philippine president.

But they are united in the candidate they support in the Democratic primaries who all hope will become the next president of the United States – Hillary Clinton.

With New York going heavily for Clinton on April 19 (New York time), and New Jersey voting on June 7, all of the Fil-Ams interviewed by Rappler feel Clinton will be the Democratic bet in the presidential elections in November. 

“The majority of (Fil-Ams) will support her,” Arteche said, adding that as for Trump, “minorities actually want to bury him” for the anti-immigrant rhetoric that has been a main feature of his campaign.

“I’ve been for Hillary since 1998,” Lewis, who is an active fund raiser for the former first lady and Senator, said when approached by Rappler.

Asked about Clinton going up against the boisterous Trump, she said: “Oh my God! He should be the last person to be thought of as President of the United States. He is bringing out all the ugliness of the American people.”

The primary season will wind up when New Jersey votes on the same day as California. The political conventions will be held in the summer.

Merit Salud, who graduated from law school in 1973, finds Trump a source of great amusement.

“(Trump) believes in the 11th and 12th commandment. The 11th is don’t get caught and the 12th is if they catch you, never admit to anything,” he quipped.

“I find him very funny and entertaining. You can be stupid, but avoid being tragic. That is Trump for me,” he added.

Driving away Fil-Ams, immigrants

In past elections, about a third of Fil-Americans would normally vote for the Republican Party and its nominee for president. There was a natural fit between Fil-Ams and the socially conservative policies of the GOP.

Both were anti-abortion and were leery of same-sex marriage, disdainful of big government and the tendency to rely on the authorities for welfare handouts. 

This was the same for other minorities, culminating in George W. Bush grabbing over 40 percent of the Latino vote when he won two elections for president in 2000 and 2004.

Even after a post-mortem in 2012 by the GOP after Mitt Romney lost to Obama urged the party to do outreach and nominate minorities as leaders to run in elections in the US, the prudent advice was practically ignored.

In fact, the GOP doubled down on its anti-immigrant efforts.

The shrillness of the anti-immigrant nativism now dominant in Trump and other members of the GOP drove Fil-Ams away along with other minority groups.

Many immigrants now see the GOP as a “white-only” party and they have responded in kind as some 3/4 of Asian Americans voted for Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential election.

Filipino-Americans were no different and they turned out for Democratic candidates. 

“Republicans are out to destroy these people,” Guillena said, referring to minorities in American society.

Arteche fairly bristles at Trumps’ campaign slogan of making America great again because it is “not what America stands for.”

“He doesn’t know what he is talking about. I think Trump is an idiot. America is already great.” – Rappler.com

 

Rene Pastor is a journalist in the New York metropolitan area who writes about agriculture, politics and regional security. He was, for many years, a senior commodities journalist for Reuters. He founded the Southeast Asia Commodity Digest, which is an affiliate of Informa Economics research and consulting. He is known for his extensive knowledge of the El Niño phenomenon and his views have been quoted in news reports. He is currently an Online Editor of the international edition of the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong.