‘Hispandering’ or just campaigning? Some try to give Latino outreach negative spin

*Good question. Where’s the line between campaigning and pandering? I ask because I’m sure there will be as many different answers as there are readers of this article. Next question, who decides? VL

By Elizabeth Lorente, Fox News Latino

When Hillary Clinton rolled out a Spanish-language campaign website and when Jeb Bush featured Latino music and, yes, spoke some Spanish at his campaign launch in Miami, many people criticized their efforts as pandering.

The same has happened when elected officials or political candidates have expressed support for more lenient immigration policies.

As Latinos become an increasingly important part of the electorate, efforts to court them and the ensuing cries about pandering – or, as some say, “Hispandering” – have grown.

Defenders of efforts that have been targeted as pandering say critics unfairly are implying that it’s somehow wrong to talk to Latinos about their concerns and show support for policies and solutions that a majority of them favor.

“With 54 million Hispanics in America, you have to wonder why anyone would question their role in our democracy,” said Pablo Manriquez, the director of Hispanic media for the Democratic National Committee. “And every candidate seriously wanting to represent them should reach out, talk about the issues that matter to us like college affordability, and ask for our vote. That’s as American as apple pie.”

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