As American Electorate Changes, So Must Campaign Strategies

To say something productive about a book after reading only one out of its eight chapters is unwise, especially if the book is in an academic subject about which I know so little. But a confluence of curiosity and time limitation leads me to do just that.

The study in political scientist Marisa Abrajano's Campaigning to the New American Electorate: Advertising to Latino Voters examines English and Spanish TV ads directed toward Latino voters in the United States during the 2000–2004 election cycle. The book discusses the theory of information-based advertising and the practice of ethnic political campaigning, and it argues that, while these are common practices in election campaigns, they often bear unintended consequences and have undesired affects (from the viewpoint of the candidates) because of the heterogeneity of the Latino community which the campaigns target.

What interests me here is not the main point—that personal and political characteristics of the members of the Latino community vary, and thus ads directed toward a monolithic "Latino" community do not have optimal effects in swaying their votes—but rather how the various ads (depending on the language in which they are created, the channels on which they are aired, the population segments to which they are directed, etc.) construct the various "pockets" of the Latino community to which the candidates try to appeal. How do candidates (and their campaign managers) pin down the different personas to advertise to? How might these practices apply to campaigns directed toward other ethnic communities in the U.S.? What do people really learn about politics through TV advertisements?

I am fascinated by this idea of "advertising" candidates (and their policies) to the voters. The commodification of political candidates seems an interesting process, and I wonder what other things we can commodify, particularly through the use of ethnic marketing campaigns. (I have mixed feelings about the religious materials that get left at my door that are written in my native language. How do they know?!) But even more I am drawn to the idea that Abrajano raises very early on in the book: "Latinos have yet to reach their full political potential" (4). In that case, how do we create an environment in which they can participate fully, in which they have access to (better, if not perfect) information? What do we do about matters of citizenship and voting rights to begin with? And what to do with the others in the U.S. who watch TV ads like these but cannot vote (but still have to pay taxes, darn it)?