I went to his rally for Obama on Friday morning at East Los Angeles College (ELAC). Those in attendance were Congressmen Xavier Becerra and Adam Schiff, LA City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo, and notable state legislators such as State Senator Gil Cedillo who has authored the California Dream Act and bills that would allow undocumented immigrants to have driver’s licenses.
The crowd was enthusiastic, but something was missing; it was the rally’s target audience, Latinos. They were present, but not a significant number. This rally was held at East LA, which is known for being predominately Latino. The crowd was diverse and made up of people you wouldn’t normally see on a normal day at East LA.
Senator Kennedy made two claims that I thought were interesting and would appeal to Latino voters. First, Obama sponsored the Illinois Dream Act as a state legislator. Second, he and Obama were the only U.S. Senators to march during the May 1st immigration protest. Obama did so in Chicago, while Kennedy marched in Washington, D.C.
I think this would change some supposed Latino behavior towards Obama if they knew this information about him. I thought it was a great rally, but failed in its attempt to reach out to the Latino constituency in East LA.
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