An important strategy for the ’08 election: new Democrats

Crowd outside Naturalization ceremony June 14

Register more Democrats. Yes, indeed, there’s a way to elect a Democratic president in ’08, with more Democrats in Congress. All we need is more Democratic voters. And how do we get them? Some voters can be persuaded to vote Democratic – great! So we hone our message to make sure it’s easily understood and appealing and honest. But that may not be enough. We need new Democratic voters. Where to find them? One place is as new citizens are sworn in – thousands of them at a time.

That is an important leg of our strategy for ’08 in Miami-Dade County. We help staff the voter-registration tables at the ceremonies. We register Republicans and independents as well as Democrats, suppressing our partisan natures for the day, and at the end of the day, the numbers show why the Republicans must be slinking around with their tails between their legs:

At the naturalization ceremonies on Miami Beach June 14, 2007:

123 Democratic registrations, or 61.5 percent

48 Republican registrations, or 24.0 percent

29 No-party declared, or 14.5 percent.

The Democratic Party of Miami-Dade County does not lead the registration drive, rather it supplies volunteers to sign people up after they’ve taken the oath. Democratic Executive Committee Chairman Joe Garcia was among the most hard-working volunteers at the June 14 ceremony. Leading about 15 volunteers was Bob Goldstein, a veteran Democratic activist, who said the ratio has been favorable to the Democrats for past months, despite the Republican-style exhortations the new citizens experience in the ceremony.

The Los Angeles Times did a front-page feature on the Miami Beach voter signups. Tips therein on why new citizens are turning away from the Republicans: war in Iraq, bad policy on immigration. (You may have to register to access the LA Times' fine story. One telling quote from a new citizen: "I don't know whether Bush is a Democrat or a Republican, but whatever he is, I'm voting the other way.")

It’s a long way still to Election Day, but we have some clear things to do and things to avoid. Signing up new citizens must be a big goal.

Update: The Miami Herald published a story on the same event in Monday's local section. The Herald didn't draw any party-political conclusions, but the new citizens all were quoted as saying they favored a path to citizenship for current undocumented immigrations. The link.