I thought most Portuguese were Democrats, but I may have been wrong

From MundoPortugues.com

ENGLISH SECTION
I thought most Portuguese were Democrats, but I may have been wrong
By Angela Costa
Quinta 5 Dezembro 2002, 11:54 PST

Some of you may be aware of our recent electoral success
here in California, with three Portuguese-Americans being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, Richard Pombo (re-elected), Dennis Cardoza and Devin Nunes. Pombo and Nunes are both Republican, while Cardoza is Democrat. I found that interesting because I was always under the impression that most Portuguese here in the United States are Democrat. This observation and the fact that time after time people have asked me,

"How can you be Portuguese and not be Democrat?!" prompted me to explore the subject further.

So I decided to pose that question to as many family members, friends and colleagues (Portuguese, of course) as I could reach. The response was overwhelming, and it turns out that many think my impression of the "Portuguese Democrat" is wrong. One thing is for certain, however - there were more reasons given for why some Portuguese are Democrat, than there were reasons given for why some Portuguese are Republican. You will see that there are many quotes throughout the article, however their sources will remain anonymous to protect the innocent.

The number one reason given was that the Democrat party was the party that supported the poor, the underprivileged, the working class and of course, the immigrant community. Most immigrants are recruited by labor unions and other organizations by making the Democrat party the hero of the working class.

"When we arrive in this country, everybody tells us that the Democrats are for the poor, (which is not necessarily true) and the Republicans are for the rich. Consequently, we join the Democratic Party, because most emigrants are poor, and have no education."

"If I had to guess I’d say it’s a stereotype that was created from the old days when, like most newly arrived immigrants, the Democrats pursued local and national policies seen as being most beneficial to the newcomers. Same reason the Irish, Italians (even though they’re by and large Catholic), Jews, and other large immigrant groups tended to become heavily Democrat."

"The Portuguese are quite conservative, I think, but they lean Democrat because of the progressive social reform policies that directly benefit them. Here in Massachusetts, immigrants are drafted to join the Democratic Party in general through labor unions. I don’t really know if they fully realize their choice. However, the notion among the Portuguese is that Democrats will fight for their rights as an unprivileged group. So, the Portuguese become Democrat more for convenience and less because of conviction."

"I find here that most Portuguese are Democrats. Most of the Portuguese are blue collar workers and the unions are giving them a lot of the information about voting and endorsing candidates."

Along these same lines of making a decision on party affiliation right when entering the country, another common response for many Portuguese being Democrat was a loyalty to John F. Kennedy. "I remember going to various Portuguese homes on both coasts and commonly seeing a picture of Kennedy on people’s walls (usually some religious picture - i.e. Fatima or Jesus close by)."

"If we take the emigration of the last 40 years, there was a fidelity to John Kennedy and the immigration acts that allowed family re-unification. Many of our people came over due to this policy."

"Many [Portuguese] immigrated or were given visas during the presidency of John F. Kennedy. Many who immigrated saw many similarities between JFK and themselves. The fact that he was Roman Catholic and a champion of civil rights and immigrant causes gave many Portuguese, Irish, Italian, and Mexican immigrants reason to be Democrats."

One suggestion made by a few people makes perfect sense – that the policies of the Democrat party here in the United States are very similar to the policies Portuguese immigrants left behind in Portugal. "The Democrats talk about being for the working people and offering programs. They come from an environment in Portugal where the Government there is semi-socialist. There, health care for the most part is free and the Government also offers a lot of programs. So culturally it is close to what they left behind."

"If we look at the Portuguese political world, in Portugal, where some emigrated and others have roots, most of the Portuguese voters are centrist. The two centrist parties that have held power in Portugal are the PSD and the PS. They are considered to be at the center of the pendulum—one to the right (PSD) and one to the left (PS). The right wing party in Portugal, whose policies are similar to the wing of the Republican Party now in power in the States, is the CDS. Although this party is in power now, it is because of a coalition with the PSD. This party, the brother of our Republican party, traditionally, has only received between 7 and 11 per cent of the vote. The so-called radical left, PCP and BE have received more than 15%."

"Years ago the Democrat Party was known for the help it gave to the ‘working class’. There were so many offers of help. Instead of teaching people how to fish, they were given the fish. The majority of Portuguese come from a socialized region of the Azores or Portugal. Because the Democrat party professes to "take care of ‘you’ from the cradle to the grave" and pit the "haves" with the "have-nots," our people "fell" for that ‘line’ of promises."

And of course, at a very basic level it is very common to stick with the party you grew up with, the party of your parents and your community. "When new families arrive in the United States, I feel it is natural to "follow" the party of whom ever your family, friends and neighbors belong. My folks did! All of my sisters and I became Democrats. It was the thing to do."

Others suggest that while most Portuguese started out as Democrat, over time they have crossed over to the right, or even to third parties "as members of [immigrant] groups have become significantly stronger politically and not necessarily beholden to a "cookie cutter" set of ideals that traditionally were espoused by one party or the other."

"The Costa side of my family was a California farming clan that was devastated during the Great Depression. [Franklin Delano Roosevelt] was the only politician that tried to help them. Hoover Republicans completely abandoned farmers in that time. That legacy lasted for generations. The few family members that remained in rural California and Washington gradually became Republicans as Democrats became more identified with urban and minority issues in the 1960s. And, sad to say, it would be naive to rule out our prejudice against blacks by some Portuguese, especially among farmers. They saw Democrats as abandoning them in favor of urban groups that competed for Federal and State dollars."

"I was registered a Democrat in the seventies then I started studying the issues and changed to Republican in the eighties, now I’m thinking of changing to Independent."

The argument that there are more Democrat Portuguese on the East Coast than there are on the West Coast did seem to find some merit in the eyes of some respondents. "Portuguese relatives and friends in Massachusetts were more apt to remain Democrats because of their own urban tradition and understanding of minority issues. It was easier, I believe, for East coast Portuguese to empathize with Civil Rights/Democratic Party changes than West Coast rural Portuguese, who were being actively courted by Republicans. Also, the Republican right-to-life wing of the party is a natural magnet for staunch single-issue Portuguese Catholics, especially in California."

"Most or all of the Portuguese in the [California] central valley that I know that vote (who are dairyman or farmers) support the Republicans. In fact, at the SES hall in Elk Grove they always have fundraisers. This year they had one for [Bill] Simon [California Republican candidate for Governor]."

"I’m guessing any quantitative poll that you conducted of West Coast Portuguese would reveal a more conservative bent, while an East Coast survey would indicate a liberal bias."

Others felt that if an official poll were taken, the results would show that the Portuguese community is really split down the middle, 50/50 between Democrat and Republican. ""I don’t think you can place Portuguese people as a majority one way or the other. For instance my parents are registered as Democrat but have never voted since they have arrived in the US in 1975. I think they chose Democrat because they said that party represented the poor and at that time they were. One thing that wouldn’t surprise me is if the farmers in the San Joaquin Valley were all Republican, since farmers and ranchers are seen as Republicans, such as Pombo, if I am not mistaken. Portuguese people aren’t influenced by the church as [much as] other Christian groups are. They have a conservative side on some things but on others they are total liberals. Let’s give an example. Hmmmmmmm. Making wine at home and moonshine would be a liberal thing to me and then the fact that we enjoy bullfights would get the liberals in an uproar if they knew about them. Portuguese people are moderates if anything else."

After looking at all of the responses, I would have to change that number to 45/45 and leave at least 10% to account for third party affiliations. In the small group I surveyed, I was surprised to find quite a few Independents, Libertarians and Greens.

"I believe it’s a stereotype. I am convinced that if you were to poll a good sample size you would find that the line is drawn down the middle."

Perhaps it’s a generational issue. ’"The reason for the appearance of their being more Democrats is a generational thing (and by extension the teachings of parents to children). Those that arrived in the 40’s became the FDR Democrats (my parents). Those that arrived in the 60’s became the Kennedy and Johnson children - Democrats again. Those in turn had an effect on their children until they started going to college, then you start to see some divergence into the Republican side as the children became more affluent and more questioning of government."

One question I had was that since most Portuguese are Catholic, wouldn’t they lean more towards the Republican Party, especially because of issues like abortion, birth control, premarital sex, gay rights, etc.? One respondent pointed out that most Catholics are actually Democrat. And as it turns out, some feel that even though Portuguese do identify with the pro-life conservative view of the Catholic Church, it’s not enough for some of them to completely identify with the Republican Party.

"One apparent reason why Portuguese people have a tendency towards being Democrat is because they are Catholic. Catholics have an overwhelming tendency to lean towards Democrats and the only time where they voted Republican was during the Reagan campaign. Statistics have proven/shown that Catholics generally are Democrats."

"I’d be willing to speculate that many Portuguese still identify with their immigrant roots and the old country — and Democrats traditionally have appealed to immigrants, the poor and working classes, and people of faith (excluding Mormons and fundamentalist Christians)."

"Issues such as premarital sex, gay rights, and single parent families are only recent issues of the last 30 years or so. Birth Control didn’t become a huge issue until the early/mid 60’s. The relationship between Catholics and Democrats has been a relationship covering several decades, at least more than a century, going back to the first huge wave of Irish Immigrants that came to the United States. As for the Birth Control issue, I am sure it is duly noted that though the church may teach that birth control is a sin, most Catholics, I think it is 62% or something. Plus, there is the whole assimilation thing. Are Portuguese people assimilating to the predominant culture of America, and that is why some of these issues don’t bother them as much?"

In all this seriousness, I had to share some of the more amusing responses I received:

"I guess it is mostly a European perception that the Republican Party is too uptight for comfort.""

"Republicans are the devil’s children...."

"Of course, being a democrat myself, I make a correlation between being Portuguese and just having good sense, intelligence, and compassion."

"God must have been a Republican. He didn’t feed the poor forever. He didn’t give them fish forever. He taught men to fish. He told stories that gave fine examples of how people should use their ‘talents’ wisely. He was not impressed with servants who "buried" the treasure...rather than make it ‘work for them. He didn’t change water into wine, at every wedding He attended. He certainly was not a Union man. I don’t think He would belong to a party that honors a man who is a "felon", a disbarred attorney, a liar under oath, and been impeached."

"Because the Republican party is run by the religious reich, and I won’t vote for anything that is dictated by the religious reich."

Regardless of political affiliation, one respondent hit the nail right on the head of the bigger problem we face as a community: "We Portuguese could be a real force to reckon with if only we would join together."

Without any official data, it’s impossible to say for certain if the Portuguese are more Democrat or Republican. What we can say for certain, however, is that the Portuguese community continues to become more politically and civically active, and that is the most important thing of all. It has only been in the past 10 years or so that the Portuguese community has really established any sort of political presence locally, statewide and at the federal level. And in a short time, we have accomplished a great deal in many of the Portuguese communities throughout the country. Hopefully this is just the beginning of a significant rise in political involvement by the Portuguese community, despite this distribution of political party affiliations. And even though there might be a limited number of common political issues, perhaps we will be able to find a common ground on which to join together and turn our community into the "force to be reckoned with""that we could be. The financial support for Portuguese studies programs is just one example of the few issues that cuts across party lines.

Please note that the information in this article is based on the opinions and responses of individuals throughout the United States, and not on any statistical or published information. The "survey" conducted did not follow any formal research methodology.