Laying low

Jose doesn’t care much for politics. Last year, while some of his family members were marching down the Strip to support immigration reform, he was practicing his footwork at Pueblo Park.

Jose does care for soccer. And he’ll get together after work with friends for pickup games wherever there’s a small patch of grass.

It doesn’t matter that the field at Pueblo Park is perched on a hill. It helps hone his skills.

Democrats hope they can entice people like Jose, who has lived here for two years, to get so energized about Nevada’s Jan. 19 presidential caucus that they register to vote and show up.

When a Spanish-speaking Democratic Party activist with a clipboard approached him during the recent debut of Los Democratas soccer team, Jose politely said no.

Later that night, he told members of his extended family he didn’t think it was a good idea to register to vote.

“They go and protest,” Jose said. “I like to keep quiet. If you vote, they have your name.”

Jose, who speaks English, said 26 family members from Mexico have joined him in Las Vegas. Most are legal citizens, including a sister who is naturalized and several nieces and nephews.

He didn’t want me to print his last name because he didn’t want federal authorities to deport him, an uncle and a brother-in-law who are also here illegally.

“My sister says that even if (Congress) votes on immigration, they won’t do anything about people like us,” Jose said. “We’re just going to lay low.

“I tell them not to get involved in any of the politics,” he added.

Registering Hispanics to vote is a major focus of the caucus. The county’s booming Hispanic population is seen as a sleeping electoral giant, just waiting for the right moment to emerge as a real force in Nevada politics. Democratic Party leaders won national support for moving the caucus up the nominating calendar primarily because Nevada has a significant Latino population, unlike Iowa and New Hampshire.

Jose said the people he knows at work and through his family would probably be Democratic voters.

“It sounds like the party that would be better for us,” Jose said.

But none of his friends have registered, and the only talk about the caucus at work is whether it’s safe to go to a soccer game when Los Democratas are playing.

“I tell them it’s fine, but to stay away from the guys with the clipboards,” Jose said. “You don’t want to be signing nothing.”

Democratic Party officials believe sponsoring the soccer team will reap rewards, even if not everyone gets involved. Presidential candidates continue to woo the elusive Latino vote, courting freshman Assemblyman Ruben Kihuen of Las Vegas in a manner that drew front-page coverage in The Wall Street Journal. “New Kingmaker: Vegas’ Mr. Kihuen will see you now,” ran Aug. 7, just after Los Democratas debuted.

Kihuen, a former standout high school soccer player, is co-captain of the amateur league team and continues to remain neutral in the caucus. While he’s not signing onto any of the campaigns yet, Kihuen and others in the Democratic Party are working to register voters and educate them about the caucus.

Tonight, the party is holding a “mockus” (that’s one word, mind you) at Hermandad Mexicana. The mock caucus, to be led by Andres Ramirez and Marco Rauda, will help explain the political process to citizenship students.

The party has also stepped up its efforts to register new citizens to vote immediately after their ceremony, when patriotism and the spirit of democracy are at an apex.

Ultimately, these efforts will pay off. In past election cycles, Republicans aggressively targeted the Hispanic vote. Democratic efforts in advance of the January caucus should help established Hispanic voters to identify with the party. Outreach by presidential candidates will complement that groundwork. But what kind of outreach is best?

Sen. Barack Obama and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson have already aired Spanish-language radio ads statewide. Richardson narrated his own ad, saying: “With great pride and with your help, I hope to be the first Hispanic president.”

Obama’s ad, narrated by both a man and a woman, seeks to introduce him. “If you still want to know more, let us tell you Barack Obama is a Christian man committed to our community, his wife and his daughters.”

Richardson and Obama, who are both trailing Sen. Hillary Clinton in Nevada polls, hope to pick up support from the same voters who helped Nevada win the early caucus in the first place. Obama sees Kihuen as part of that overall strategy, and has reached out frequently to the Mexican-born assemblyman.

Ultimately, the Hispanic vote will be won the same way as other Democratic votes — with a lot of grass-roots work. Candidates may pick up a vote or two with a radio ad, but they’re going to have to really reach out to people like Jose’s friends and family.

They’re choosing to stay away from politics … for now.

Erin Neff’s column runs Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. She can be reached at (702) 387-2906, or by e-mail at eneff@reviewjournal.com.