Both Parties Play ‘Race Card’ in South Carolina Primary for US Presidential Election

Published in China Times
(Taiwan) on 16 February 2016
by Chen Zi Yan (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Kartoa Chow. Edited by Victoria Branca.
The South Carolina primary in the U.S. presidential campaign will be held in four days.* A battle over race is unfolding among the presidential candidates from both the Democratic and the Republican parties. Republican candidates Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio are both fighting for the Latino votes in South Carolina, as they compete for second place. Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are aiming for the African-American vote, each attempting to take the lead.

In addition, Republican Jeb Bush even introduced members of the Bush family in hopes of boosting his election chances and squeezing into the top three spots.

The latest CBS News poll indicates that Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton are both significantly ahead of their respective opponents, which is allowing each of their respective opponents to feel extreme pressure. Trump, with 42 percent of the voters, is leading while Cruz is at 20 percent, and Hillary, with 59 percent, is in the lead over Sanders who has 40 percent.

During the debate last Saturday, “honesty” was the hottest topic among the Republican pack. Rubio changed from his previously moderate position to one of attacking Cruz’s “dishonesty” with full force, while Cruz took aim at Trump, calling him the most dishonest candidate, to which Trump replied by strongly criticizing Cruz for being the most “dishonest person … in politics.” Today, Trump even attacked Cruz for being “the single biggest liar I've ever come across.”

Trump also did not spare the Bush family, strongly attacking former President George W. Bush for lying. After presenting his mother Barbara Bush earlier to help out, Jeb Bush then introduced his older brother George W. Bush today in South Carolina to support him. The usually low-profile George W. Bush has plans to help with the election in order to rescue his brother’s situation. Today, the unforgiving Trump mockingly said, “He tried the mother … now he's bringing in his brother."

On the Democratic side, Clinton, who was utterly defeated in New Hampshire, is attempting to regain the lead in South Carolina. Clinton’s trump card is the African-American vote in South Carolina.

Although Sanders has fully focused on securing African-American votes in South Carolina in recent days by continuously denouncing a white police officer for fatally shooting a black man, African-American organizations deemed Clinton as already having a favorable track record and solid relationships in the African-American community, while saying they have no knowledge of Sanders.

*Editor’s note: This article was written and translated prior to the South Carolina primary held on Feb. 20, 2016, in which Donald Trump claimed victory, and Jeb Bush dropped out of the race. The South Carolina primary for the Democratic candidates takes place Feb. 27, 2016.


美國大選南卡州初選將於四天後登場,民主、共和兩黨總統參選人展開族裔爭奪戰。共和黨克魯茲和盧比歐在南卡州互搶西裔票,進攻老二地位;民主黨希拉蕊與桑德斯則搶攻非洲裔票,企圖扳回一城。

另外,共和黨的傑布布希更搬出了「布希家族」作為因應,希望能拉高他的選情,藉以擠進前三名。

CBS新聞的最新民調顯示,共和黨的川普和民主黨的希拉蕊分別大幅度領先各自對手,川普以42%領先克魯茲20%,希拉蕊以59%領先桑德斯40%,已讓各自對手深感無比壓力。

在上周六的辯論中,「誠實」成為共和黨群雄最熱議的話題。盧比歐一改過去溫和態度、火力全開的猛攻克魯茲的「不誠實」,而克魯茲則瞄準川普,指川普為「最不誠實的」,川普則重批客魯茲是「最不誠實的政客」。川普今天更抨擊克魯茲為「從未見過如此說謊的人」。

川普也沒放過布希家族,他大力抨擊前總統小布希「撒謊」。稍早之前搬出老母芭芭拉布希助陣之後,傑布布希今天又搬出老哥小布希親抵南卡州為其站台。原本低調的喬治布希,為了挽救其弟的選情,已有下海助選的打算。口不饒人的川普今天更諷刺的說,「先是母、現是哥」。

民主黨方面,在新罕州大敗的希拉蕊則試圖要在南卡州扳回一城,她的手中王牌就是南卡州的非洲裔選票。

儘管,桑德斯近日以來不斷抨擊白人警察槍殺非洲裔事件,以全力搶攻南卡州非洲裔選票。但南卡州非洲裔組織卻認為,希拉蕊在非洲裔社區已有良好紀錄可循、關係紮實,而對桑德斯卻毫無所知。
This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above link .

Hot this week

Peru: Blockade ‘For Now’

Israel: From the Cities of America to John Bolton: Trump’s Vendetta Campaign against Opponents Reaches New Heights

Thailand: Appeasing China Won’t Help Counter Trump

Turkey: Pay Up or Step Aside: Tariffs in America’s ‘Protection Money’ Diplomacy

Topics

Peru: Blockade ‘For Now’

Japan: US President and the Federal Reserve Board: Harmonious Dialogue To Support the Dollar

Austria: The EU Must Recognize That a Tariff Deal with Trump Is Hardly Worth Anything

Mexico: The Network of Intellectuals and Artists in Defense of Venezuela and President Nicholás Maduro

Hong Kong: Cordial Cross-Strait Relations Will Spare Taiwan Trump’s Demands, Says Paul Kuoboug Chang

Germany: The Tariffs Have Side Effects — For the US Too*

Ireland: We Must Stand Up to Trump on Climate. The Alternative Is Too Bleak To Contemplate

Canada: Carney Takes Us Backward with Americans on Trade

Related Articles

United Kingdom: The Democrats Are in Deep Trouble in the US – and Labor Is on the Way to Joining Them

Pakistan: The Heir Apparent

Taiwan: Trump’s Japan Negotiation Strategy: Implications for Taiwan

Malaysia: Even MAGA’s Having Doubts: How Israel Is Losing the American Right

China: Trump’s Tariff Policy Bullies the Weak, Fears the Strong and Applies Double Standards

Previous article
Next article