Debate moderator Maria Elena Salinas turned her attention to Hillary Clinton during Wednesday night's debate. "So, secretary, I have a question for you," Salinas said. "In 2003, you said on a radio show, specifically it was John Gambling's radio show in New York, that you were adamantly against illegal immigrants and that people have to stop employing illegal immigrants. ... So, are you flip-flopping on this issue? Or are you pandering to Latinos, what some would call 'Hispandering?'"
Some would ... what.
The term -- referring to attempts by politicians to curry favors with Hispanic voters -- is not new, by Internet standards. I remembered it as being fairly common when I lived in California a decade ago, so I reached out to my friend Cristina Uribe, who works in politics in the state, to see when she first heard the term.
I was surprised.
"I didn't hear it until this year," Uribe said, "when people accused Hillary Clinton of doing it when talking about how she's like my abuelita." You may remember that kerfuffle: Clinton's campaign produced a list of ways she's like an Hispanic grandmother, or abuela. It was received poorly by the community, since things like this come off as ... inauthentic.
