All this week KRWG and NPR are bringing you stories focused on the anxieties of voters before the upcoming presidential election.
Samantha Sonner spoke with voters in Las Cruces concerned about the angry rhetoric targeting specific groups of people, like Immigrants, and Muslims.
Las Cruces Residents Tona Moore and Carol Elder are concerned about some of the things they’ve heard from Presidential candidates so far.
“I feel very bad, I feel bad that American’s are stereotyping,” Moore said. “And blaming a whole people for the bad few, that worries me that we let ourselves get in that position to blame innocents.”
“I think it’s really ugly,” Carol Elder said. “The way that they talk about immigration, the way that they talk about Muslims. It’s just appalling to me, and I can’t believe that people spouting that kind of stuff could be heaven forbid, a world leader.”
President Obama addressed this kind of rhetoric in his State of the Union Address, as did South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley in the Republican Response.
“When politicians insult Muslims,” Obama said. “Whether abroad, or our fellow citizens, when a mosque is vandalized, or a kid is called names, that doesn't make us safer. That's not telling it like it is. It's just wrong.”
“During anxious times,” Haley said. “ It can be tempting to follow the siren call of the angriest voices. We must resist that temptation. No one who is willing to work hard, abide by our laws, and love our traditions should ever feel unwelcome in this country.”
Las Cruces Resident Henry Cooper says he wants to hear more specifics from candidates.
“We got to get out all that broad-brush type ideology,” Cooper said. “And look at actual issues that matter. And what are you going to do to fix this problem.”
Las Cruces Resident Bob Magruder is concerned about how this will affect people going to the polls.
“I think it’s going to prevent a lot of people, I think a lot of friends of mine are very disgusted by what’s going on, and I think a lot of people are not going to vote.”
