GOP Courts Hispanic Sopport And Votes

From The New Ledger:

GOP Looks for Support from Latinosby Brad Jackson




As Latinos head to the polls this november and in 2012, Arizona’s illegal immigration law, the lack of any comprehensive immigration reform and a disappointing showing by the party they traditionally back may put their votes up for grabs as they choose which side of the aisle to support.



As a group that political analysts now label swing voters, they could support a party that doesn’t care about them, uses them to score cheap political points and refuses to tackle immigration reform because it is opposed by parts of its base. Or they could vote Republican.



As the population of Latinos in the US grows, they stand to become the ultimate swing vote. From Florida to Texas to California, the Latinos are becoming a significant percentage of the population and if they turn out to vote (which they don’t always do), they will wield an incredible amount of power in the voting booth. Granted, they do not all vote en masse for the same candidates, and the same party, but if either party can win support from the majority of the Latino community, they will set them selves up well for the future.



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Historically Latinos have supported Democrats, but as Ruben Navarrette mentioned, Democrats only seem to use them to “score cheap political points.” In order for the GOP to snatch away those votes, they need to sell a message that Latinos can support – “lower taxes, less government and greater personal responsibility” as well as faith and strong family values. In 2004, President Bush garnered a whopping 44% of the Latino vote, up 9% from 2000.



In Texas, which faces a competitive election this November between Democrat Bill White and Republican Governor Rick Perry , the Governor is shooting for 50% of the Hispanic vote. In elections past, he’s won about one-third of the Lone Star State’s Latino population. Perry believes, “his message of creating jobs and conservative leadership will resound with the state’s largest minority constituency,” and sees this as an opportunity “to get a lot of new life into the Republican Party.” Just 10 years from now, Latinos will make up 50% of Texas’ population, a demographic that either party will need to secure in order to win at the ballot box.



Republicans face a significant problem with the Latino community going forward, mainly due to actions like the recent Arizona illegal immigration crackdown. Many Latinos see this as racial profiling, singling them out, no matter what their immigration status. Instead of focusing the attention on those people here illegally, regardless of where they may be from, “they’ve cast the net so wide that they’ve entangled anyone with dark skin or a Spanish accent.” This makes many Latinos feel as if they are “perpetually on probation and that their loyalty is in question.” It also pushes away the middle-class Latinos that are the most likely to latch on to the low taxes, small government, family values message of the GOP.



Democrats have their own problems with the Latino community, and Barack Obama is no exception. Navarrette asks a profound question, “what’s the point of continuing to vote for Democrats like Barack Obama who think that words speak louder than actions and good intentions count for everything?” So far this administration has done very little for Latinos, and when they’ve aired their frustrations to those in power, “they always get from liberals: a condescending lecture on how they don’t understand the real world of politics.”



It seems that instead of working with Latinos to address their concerns, Democrats use them as a political wedge, especially on the immigration front. As the Washington Post put it, “the White House sees an opportunity to use the immigration debate to portray the GOP as hostile to Latinos in the hopes of scaring up votes in 2012.” If Democrats can turn around their failing perception in the Latino community, they might loose the traditional support they’ve enjoyed, and that could push them out of power for years to come.