Thread: Predictions over Hispanic voters bear out

Predictions over Hispanic voters bear out

And we shouldn't be pandering to them

It's happening just as White House officials warned it would: Hispanic voters, once so assiduously courted by President Bush, are turned off by Republican anti-immigration rhetoric and returning to the Democratic Party.

The vague alarms of Bush, former Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove and others are coming into specific relief with a series of polls showing increasing alienation among Hispanic voters traced directly back to get-tough rhetoric on immigration in Congress, now echoing through the GOP presidential race.

"When President Bush said that family values didn't stop at the Rio Grande, I think that touched a lot of people's hearts," said Gordon Quan, a Houston immigration lawyer. "Now, it's like a contest to see who can be furthest to the right on the whole issue."

A recent survey by the non-partisan Pew Hispanic Center found a shift in party allegiance among Hispanic voters in the last year.

In July 2006, 49 percent of Hispanic voters identified with Democrats and 28 percent with Republicans. By early November 2007, 57 percent of Hispanic registered voters said they either identify with or lean Democratic, while 23 percent said they are Republican.

A follow-up survey by the same organization released Thursday found that since last year's failed immigration reform effort, 64 percent of Hispanics said their life is more difficult in terms of finding work, housing and travel.

Exit polls from the 2004 election indicated Bush received about 40 percent of the Hispanic vote, up from 34 percent in 2000. It was a noteworthy achievement for a Republican, since Hispanic voters, with the exception of many Cuban-Americans, have trended Democratic.

Alarmed at seeing their hard-earned Hispanic support fading away, Bush, Rove and others warned earlier this year that Republican candidates must reach out to minorities, including Hispanics, if they hope to hold on to the White House in 2008.

Within the administration, the emerging sense of schadenfreude is bittersweet. Among the presidential candidates, the prevailing tone on immigration is harsh, emphasizing deportation and border enforcement over pathways to citizenship favored by Bush.

The courtship may be over, but the relationship may yet be salvaged, said Susan MacManus, a political scientist at the University of South Florida.

"Hispanic voters feel they aren't getting the attention they deserve," she said. "In general I think there is a great deal of angst that America is supposed to be a symbol of hope and a place where people can better their lives, and why all of a sudden that's over."

Still, Bush's message may be getting through to some of the candidates. The Republican presidential field — all but one — earlier this week gathered in Florida for a debate sponsored by the Spanish-language Univision network. Although none changed their positions on immigration, their tone was markedly subdued from previous outings.

Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado, perhaps the most virulent anti-immigrant candidate, skipped the event and later told Fox News that he didn't care to appear before a Spanish-speaking audience.

"If they can't understand the English language, then, of course, they shouldn't be citizens," Tancredo said on Fox News. "They shouldn't be voting. And we shouldn't be pandering to them."

What hispanics is the Pew asking these questions to?

Do they have the right to vote in US elections? Because if they don't, this poll is meaningless.

No group votes in a bloc. I will tell you what goes on in my area. Those of us who are against illegal aliens tend not to speak publicly about it because of the hassle it would generate from those who support illegal aliens. What I mean by hassle is harassment, retaliation, etc.

I VOTE my convictions.

I don't think that is true that they are returing to the Democratic Party.

That's just a bunch of OBL Hispanic leaders running their heads because they need everyone they can get voting Democrat. They keep saying that because they know many are against them and are Conservative Republicans. They are trying to shame people into supporting their crazy ideas. It's not going to happen.

Dixie

Originally Posted by Dixie

I don't think that is true that they are returing to the Democratic Party.

That's just a bunch of OBL Hispanic leaders running their heads because they need everyone they can get voting Democrat. They keep saying that because they know many are against them and are Conservative Republicans. They are trying to shame people into supporting their crazy ideas. It's not going to happen.

Dixie

Dixie I agree

"Hispanic voters feel they aren't getting the attention they deserve," she said. "In general I think there is a great deal of angst that America is supposed to be a symbol of hope and a place where people can better their lives, and why all of a sudden that's over."

What attention do they deserve thats differnt then the rest of ther Country

It is the American vote that counts, not the Hispanic vote... Nor any other Race we vote as Americans Thats the problem with the "Hispanic leaders" they turn it every time ...

Why don't they do a poll on how many long time Democrats are switching to Independent or will no longer vote for any Democrat candidate that is for Illegal Aliens.

Does this article mention that they're only about 6% of the vote, and their vote is not monolithic..