Thread: HISPANIC VOTERS MAY TAKE REVENGE IN 2008

Hispanic voters may take immigration revenge in 2008

by Antonio Rodriguez
jULY 4, 2007


WASHINGTON (AFP) - Long after President George W. Bush has retired to his Texas ranch, his fellow Republicans may have to deal with Hispanic voter backlash over his failed immigration reform.

In 2008, in presidential and congressional elections, Latino voters, an increasingly important demographic in US politics, will get their first chance to hand out blame for the collapse of the sweeping immigration bill last week.

Conservative Republicans in Congress, who deserted a president from their own party, and squashed the bid to grant a path to citizenship to at least 12 million illegal immigrants, may be caught in the crossfire, analysts said.

"The unified message of the Democratic leadership is that the Republicans blocked the bill -- that's likely to be the way that Hispanic voters remember this," said Adam Segal director of the Hispanic Voter Project at Johns Hopkins University.

According to a recent poll in the USA Today newspaper, only 11 percent of Hispanic voters now identify themselves as Republicans -- down from 19 percent in 2005.

That figure is especially dismaying for the party, as a record 40 percent of Hispanic voters chose Bush in the 2004 election, and the president's political skills had seemed to have found a new seam of Republican support.

The ire of Hispanic voters may be especially pronounced and decisive in 2008 in a clutch of five southern and western states -- Florida, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and Colorado.

Florida has played a central role in the last two US presidential elections, narrowly going Republican in 2000 and 2004, and on the evolving US political map, New Mexico and Nevada are increasingly significant.

"This immigration issue and other things might give Democrats the best chance that they have had in the last decade to win Florida," Segal said.

Angry by the failure of a previous attempt to tackle immigration reform last year, and dismayed by the war in Iraq, 70 percent of Hispanic voters plumped for the Democrats in 2006 elections, as the party grabbed control of Congress.

"The breach was opened in 2006, it exists, and it is not a myth," said Robert de Posada, president of the Latino Coalition, a policy advocacy group, at a forum last weekend of presidential candidates in Florida.

In one anecdotal sign of the potential of the issue to haunt Republicans, many of whom slammed the bill as an "amnesty" for illegal immigrants, all eight Democratic candidates showed up at the forum.

But only one Republican White House hopeful, long-shot conservative candidate and congressman Duncan Hunter, took the time to attend.

Republicans also lag behind the Democrats in efforts to woo Hispanic voters in their own language on the internet.

Most Democratic hopefuls have posted messages in Spanish on their campaign websites and some, like Senator Hillary Clinton, have started setting up a separate Spanish-language website targeting the Hispanic community.

On the Republican side, only former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney appears to offer Spanish links on his website, including a video on the candidate narrated by his son Craig, in fluent Spanish.

Several Republican presidential candidates, including former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Romney, fiercely condemned the immigration reform bill.

Their rival John McCain was a strong advocate -- but his campaign on Monday partly blamed that stance for a disastrous 2007 second quarter fundraising by the Arizona senator, which has left his campaign hanging by a thread.

Hispanic voters are likely to view the Republicans with even more skeptisism in 2008, if the candidate who emerges from the blizzard of nominating contests, is a hawk on immigration, experts said.

"If that happens, no matter who the Democratic nominee is, the Democrats are going to have a significant advantage," said Segal.

De Posada said simply that candidates who were smart enough to work with the Hispanic community could make the difference in 2008.

Had the immigration bill passed Congress, it would have granted an eventual path to legal status to some 12 million illegal and undocumented immigrants.

It would have replaced the current family-dominated immigration system with a merit-based points formula, and attempted to cut a huge backlog for permanent resident "green card" applicants.

It would also have triggered a four billion dollar drive to strengthen US border defenses.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070704/ts ... 0704220529

If the American voters awaken and DO NOT vote for another Clinton, it won't make much difference who the Latinos support. Don't forget, there are many Hispanics who are against illegal immigration.

Who cares about the Hispanic vote? There are only 30 million of them but 270 million non-Hispanics in this country. Why does it take being anti- laws to gain the Hispanic vote? Says a lot about them doesn't it?

How come these articles are always written by people with names like Antonio Rodriguez, and not by Kevin O'Connor or Julie Levine?

Why does the media continually use people with a vested interest in the outcome of the story they're telling to write it? Are they afraid that they'll be subject to violence if they don't apply the proper spin using an ethnically correct writer?

Oh you can count on this to happen. They are already registering.

Speaking of revenge, it is the Globalist that seem to have effected California after Proposition 187.

It is only my personal observation but I think a lot of money started pouring in, in retaliation.




P.S. Don't forget. Half of Hispanics are in favor of getting a handle on illegal immigration.

I speak Spanish and am considered "Latin", but I'm against illegal immigration and am utterly sick of Mexico and it's double Standards.

I'm a US Citizen and care deeply about what happens to the USA.

I don't belong to "La Raza" and never would as I don't consider myself to have anything in common with them, either ideologically or racially.

So to lump all "Latinos" together is like saying that all Europeans are the same. These people just have an agenda they want to perpetuate and want to lump everyone together. Don't buy it...it's cr*p.

mavi, thank you for being for america. I have a great deal native american blood and really am upset over the deal that many illegals stay about taking back their land. My great grand father had an option of going to mexico or staying in america. he stayed here and worked to educate all of his children and to ensure that we appreciate America for giving him an option and a chance.

Illegals need to return to their country and return legally and be thankful to america.

yes thanks you Mavi... you know it is not about Race.. its about legal and Illegal.. I am Irish.. but if you ar illegal and Irish.. you should do it legally!

Hi Mavi

I don't think anyone here has anything against Hispanics that are legally in this country. My grandaughter is half Hispanic and we are with her other grandparents often. It is very important for my grandaughter to know her heritage and also know that her great grandparents came here legally and worked hard to become American Citizens like my Grandparents from Norway did.. I do not want her listed with illegal immigrants and I don't want her to ever feel bad about her heritage. I am however wondering why the Hispanic population in the United States that came her legally or are just plain United States Citizens don't fight more for there nation.
I will tell you this however, I can tell the difference between illegal and legal Hispanics in an instant. It is not a hard thing to do and I think most would agree with me. It is not the language either.
I am happy to see someone stand up for the Heritage on this forum.

Paige