"I don't know how anyone of Hispanic heritage could be a Republican, okay. Do I need to say more?"
Hispanics are more culturally conservative than the white majority, and find many issues championed by the Republican Party with which they are comfortable with.
UPDATE 6:00pm CDT: Florida Republican US Senate candidate Marco Rubio, who is Hispanic, responds to the Reid slur.
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John,
ReplyDeleteBad analysis. Routinely 2/3rds of Hispanics vote for Democrats and will continue to do so. Harry Reid is right - in the Thomas Frank, "What is the matter with Kansas"-school, the Dems will continue to shower you with benefits and Republicans will take them away and force you to operate equally with anyone else. Why would you vote Republican?
Did you steal that from a Rove paper written before the Immigration Reform tried in 2006? Because that sunk Bush amongst his own voters and was one of the factors that led to the historic 2006 bloodbath.
One of the main reasons Hispanics vote Democratic is because their interests are aligned to do so. The Dems offer them continued Affirmative Action protective status when applying for government jobs and slots at universities. They get an continued economic benefit when they pull the lever for Dems.
How does one change that? Well, it's not likely to happen over the short term, but Steve Sailer has the best long term solution in my humble opinion. Of course, it woudl take courage and daring to implement which means the GOP would never do it.
Read and be enlightened: http://www.vdare.com/sailer/100725_sosa.htm
Does the Republican Party really champion social conservative issues? In Illinois?
ReplyDeleteAs a Republican, I've tried to, but I've often been told that we can't campaign on these issues.
Too, many of our leaders are actively opposed to social conservatives; Mark Kirk and Judy Baar Topinka are two easy examples, but many others who are ostensibly pro-life will support socially liberal colleagues, and decline to support social conservatives.
When I ran for State Representative in the GOP primary this year, my GOP incumbent opponent unleashed her Personal PAC buddies against me the weekend prior to the election. Their mailer faulted me for my 100% rating from Illinois Federation for Right to Life, an honor I shared with two local Congressional candidates, four gubernatorial candidates, three U.S. Senate candidates, the county sheriff -- about 18 others on the local ballot, including the incumbent state rep in the next district over. Which of those candidates and officials said anything to her about this attack on me? Not one.
So when you talk about how this or that group should embrace the GOP because of our socially conservative platform, that doesn't mean very much unless we're nominating socially conservative candidates. This year we have a great ticket in Brady and Plummer, but it's headed by Mark Kirk, it includes Judy Baar Topinka, in the 10th District Bob Dold is trumpeting that he is a "social moderate" (whatever that means), and several other of our candidates have been carefully opaque in their positions on these issues.
If I'm Hispanic (or indeed any race of pro-lifer) in Illinois, why is it again that I'm supposed to vote Republican? It's not always obvious.
DC Throwback: But 1/3 of Hispanics vote Republican, so millions of them defy Reid's analysis.
ReplyDeleteFrank's logic, if you call it that, is flawed. Yeah I read the book. For instance, he decries the decline of the family farm in Kansas, but how is the GOP responsible for sociological and economic forces that have been ongoing for over a century?
The '06 McCain-Kennedy bill only led to some conservatives staying home on Election Day that year.
Affirmative Action: As we head to a minority-majority nation, I mean, why do we need it? AA (I meant to write it that way) has evolved into a permanent entitlement for eternal victims.
Here's my take on Frank's book:
Marathon Pundit Exclusive: "What's the Matter With Kansas?" Debunked on Page One: UPDATED AGAIN
Paul: Look at what six years of Dem one-party rule has done to this state. I wish you had won, sadly, we've had few true conservatives win statewide office here, Sen. Peter Fitzgerald was one. But this year we have to run on jobs, jobs, and jobs. And of course the economy as a whole, at least statewide. Brady is pro-life, but we can't overwhelm voters with multiple messages.
Besides, Illinois is already $13 billion in debt, thanks to Quinn/Blago spending. Can this state survive another four years of Dem rule?