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Despierten, Republicanos!

By: GreyCloak (Diary)  |  December 22nd, 2010 at 07:46 AM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

“Wake up,” as it were.

While Texas will be gaining four Congressional seats, and remains pretty much Red, it would be wise to note that most of our population increase came from Hispanics … and many can and will vote.

Hispanics composed about 70 percent of the 3.9 million people added to the Texas population in the past decade … About 25 percent of eligible Texas voters are Latino …

Oh yeah … we have an immigration problem, and plenty of “illegals.” But A LOT of Hispanics are here legally and many have achieved citizenship. Like the pater familias (El Abuelo) I talked with a while ago, who slogged through Inchon with his Marines to achieve his citizenship. Or the Coca-Cola executive I know, who was born in Monterrey (Nuevo Leon, Mexico).

Everybody counts towards apportionment; legal voters vote; and it behooves the Republican Party to recognize and respect those who have come to this country to work and create families … as did mine, from Germany, Ireland, Wales, and elsewhere … since at least 1776 (and Mexicans came to Texas 200 years before).

As an aside, I am really amused by the “Government” of Dallas: after years of control by the “Black” minority (~25%), the “Hispanic” minority (~35%) is making its presence felt, and the “White” majority is actually a minority! When does a purported “majority” become a protected “minority?”

Many naturalized citizens with whom I have been acquainted resent those who have come over and declined to participate in the lengthy process of becoming citizens; NONE (legal or illegal immigrants) like our Unions (they just want to work); MOST have “family values” that would put our politicians to shame. In short, they could be Republicans (at least, according to the alleged basis of the Party platforms).

Tom DeLay  (bless his larcenous and convicted heart) wrote off the Hispanic vote, and put many of its members in three Texas Districts.  THIS coming year, our (Republican) Lege is going to redistrict again, whether or not our Texas Democrats vacation in Oklahoma. (To be fair, one should note that our Republicans once abdicated to a garage poker-party in Austin, when in the minority.)

In Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, California, and even Colorado (and others), the Republican Party had better recognize that the “Hispanic” vote is going to sway elections. As has been said elsewhere, President Bush II received ~50% of the Hispanic vote … Sen. McCain didn’t do as well.

I despair that the political parties have long since abandoned advocating for The People, in preference for splitting off one group for another. The Party of Lincoln, who once emancipated “Negroe” slaves, is now depicted as a cause of injustice … even though a hundred years later, it was Republicans who supported and passed LBJ’s (Democrat) Voters’ Rights Act.

THIS Century, Republicans are understandably opposed to illegal immigration (although the waves of Irish, Italians, and Poles [for instance] were not worthy of Congressional consideration) … In an atmosphere that might depend on 5% of the vote, I would encourage Republicans, Tea Partiers, and others to reduce the rhetoric and MAKE THE CASE that Hispanics should join with Republicans.

PS:  Marco Rubio is Cuban, by origin! Puerto Rican voters have been US citizens for a hundred years. Despite our brief years as Independent Republics (before joining the United State of America), Texas and California were once territories of Mexico: The Alamo was founded in 1716. San Diego was documented in 1542 as a discovery, and San Diego was settled as a mission in 1769.

Democrats would probably LOVE to make Hispanics another “minority voting bloc” … and they have made some headway … but their Union and other traditional supporters (read__NorthEastern states that can’t cope with change) contrast greatly with the aspirations of many Hispanics

Republicans have an opportunity. If we believe in what we say, sane Hispanic voters will come to our side.

COMMENTS

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  • JadedByPolitics

    “reduce the rhetoric” what rhetoric exactly? ILLEGAL is ILLEGAL and Republicans define the debate on NOT rewarding ILLEGAL behavior. So what do you suggest? do we just hand over the Country to ILLEGALS to gain a vote or do you have something substantive to offer that does NOT reward ILLEGAL behavior?

    • Xasteius

      is while most illegals are Hispanics, not all Hispanics are illegals.

  • http://impudent.edublogs.org/ kyle8

    is not really going to work. Consider this, you are a poor, under-educated, but hardworking Latino.

    You come here, you might have been amnestied, you might have got in legally, or you might be voting illegally.

    Either way, there is already a vast network of left wing spanish speaking democrats, they give you some freebies, they promise that the government will take care of you. they buss you to the polls. They tell you that the republicans are just evil white men who want to make you a slave.

    Sure you are going to vote for the Democrat. And that sort of party affiliation takes MANY MANY GENERATIONS to undo.

    In fact, the left hates Israel, and Hates achievers, and yet American Jews are still overwhelmingly democrat. Blacks are completely enslaved on the liberal plantation. Despite that the Democratic party has done nothing for them since 1965.

    No, the best bet is to stop the illegal immigration, and slow down all immigration until we can assimilate these huge numbers.

  • K.

    I agree with this. I am opposed to illegal immigration but most Hispanic immigrants are legal. I do not think that there is any reason to oppose bilingual education in schools, for example, when kids are brought up in houses that speak Spanish. We need to avoid making this fight about culture. It does not matter what culture you are a part of as long as you agree to participate in the American system.

    From the statistics we know that many Hispanics are firmly on the side of illegal immigration even despite speaking English as a primary language or being second- and third-generation immigrants. Why is this? Unfortunately I think part of the answer is that they feel — not totally without cause — that some organizations fighting illegal immigration are just using it as a proxy for a broader culture war.

    • eastbaylarry

      including in the classroom *must* be in english. That is the way to “…participate in the American system.”. Any other approach fractures our society into special interest groups that can’t even talk to each other.

  • GreyCloak

    [Newly-elected Republican Representative Blake] Farenthold, who in November defeated 28-year incumbent Solomon Ortiz in his southeast Texas district, said the election showed Latino voters will support an Anglo-American Republican who shares their views on abortion and other key issues. Farenthold beat Ortiz by less than 1 percent of the vote in the district, which borders Mexico.

    It might be of interest to note that Blake’s Grandmother was a Democrat, once nominated for her Party’s Vice Presidential slot. Families change, sometimes in even two generations.

    JadedByPolitics: You should be, as politician-speak for “illegals” translates these days as “Messicans” [misspelling intentional] and that is just not right. Fortunately, most of my ancestors came in before the first immigration law and fought in all of America’s wars … but they might be “illegal” today. Substantial? Issue everybody coming through a checkpoint an ID card, irrespective of Nationality; deport anyone who doesn’t have a card, three or six months later. And understand that Plenty of immigrants pay into Social Security, for instance … if they use invalid numbers, someone ELSE is credited with their work, perhaps YOU.

    Xasteius: Thank you. You are correct.

    kyle8: By your own definition, recent Hispanic immigrants are just that: recent. The time to recruit new Republicans is NOW. I would suggest that “a vast network of Spanish speaking Republicans” might be a good idea to influence “voters-to-be,” before generations of dependency can be established by the Left.

    note: It is purely rhetoric to talk about “assimilate huge numbers.” It has been done before, with British, Germans, Irish, Italians, and Poles.

    K: From real folks with whom I have become acquainted, kids learn language quickly, and their parents even encourage this. Americans are a diverse People: I made a German dinner Christmas Eve, and a British one Christmas Day. I asked some friends who were going back to Mexico for the Holidays “Who is going to make the [traditional] tamales?” They said “Not us, we don’t really like tamales that much; they are mushy.”

    Like it or not, America is a mish-mosh of cultures and ethnicities: Parties would like to pit one against the other. In a day when elections hinge on a few percentage points, it would behoove parties and politicians to describe what they will do FOR each.