Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Republicans Clueless About Minorities

If the GOP is trying to attract more white male voters, it is doing a great job.

Republicans are losing elections in part because they are losing key demographic groups. Some of those groups, like Hispanics, are growing, making them impossible to ignore. 37 percent of the country is nonwhite. Hispanics comprise 16 percent of the population, accounting for half the population growth within the past decade. 51 percent of children born in California are Hispanic, and 46 percent of the population in New Mexico is Hispanic.
Republicans have had difficulty making inroads with Hispanics due to their position on illegal immigration. The left and its other half, the liberal media, have convinced many Hispanics that tough immigration laws are racist. While this is not true, Republicans have had little success convincing Hispanics otherwise. Meanwhile, Republicans continue to make “enforce the border” key parts of their stump speeches.
The problem with this approach is it needlessly reinforces the false stereotype that Republicans are racist. Why repeat something if it's not necessary and costs votes? Many politicians are pro-life, but they don't say “we must stop abortion” in every speech. Illegal immigration is one of those difficult issues that would be better handled gingerly.
On the other hand, Republican politicians like Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who call for a path to citizenship with liberal Democrats, are equally irking voters needlessly. McCain waffles all over the place on illegal immigration; there is no need for him to irritate the GOP base by claiming at times to support a path to citizenship. It didn't work anyways, he received a smaller than usual share of the Hispanic vote as a Republican when he ran for president.

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