One's politics are almost inherited like one's religion. People vote for their interests and especially their pocketbook.
I agree we need to have a universal message, but lower taxes and smaller government doesn't resonate with people who aren't paying taxes and receiving a government check. Hispanics are joining blacks as part of a permanent underclass. They want more government and to increase taxes on the "rich" to pay for them.
The Democrats have used the rapidly changing demographics of this country, the product of immigration, to stampede many Republican politicians and elites to conclude that the party must “adapt or die” as Michael Barone stated on the issue of immigration. The leaders of extremist Hispanic ethnic groups trumpet their growing political power and cite the Bureau of Census projections that by 2050, one in 3 residents of this country will be Hispanic. The problem is that if the Republican Party does adapt to become more like the Democrat Party, it will die.
The Democrats created the artificial category of “Hispanics” in the 1970s as a way to create another class of victims, which they could imbue with special rights and privileges, including affirmative action and minority business set asides. The result is another minority group that votes Democrat. It doesn’t matter that, according to the Census Bureau, 53 percent of Hispanics self-identify themselves as white. The Census Bureau has even created the phony category of “non-Hispanic whites,” which are now 66 percent of the population and will be 50 percent in 2042. The reality is that “whites” will still be more than 70 percent of the population in 2042.
In 2008, if John McCain had received 60 percent [vice 55 percent] of the “white vote,” he would have won even if Barack Obama had received the entire Hispanic vote. Credible surveys indicate that the major policy concerns of Hispanics/Latinos were no different than the concerns of non-Hispanics/Latinos. The economy and jobs topped the list. There is little evidence that immigration policy was an influential factor in Hispanics’/Latinos’ choice between the two candidates once basic party predispositions are taken into account. The size of the Latino voting population should be kept in perspective alongside other subsets of the electorate. An estimated 11.8 million voters were of Latino ancestry, compared with 17 million African Americans, 19.7 million veterans, 23.6 million young people, 45 million conservatives, and 34 million born-again white Christians.
Republicans are deluded if they believe that altering their views on immigration and amnesty will win them more Hispanic votes. Ronald Reagan signed a “one-time” amnesty in 1986, but that did not change the fact that the majority of Hispanics still vote Democrat. The reality is that historically the majority of immigrants, not only Hispanics, vote Democrat. Unless the Republican Party can slow down the immigration numbers, it will be the permanent minority party or become just another wing of the Democrat Party.
The Democrats want to be known as the party of minorities. They cultivate that image. But it can be a two-edged sword given the changing demographics in this country. With our first black President and the fact that by 2019, just 7 years from now, half of the children 18 and under will be classified as minorities, it will become harder and harder to defend affirmative action and minority business set asides, especially among young, non-Hispanic white Democrats. The absurdity of these programs will become readily apparent.
The Republicans need to expose the Democrats as the real racists and bigots who provide people, including newly arrived immigrants, with special rights and privileges based on race, ethnicity, and gender. The definitions of Hispanic and Asian under Virginia law are ludicrous. They make no sense. What do Japanese, Chinese, Indians, and Filipinos have in common except being from the same geographic region of the globe? Similarly, “Hispanics” encompass all of Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula, i.e., the former colonialists. These types of classifications are reminiscent of those under apartheid in South Africa, which had four main groups with a number of sub-groups and even “honorary whites.” Republicans should take the lead in abolishing these discriminatory programs in post-racial America and use immigration as an example of the unfairness of these laws.
There are other significant demographic changes that transcend race and ethnicity. The Republican Party should focus on those changes rather than its quixotic outreach programs. By 2030 one in every 5 residents of this country will be 65 and over—twice what it is now. The vast majority of these people will be on fixed incomes with Social Security being the sole or a major portion of their retirement income. As a result, taxes will become more and more of a concern among older voters. State and local taxes will have to fund much of the education and social welfare costs for immigrants and their children as the U.S. population continues to increase. Since the federal government only funds about 13 percent of the education costs with state and local governments funding the rest through mainly property taxes, an aging population on fixed incomes will balk at increased rates of taxation. And senior citizens vote at a higher percentage than younger voters. Even immigrants grow old and will vote their pocketbook.
And then there are younger voters who must bear the brunt of the out of control federal spending that will balloon the current debt servicing costs, which consume $200 billion annually of the federal budget. With entitlement programs increasing to more than half of the federal budget, it will leave declining amounts of money for discretionary items, including defense. In 1950, there were 16 workers for every retiree, today it is 3.3, and by 2030 it will be 2 workers for every retiree.
As a result, the young will also become increasingly concerned about taxes and the costs of mass immigration that will require huge amounts of money for increased infrastructure requirements, higher energy needs, schools, hospitals, water treatment and sewage plants, etc. that will be needed for a nation approaching half a billion people and is the world’s biggest debtor nation.
The Republican message of limited government and lower taxes will then resonate with the young and old alike.
Ronald Reagan said, “A political party cannot be all things to all people. It must represent certain fundamental beliefs which must not be compromised to political expediency, or simply to swell its numbers. I do not believe I have proposed anything that is contrary to what has been considered Republican principle. It is at the same time the very basis of conservatism. It is time to reassert that principle and raise it to full view. And if there are those who cannot subscribe to these principles, then let them go their way.”
Greats stuff and thanks kabar.Wisdom is hard to beat.
Lets try conservatism every time its tried we win!!