How Dems' plans to play Hispanic card crashed and burned in New Mexico

americanthinker.com ^ | 11/10/2014 | Thomas Lifson

[rktman]

A devastating blow has been dealt to Democrats’ plans to capitalize on the growing Hispanic population of the United States, playing on immigration concerns to create a solid voting bloc even larger than that of African-Americans. From an altitude of 30,000 feet, ethnic politics seem so simple and basic, but on the ground, in places like New Mexico’s Second Congressional District along the southern border, things get a bit more complicated.

[rktman]

Ruh Roh! The dhimmiokkkrat candidate=latina/female. Just so obvious that this is a blatant case of conservatives war on women. Or maybe folks realized she wasn't worth a damn. Is there a glimmer of hope for NM? Gov. Martinez re-elected as well. Unless somebody can correct ABQ's leanings, it'll be a while.

[Paine in the Neck]

The GOP needs to look also at the Lt Gov race in TX where Dan Patrick, staunch anti-amnesty candidate, won a majority of Hispanic males.

Get a clue, GOP. Americans do not want amnesty. Stop the insane, suicidal dance with the crony capitalists and the Gramscian 'rats. Stop the invasion. Stand forthrightly against amnesty. Reverse the magnet that draws people to enter illegally.

[apillar]

I think democrats main problem is that they think of the Latino vote as being as solid and lockstep as the black vote. You will find that there are many different factions among Latino voters and a 3rd generation Latino in Texas might vote polar opposite to 1st generation Latino in California. In fact many Latino’s don't even consider themselves Latino and will respond “white” if asked their race.

[oldbrowser]

A large number of the Hispanic population of New Mexico traces their heritage back 400 years to the early settlers of “New Spain”. They are not fond of illegals immigrants.

[Sherman Logan]

The US government doesn’t consider Latino/Hispanic to be race either. Their documents always say “Hispanics can be of any race.”

What exactly “Hispanic” does mean and why we should care is a darn good question. Once that simply does not have a logical answer.

The true answer is that it is an artificially created “ethnic group” that was cobbled together to create another member for the anti-white coalition known as the “people of color.” It was generated from above rather than growing naturally out of the sentiments of the people involved.

I’ve always thought the “people of color” coalition idea was insulting to all involved. The most important fact about all of these people is that they are NOT white? Really?

That is like defining women as “not men.”

[arthurus]

The citizen “Hispanics” in New Mexico are not wetbacks or descendants of wetbacks. In large part their forebears were never immigrants to the US at all. They lived in that area before it was the USA. They don’t have a lot of sympathy for the mobs flowing over the border to take their jobs and reduce their standard of living.

[informavoracious]

I am sure a good many Hispanic business owners do not vote Democrat.

[Petrosius]

Great list! I would also add private civil prosecution with the reception of fines of those who hire or rent out to illegal immigrants. This would bypass a president who fails to enforce the law.

[KoRn]

Most everyone I know around here where I live just refers to all of them as “Mexicans”. From my experience, most ‘Hispanics’ I’ve ever known or spoken to around my area are actually Honduran. I don’t believe I’ve ever met one from Mexico.

There’s more to their various dialects then I would have thought too. I was with a Honduran at work, and these two Hispanics were near us talking in their ‘native’ language, I asked the Honduran what they were saying, and he said that he had no idea, because they were “talking Mexican” and he couldn’t understand them either. I never knew there were differences, and we went on to tell me of the many dialects within the Spanish language, and some are unique.

[DJ MacWoW]

41 Days
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[skinkinthegrass]

"settlers"true; in many cases, the border moved, not them.

[dfwgator]

Why would Hispanic Americans, who played by the rules, want to let in millions who didn’t have to do anything, to get what they worked so hard to get?

I just don’t understand why politicians don’t get this?

[Red Badger]

Latinos and Hispanics don’t have a built-in self-defeatist attitude.....................

[mkboyce]

Indeed, what pray-tell is an “Hispanic”?

Is Cameron Diaz? Is Alphonso Soriano? Is Bill Richardson? Is Ken Salazar?

If it’s the common partial heritage derived from Spain? What makes Spanish heritage so special as to deserve affirmative action set asides? What is the redress supposed to fix? What makes them any different than anyone whose heritage is derived from the other Latin nations, namely the original Latin nation of Italy?

Point being, the questions and holes in the ‘logic’ of Hispanic are too numerous...why do we put up with it?

[tiki]

People see the illegals taking their jobs and/or their taxes.

[Pajamajan]

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[dsrtsage]

Quickest way to stop the democratic crazy train on amnesty, is to start signing illegals up to the republican party

[GOPJ]

I think democrats main problem is that they think of the Latino vote as being as solid and lockstep as the black vote.

You're right on this apillar... Lationo's are NOT blacks... in any way, shape, form or culture.

[Hattie]

Here in Texas, Hispanics own their own businesses and do well. Maybe they do in NM too. Hispanics here vote Republican, (American freedom).

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

I keep insisting that Hispanics are not at all like blacks, and many actively resist being part of a monolithic bloc.

Ethnic Mexicans have some incredible reasons for this, that few white Americans are familiar with.

1) At the start of the 19th Century, Mexico had a divisive, savage civil war, in which either side would butcher everyone who was associated with the other side. This was repeated, and amplified, at the start of the 20th Century, including what amounted to genocide. So anyone completely committed to any political block is seen as dangerous.

2) Ethnically, about the time of their second civil war, the official, legal difference between Mexicans and Indians was simply that “Mexicans wore shoes”. But this changed to a ridiculously complicated description of almost 50 ethnic groups and blends, which appeared on identity papers. These included mixes like “Chinese-black-Indian” as a separate group. Every other country in central America and northern South America has very different ethnic blends.

3) While Spanish is the official language, there are still some 68 Indian languages spoken in Mexico, of which 15 or 16 have over 100,000 speakers. Parts of Mexico have very few Spanish speakers, except at the Pemex gas station, where it is required.

4) In southern Mexico, there are still bitter brawls between Catholics and Protestants.

5) Hispanics from different countries almost never marry those from other Hispanic countries. They will marry whites, blacks, Orientals, etc. They also tend to segregate by country in the US.

So, the positive bottom line is that Hispanics in the US need a far different approach from blacks.

To start with, as an issue, Hispanics cover the gamut of opinions. Many are strongly opposed to illegal aliens.

However, at the same time, they strongly resent those who mistreat them ethnically. If a politician promises them something, they had better deliver, or Hispanics will not vote for them again.

Republicans have the best chance of approaching Hispanics not by pretending to be liberals, but by offering Hispanics a fair shake, and an alternative to liberalism.