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LOS ANGELES - Democrats hold an edge with Hispanics in national elections, but Latinos' growing tendency to register as independents and split their vote between parties is buoying Republican prospects for 2008. Younger and college-educated Hispanics in particular offer fertile ground for the GOP, new data show. And while no one suggests Republicans have become the party of choice for the nation's fastest-growing minority, Democrats have been gradually losing ground. "The Democrats began in the 1980s to slowly lose Latino registration," said Antonio Gonzalez, president of the William C. Velasquez Institute, a San Antonio-based research group that studies Hispanic issues....

Lou Dobbs on Chinese Inroads in Latin America : Dead Wrong ! Recently,veteran newscaster Lou Dobbs informed his audience –with much frowning , tsk-tsk-ing, and head shaking – the main reason Communist China has been able to make such massive inroads into Latin America was due to America’s refusal to permit its troops to be hauled before the International Court of Justice at the Hague. With all respect to Mr. Dobbs, it is difficult to imagine how he came to such a conclusion ! Let me state a few basic facts of life; and, after review, perhaps we may reason...

Democrats recast gun control image Party eyes inroads in the West By Susan Milligan, Globe Staff | December 17, 2005 WASHINGTON -- The Democratic Party, long identified with gun control, is rethinking its approach to the gun debate, seeking to improve the chances of its candidates in Western states where hunters have been wary of casting votes for a party with a national reputation of being against guns. The Democrats' effort to soften their rhetoric on gun control is similar to the party's recent efforts to recast its message on abortion, maintaining their support of abortion rights but welcoming more...