Hispanic outreach crucial to GOP [And the White House]

In 1980, as he was preparing to run for president, Ronald Reagan asked Lionel Sosa, an advertising executive from San Antonio, to lead his outreach to the Hispanic community. Reagan told Sosa his job would be easy: "Latinos are Republican. They just don't know it yet."

On this, as in so many other areas, Reagan was a man who saw the future. In 1984, he made history, receiving 32 percent of the Hispanic vote. President George W. Bush achieved similar results in 2000, and in 2004 won a record 44 percent of the Hispanic vote.

They're not alone. Smart Republicans who have listened to, and offered solutions to, concerns of Hispanic-Americans have done even better: Sixty percent for former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, 44 percent for former New York Gov. George E. Pataki and 46 percent for former Colorado Gov. Bill Owens in 2002.

Even in the tough year of 2006, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger collected 40 percent of the Hispanic vote, while Florida Gov. Charlie Crist pulled in 49 percent and Arizona Sen. John Kyl won 41 percent.

These numbers shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who has studied Hispanic voters. Hispanic-Americans tend to be conservative. Last year, pollster David Winston asked registered voters to rate themselves on a 1 to 9 scale from very liberal to very conservative. He found that, overall, the country was center-right and Hispanic-Americans viewed themselves slightly to the right of the country as a whole.

Hispanic outreach is not only natural for the GOP, it is crucial. The Hispanic community is the fastest growing segment of our country, and it is huge. There are 10 million more Hispanics in the U.S. than there are Canadians in Canada. If this population were a Latin American country, it would be the third largest. It would also be the richest. Salsa outsells ketchup and tacos outsell hot dogs. Univision is the channel where more Americans get their evening news than any other. In Nebraska, one out of every eight people under 35 is Hispanic.

Throughout our nation's history, majority political coalitions have been built around welcoming the newest voters into the political process. In 1896, William McKinley built a generational majority by reaching out to immigrants filling America's cities. Democrats built the New Deal majority around Roman Catholic and Jewish ethnics in northern cities who worshipped Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1980, millions of Evangelical Christians became more politically active and President Reagan welcomed them into a GOP majority. The majority party in the 21st century will be the party that reaches out to Hispanics.

There are several steps we can take to ensure that America's fastest-growing and most conservative voter bloc joins the GOP. First, good policy is good politics. To win Hispanic votes, the GOP must be the party of those who aspire to the American Dream. Our founding Republican president, Abraham Lincoln, defined the American Dream as the "right to rise." Most important is equal access to education.

The most direct route from economic struggle to middle class and wealth is through education. This will be even more important in the 21st century. When President Bush took office, two-thirds of black fourth-graders, 60 percent of Hispanic fourth-graders and one-third of white fourth-graders could not read at grade level. No Child Left Behind raised reading and math performance for all Americans and closed the majority-minority gap. We must reauthorize this important law, continuing to ensure that high standards benefit poor, minority and immigrant children who were too often left behind in the past. We must also increase pay for great teachers and those who teach in distressed areas, and empower parents with school choice.

Beyond education, the right to rise means all Americans have access to health insurance if they choose. Hispanic-Americans are, unfortunately, more likely to be without coverage. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 32.7 percent of Hispanic-Americans were without health coverage in 2004, a statistic that has not changed much since. Hispanic workers are more likely to change jobs often or be self employed, which is why President Bush's proposal for parity between workers who get health insurance from their employers and those who purchase it themselves would be helpful and popular in the Hispanic community.

Home ownership has always been an important element of the American Dream, and Hispanic-Americans have made enormous progress thanks to the hard work of many families and the innovative policies of the president. Hispanic home ownership is at an all-time high with 50 percent of Hispanics owning their homes. We must expand the ability of Hispanic families to earn and save more, which is why the tax cuts should be made permanent and why personal retirement accounts should be available to those who live paycheck to paycheck.

Second, good personnel are also critical to politics and policy. Catholic voters paid attention when the Democrats nominated Al Smith in 1928, becoming the Democrats' largest voting group. Lyndon Johnson's appointment of Thurgood Marshall as the first black Supreme Court justice made history and cemented African-American support for the Democrats. President Bush appointed the most diverse administration in history, with the first Hispanic attorney general, Alberto R. Gonzales, a Hispanic commerce secretary, Carlos M. Gutierrez, and other top officials including former Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona, U.S. Treasurer Anna Escobedo Cabral and Israel Hernandez, one of the government's chief export promoters. The first Hispanic to lead one of the national parties is a Republican, Sen. Mel Martinez (Fla.), the GOP general chairman. We must work harder to identify and recruit future Hispanic leaders to run for office under the GOP banner.

Finally, on the critical and sometimes divisive issue of immigration, we should again follow the lead of President Reagan. One of his greatest gifts was to embrace "the politics of 'and.' " Before Reagan, those who favored peace with the Soviets argued with those who counseled strength. Proponents of controlling inflation debated those who argued for reducing unemployment. Reagan argued and showed that these zero-sum debates didn't have to be either-or. We had peace through strength. And through tax relief and sound money, we reduced unemployment and inflation.

On immigration, our nation should embrace "the politics of 'and'" by ensuring we develop a comprehensive approach that maintains the U.S. as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants. We need to secure our borders for all Americans: Whether your family has been in the U.S. for five generations or five weeks, your life is at risk if a terrorist can enter. We need to establish workplace enforcement that is certain and fair, both for employers and employees. And America must always remain, as Reagan imagined it, "a shining city … teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace; a city with free ports, … and if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here."

Reaching out to Hispanics is critical to our future. The fastest-growing, and most conservative, segment of the population are natural Republicans. The question is whether we will reach out and welcome these new voters into our ranks. While I don't yet speak Spanish, there is one phrase I memorized as Republican National Committee chairman: "Mi partido es su partido." ("My party is your party.")

According to Ken Mehlman -- the Republicans can't win the White House without Hispanic support.

If you believe that -- do you think we should postpone some of the more draconian political posturing about immigration -- until after the 2008 elections?

Or is the immigration issue more important than winning the Whitehouse?

I notice that candidates divide this issue into two parts:

1. Punishing Illegals.
2. Securing Our Borders.

In the Dem debate, no one wanted to talk about #1 and everybody wanted to talk about #2.

Do you think the GOP debate will be the same -- or will our candidates talk about punishing and deporting illegals?

The historical facts are that most immigrant groups since the Scots-Irish two centuries ago have voted for the Democrats. Of course, in the late 1700s and early 1800s the Democrats were a low tariff, limited government party favored by small farmers and urban workers. The party’s ideology changed radically on economic issues and government power under Franklin Roosevelt and social issues starting with the McGovern campaign in 1972. However, the Democrats have always been a party whose political base has been made up in part of first and second generation immigrants and (after 1932) African-Americans. The bottom line is that Hispanics, other than Cuban-Americans and some third or greater generation Mexican-Americans, mostly in Texas, will mostly vote for the Democrats, like it or not.

“There is NO Mexican vote; except in Mexico.”

____________________

No, but there are many millions of American voters who are married to, grandparents of, girlfriend or boyfriend of, economically dependent upon and otherwise in favor of many illegal Latin Americans who will vote on this issue alone.

Remember, Lincoln was the first Republican elected president and then freed the slaves, but the black vote was thrown away when the Democrats led the nation into Civil Rights and the Voting Rights Act.

If supporting illegal immigration,Sanctuary cities and Amnesty for the Criminal Aliens that are here now means that the Hispanic community will support the Republican Party than I say to hell with their support.

American citizenship is not something that should be allowed to be purchased or stolen.It should be earned.

Anything less means that citizenship is worthless to the Native-born people who came before them and deserve all of the Rights and benefits that the Constitution of the United States provides.

This doesn’t have to be one way or the other. Opposing illegal immigration and clamping down on businesses that hire illegal immigrants is not anti-Latino.

We have candidates in this coming presidential election who endorse this tactic, and IMHO, if Republicans are going to garner the Latino vote, they’re going to do it far moreso with Latino immigrants who wanted to come to this country. Who came to this country seeking to become Americans and to better themselves and their familes. Not those straddling the border, sending money out of our economy and into the Mexican economy, and those just here for a buck.

There is every reason in the world why we should clamp down on illegal immigration. We’re flooding our nation with unskilled, uneducated labor, and it’s costing us and will continue to cost us deeply.

There is NO Mexican vote; except in Mexico.

That's true, but the article was talking about Hispanic (another word for Mexican) Americans.

In 1984, Reagan received 32 percent of the Hispanic vote.
President George W. Bush won a record 44 percent of the Hispanic vote.
Sixty percent for former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger collected 40 percent of the Hispanic vote.
Arizona Sen. John Kyl won 41 percent.

In California, Hispanics tend to be Republicans because of the family values.

On immigration, our nation should embrace "the politics of 'and'" by ensuring we develop a comprehensive approach that maintains the U.S. as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants.

This rant is NOT directed at you, Beauty.

WE ARE NOT A NATION OF IMMIGRANTS - WE ARE A NATION OF CITIZENS!!!

CITIZENS WHO ARE BEING THROWN UNDER THE BUS EACH AND EVERY DAY BY OUR ELECTED SO-CALLED "LEADERS"!!!

Really, there’s less need to punish illegals and more need to punish employers. Romney has for instance stood for national identity cards for those without legal citizenship. Businesses found employing illegal immigrants would be fined as if they were not paying their taxes.

When it becomes unprofitable to hire illegal immigrants, the practice will slow and come to a stop.

I’m sure Thompson has some similar ideas.

I’ve heard several candidates talk of speeding the deportation of convicted criminals, though I’ll have to look back and see exactly who.

Anything less means that citizenship is worthless to the Native-born people who came before them and deserve all of the Rights and benefits that the Constitution of the United States provides.

Not to argue the issue, but the Mexicans were here long before we were. Plus, California, New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas was part of Mexico.

Just for the record.

According to Ken Mehlman -- the Republicans can't win the White House without Hispanic support. If you believe that -- do you think we should postpone some of the more draconian political posturing about immigration -- until after the 2008 elections? Or is the immigration issue more important than winning the Whitehouse?

Or, better yet, why not stop thinking of anybody with a Spanish surname as being synonymous with an illegal alien and with illegal alien interests?

Tancredo totally alienated the broken-glass Republicans of Cuban descent in Miami by his anti-Hispanic immigrant slurs which is quite ironic for someone whose Italian immigrant ancestors obviously did not arrive on the Mayflower.

Italian immigrants at Ellis Island

When you frame the debate in terms of law and order, Americans of Hispanic descent can respect that. Even Mexicans in Mexico can respect that since Mexico has very tough illegal alien laws.

Once the debate is framed in a way that anti-illegal alien is synonymous with anti-legal Hispanic immigrant or just plain anti-Hispanic, you lose voters by the millions.

When it becomes unprofitable to hire illegal immigrants, the practice will slow and come to a stop.

That's my position, as well.

Here, in California, we could not function without our migrant workers -- especially our farms and ranches that feed America. It's a dilemma.

Bull, just like the African-American/black/negro, or whatever they’re calling themselves this week-—Mexicans will vote Democrat, just like liberal Jews who keep on voting straight Democrat while libs want to abandon Israel.

It’s the old story of getting getting 20% of your sales from a a certain group. That’s the group you work with. The other 80% is a waste of time and money.

We’ve got that suck-ass Mayor Daley making big pleas to “keep our families together” when ICE should be hauling their asses back across the border. The moron has even made Chicago a “free zone.” The biggest “Hispanic” wards have 11,000 census-counted people in them (good for more federal funds), but they’re lucky if they can come up with 1,000 votes on election day.

Why? Most of these tax-sucking parasites are illegal.

There is NO Mexican vote. Even beats getting out the “young vote” in political fantasies.

george Bush has done everything for the Illegals except get down on his hands and knees and kiss their butts in the public square and they are still going to vote democrat.

Lets work for American votes and let the illegals do what they will.

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1. Punishing Illegals. 2. Securing Our Borders.

1. Punishing Illegals.
2. Securing Our Borders.