we can’t ignore the INCREASE in the Hispanic population in the USA.
This is a Demographic that everyone knows will occupy a significant percentage of our population ( both legal and illegal ).
Our future will depend on the IDEOLOGY of this segment of our population.... will they become more conservative or liberal?
The future of this nation is tied to the answer to this question.
Amazing that foreigners are represented in our government, but as long as the Census doesn’t ask...
This is why the Democrats push things like DREAM whether they have the votes or not. This is why they push immigration reform even when it isn't popular with the overall public.
The left is then using our votes against these measures to poison our standing amongst Hispanics - and the MSM is gleefully helping them.
If we don't begin making major inroads in the Latino vote, we are in serious trouble. There simply are not enough white people moving to the Republican party fast enough to offset this rapidly growing Hispanic population that increasingly votes Democrat.
Perhaps Rubio will be ready for a VP slot in 2012. Something that may help reverse this overall negative trend we are facing amongst this voting demographic.
The tendency towards racial grievance politics are just too strong. Such politics are antithetical to conservatism.
Many of us believe whether or not to normalize the 20 odd million illegals in the nation is the line in the sand issue, there are no grey areas.
Our goal should be that they are eventually conservative Hispanics.
Then who cares about their ethnicity?
It tells me that we need to do a better job of educating people as to the real MEANING of conservative. For too long we have let the Liberals define us. That has to stop.
The future will depend on their religion, on whether they become Protestant, or stay Catholic.
When they become Protestant, they also become conservative, and vote Republican.
Even in 2008 against the Obama, racial, anti-white, group identity, election Tsunami, the Protestant Hispanics still supported McCain/Palin by 48%, in 2004, they went 56% Republican.
You're quite correct. And what side of the ideological fence they come down on, is going to be driven to the way we go about trying to answer that question.
We could, I suppose, treat Hispanics as enemies -- many at FR seem to view them as such. Which will of course be counterproductive. The resultant conflict means that this inevitably growing demographic will end up in the Democrat camp, because there'd be no place else for them to go.
Or ... we could look for common ground, of which there's actually a fair amount, and deal with Hispanics as allies, if not exactly friends.
It's up to us.
They are socially conservative but love redistribution of wealth. In their respective native countries they are powerless in this regard, but in USA they can vote all the freebees they can get.