Posted on 01/13/2011 8:47:59 PM PST by moonshinner_09
MIAMI — Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush told a Republican gathering Thursday evening that the time is now to connect better with Latino voters, not two months before the general election.
Bush is co-chairing a conference Friday of the new Hispanic Action Network, part of the GOP's latest efforts to forge ties with the growing number of Latino voters. The conference will focus on trade, immigration, media outreach and education.
"Typically what happens in politics is you're working hard and you say, 'Oh gosh, we better start working at campaigning in the Hispanic community,' and it's like Sept. 15," he told the crowd at the elegant Biltmore Hotel in the Miami suburb of Coral Gables. "This is not about politics. This is about the conservative cause. If you look over the horizon over the next 10 or 20 years...without an active involvement of Hispanics, we will not be the governing philosophy."
The Hispanic Action Network is backed by former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman, whose American Action Network funneled more than $30 million in campaign funds to Republicans in about 30 congressional races last year.
With the Latino population growing in swing states such as Nevada, Colorado and Florida, Republicans need to chip away at Hispanics' overall 2-1 preference for Democrats to have any hope of capturing the presidency.
Democrats are confident their party's efforts on health care, education and the economy will continue to appeal to Hispanic voters, whom they believe have been turned off by Republican campaign attacks on illegal immigrants.
But Bush and other Republicans have long maintained their party is a natural fit for Hispanics, particularly recent immigrants. They cite the party's social conservatism, anti-abortion stance and support for private school vouchers and lower taxes. Voters last year elected several Latino Republicans to prominent posts, including U.S.
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
I'm sure that's true, and Republicans get 30% to 40% of the Hispanic vote depending on the candidate and other factors. That's a healthy amount to build on, and it could be built on without trying to outpander the Dims. And the most recent immigrants are by no means the most fertile ground for Republicans to win more Hispanic votes. Jeb Bush is seriously deluded, or intentionally trying to weaken the party.
Perhaps we should also verify the work / patriotism / ethics of some of our border patrol agents who have family in Mexico?
Border Patrol agent arrested for harboring twice deported illegal immigrant -- his father
RINOS are the REASON for GOP TREASON!
We don’t pander to ethnic groups. If the hispanics are Americans, we will appeal to them as Americans.
If the republicans want to do anything to really unify the country, address everyone as citizens and not balkanize us into groups like liberals and democrats do.
I think it should be the other way around.
I’ve got a female Latina coworker that hates Obama, hates Obamacare and hates what the DemocRATS are doing to America. However, she’s a registered DemocRAT so she votes for the DemocRATS. True story.
What is this sh!t? Why all the pandering to Latinos? What makes them so friggin special? F all you race baiters and those with sense of entitlement just cuz ya got brown skin.A lot of people with a nationality that happens to have darker skin feels “pride” in their race. Well guess what? I’m proud to be WHITE. I’m proud of my Irish/Jewish background. I never thought that way before. It just happens due to genetics, not through anything I did. But if they want to play the stupid game, we should too!
When first elected govenor, Jeb was asked what he would do to outreach to Blacks in Florida.
He said, “nothing special”.
But then again Jeb is married to a Latin and he if for amnesty.
So very tired of the Bush’s, Clintons, Doles, Kennedy and a whole lot of dynasty political families.
Enjoy retirement, Jeb...
Jeb is an ass. Let me know when he starts reaching out to citizens.
The head of our tea party is Hispanic. I am happy to reach out to any Hispanic who is a citizen and/or is here legally. Send everyone else back, empty our prisons of them, load em on buses and deport them. Then we’ll talk.
God PLEASE !!!!!!! NO MORE PROGRESSIVE BUSHs in the White House ,,,, GO AWAY JEB!!!!
For example, imagine someone putting up billboards in strategic locations proclaiming that the Democrat party is the party for homosexuals and same-sex marriage, then rinse and repeat...
Please don’t lose the point: In order to win elections, especially here in CA, we have to have some appeal with the Latinos. During the presidential election I frequented a couple of haunts in the area, telling stories about how the Dems screwed Miguel Estrada.
It’s a political reality that has been brought about by their lack of border enforcement.
When did California last vote for a Republican presidential candidate? When did they last elect a Republican senator?
There would be no dumber strategy for Republicans than to form national policies to help the party win in California. Or maybe policies should be adopted that would help the party win New York and Massachusetts? Policies that might increase votes in leftist state would decrease votes in other states.
Those far left states are not the future of the Republican party, and trying to appeal to those voters would ensure a smaller and weaker party, and probably a new third party. That idea you are stuck on would make the Republican party weak and irrelevant
Jeb reaches out to a Latino every time he hugs his wife.
OK, nice jump to a conclusion.
I have never said that we have to vote for amnesty or the DREAM act. I never wrote that we have to do what they want.
I believe that we have to work with the communications; something like: would you rather have a minimal handout or a good paying job? Some of them already are getting the message.
No message is getting to them that properly portrays the conservative foundation: being pro-business is a good thing for everybody but the democrat politicians.
Sadly, some of these remarks are good fodder for the liberal press machine.
I’ll stick with the wisdom of Duncan Hunter on the subject:
“What the GOP needs is a lot fewer Republicans telling latinos that Republicans hate latinos”
I think some people confuse crafting the most effective message given the principles in which you believe -- which is a good thing -- with changing those principles to attract a particular demographic, which is not.
That's what I've been doing for over fifty years, but I've been bucking a lot of headwinds in doing that ( ^8 }
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.