Fri Nov 2, 2018, 08:27 AM

Are worries over Latino turnout in the midterms too little, too late?

Beauty pageant winners waved, sirens blared, children blew bubbles and a float bearing Confederate flags trundled by, along with an SUV decorated with campaign signs for Republicans and a trailer plastered with banners for Democrats. Monarch butterflies flitted along the route.

A woman wearing a T-shirt promoting Beto O’Rourke, the Democrat running for U.S. Senate, handed out fliers with polling location information and told the children sitting on the curb in front of Resendez: “You get all of these people out to vote, okay?”

Resendez, 34, laughed and said, “Tell her you shouldn’t be doing her job!”

Amid the laughter came a sober reality, particularly for Democrats trying to reverse the Republican hold on Texas: That back-and-forth was Resendez’s first interaction with a campaign this year — and it came just 10 days before the election, and after the deadline to register to vote.

...This year, the country’s growing Latino population could again play a deciding role in races in Texas and elsewhere — and, once again, Latino activists say that Democratic and Republican campaigns have neglected to spend enough time and money directly encouraging Latinos to register and vote.

Latinos have long voted at lower rates than whites and African Americans. Only 45 percent of Latinos who are eligible to vote turned out in 2016, compared to 65 percent of whites and 60 percent of blacks. The rate was even lower during the two previous elections: 21 percent of Latinos voted in 2014, and 43 percent did so in 2012.

More at https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/are-worries-over-latino-turnout-in-the-midterms-too-little-too-late/2018/11/01/c3fa1f06-dcf5-11e8-b3f0-62607289efee_story.html?utm_term=.52cbee71e1cb

6 replies, 1137 views

Thread info Bookmark this thread Trash this thread

Reply to this thread

Always highlight: 10 newest replies | Replies posted after I mark a forum

Replies to this discussion thread

6 replies	Author	Time	Post
Are worries over Latino turnout in the midterms too little, too late? (Original post)	BeyondGeography	Nov 2018	OP
the more trump and GOp attacks immigration, and hispanics specifically, sooner or later the sleeping	beachbum bob	Nov 2018	#1
He will	BeyondGeography	Nov 2018	#2
"could again play a deciding role" ------------by their ABSENCE, non-voting?!1	UTUSN	Nov 2018	#3
I'm sorry, but if Hispanic voters aren't going to vote because they don't feel a personal connection	EffieBlack	Nov 2018	#4
That's the correct answer: "I don't know what ... "	UTUSN	Nov 2018	#5
my thoughts, too	Hermit-The-Prog	Nov 2018	#6

Response to BeyondGeography (Original post)

Fri Nov 2, 2018, 09:22 AM

beachbum bob (10,437 posts)

1. the more trump and GOp attacks immigration, and hispanics specifically, sooner or later the sleeping

giant will wake up.

I just want trump to keep it up....

Reply to this post

Response to beachbum bob (Reply #1)

Fri Nov 2, 2018, 09:25 AM

BeyondGeography (38,561 posts)

2. He will

and hopefully starting Nov 7 we’ll increase our focus on voter reg. for 2020.

Reply to this post

Response to BeyondGeography (Original post)

Fri Nov 2, 2018, 11:13 AM

UTUSN (67,325 posts)

3. "could again play a deciding role" ------------by their ABSENCE, non-voting?!1

Here's the secret: Hispanics require a PERSONAL CONNECTION. It starts with charisma and Catholicism (JFK, RFK), works with the Boss type (LBJ, and even Shrub), and then at a petering-out level with the CLINTONs. It can't be plugged into by generic politicians who never had contact in the growing up years, not by ABSTRACT "issues".

Reply to this post

Response to UTUSN (Reply #3)

Fri Nov 2, 2018, 11:18 AM

EffieBlack (14,249 posts)

4. I'm sorry, but if Hispanic voters aren't going to vote because they don't feel a personal connection

I don't know what ...

Reply to this post

Response to EffieBlack (Reply #4)

Fri Nov 2, 2018, 11:46 AM

UTUSN (67,325 posts)

5. That's the correct answer: "I don't know what ... "

The Civil Rights generation and LBJ zeroed in on *VOTING* as the key. By contrast, Hispanics went to SEE the PERSONs they felt connected to without this translating over into the party/ideology. Shrub growing up with exposure to them knew that all it takes is personal ACCEPTANCE, a joke, a hug, a smile, even the tiniest bit of fractured Spanish. Look at the difference with Jeb, who is a cold fish, who speaks Spanish perfectly (unlike Shrub) and whose wife is Mexican-born: No connection, while Shrub got 40% of the ones who voted. Yes, sad to say but somebody like SHITLER has PERSONALITY that has attracted some Hispanics because it seems like no-b.s. or "real."

Beto is coming the closest to making a connection, perhaps more to the young generation of Hispanics - there's the charismatic JFK/RFK angle, his growing up at the Southern border, lots of the common touch, yet ----------YET, just on the verge of breaking through the anti-voting barrier, not perhaps actually breaking through. If he can't do it, who knows who can.

Plus, the voter suppressors are foolish, not needing to expend so much effort in suppression, since the majority of Hispanics SUPPRESS THEMSELVES. It's also significant that at the subsistence level of economics, politics is a LUXURY/abstract, since they have to focus on the day to day struggle and can't deal with philosophizing about how "issues" impact their daily lives - except for Choice, since Catholicism exerts indoctrination about this. Wingnuts also like to believe that Hispanics are "conservative" because of "family values" - well, as with most everybody else, practicing what is preached ain't always (often) the way.

Reply to this post

Response to EffieBlack (Reply #4)

Fri Nov 2, 2018, 11:50 AM

Hermit-The-Prog (27,293 posts)

6. my thoughts, too

If that thing in the White House and all the GOP enablers don't inspire them to vote, nothing will.

Reply to this post

General Discussion (Forum)