Minorities becoming Majority in Texas

[Makalakumu]

See this article...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8902484/

How do people who live in Texas feel about this? Do you think it could affect the political climate?

Perhaps turn a red state, blue?

upnorthkyosa

 

[Flatlander]

According to your article, a large number of these recent immigrants are Hispanic.

I found this article, which states:

Half of Hispanic voters in Texas, traditionally Democratic, gave their support to GOP Gov. George W. Bush, who made it clear that he had no interest in the sort of anti-immigrant policies backed by California Republicans.

As well, it goes on to state that the immigrant voters will generally tend to support whichever candidate/party is responsive to their needs. So in reality, whether or not the demographic trend will really effect the national political climate will be determined by each party's strategies in trying to connect with these voters.

 

[Makalakumu]

One would think that the Dems populist message would strike a chord with hispanic voters. I wonder what the Texas Republicans are doing to reach out?

 

[Blindside]

From my experience working in Latin America, various Christian churches play a huge part of the community life and I found many of the residents are strongly religous. The Republicans certainly make a point of identifying themselves as the part being more in tune with traditional Christian values, and this may draw alot of voters to them from these populations.

Lamont

 

[Marginal]

One would think that the Dems populist message would strike a chord with hispanic voters. I wonder what the Texas Republicans are doing to reach out?

They've redistricted so it doesn't matter. Gotta love them power grabs.

 

[Blindside]

No different than what the Democrats did in Texas 10 years ago, and redistricting won't effect federal positions.

Lamont

 

[dubljay]

I don't think that there will be much of a swing from red to blue if the majority of the 'minorities' are Hispanic. This was an interesting topic in my government class.

Generally speaking Hispanic immigrants are of Cathoic faith. The democratic stance on some key issues (i.e. stem cells ect.) go against their values. The democratic party has basically ignored the factor of faith and religion in the past election costing many votes. This lack of attention has cost the democratic party significantly.

I do not recall exact figures, but post election showed that Hispanic and African American voters with religious values shifted from democratic to republican, based soley on issues related to religion.

This was how it was explained to me in class, I'm no expert in politics, nor on 'minorities'. I hope no one is offended by the generalizations made in this post, as that is not my intent. If someone has evidence that points otherwise please correct me.

-Josh

 

[Rich Parsons]

I do not recall exact figures, but post election showed that Hispanic and African American voters with religious values shifted from democratic to republican, based soley on issues related to religion.

I believe these types of comments, and find it difficult to not see a Theocracy or a Theocratic influenced Republic. Wait the second is already true.

 

[lonecoyote]

I live in a majority minority state (New Mexico). We were a red state by a narrow margin in the last election and a blue state by a narrow margin in 2000. Like a lot of places, it was mainly the people in the cities, Albuquerque and Santa Fe who voted blue, while in the rural areas it went mostly red. The county I live in voted red by a wide margin. We have a large percentage of Hispanic voters like any county in New Mexico. You can't drive around for ten minutes without seeing a Viva Bush! bumper sticker. On the other hand, our governor, Bill Richardson, is hispanic and democrat and definitely is a populist.

 

[evenflow1121]

I dont really know how it will influence, a lot of these articles state that the minority population is greater in a given state, however; that does not mean that the minorities/majority population are compiled of voters just a demographic group, so that is something to keep in mind.

In terms of voting a lot of recent immigrant groups will go with the particular candidate that will help them and their families abroad. For example, George W Bush has a good relationship with Mexico, and has been pretty good to certain groups like migrant workers and what not, thus, it is not surprising that a lot of hispanic voters in Texas did vote for him. Adding to that he was the governor of that state prior to the Presidency and had the highest minority voting turn out for him than any other republican in the State of Texas as well, I believe.

 

[ave_turuta]

I dont really know how it will influence, a lot of these articles state that the minority population is greater in a given state, however; that does not mean that the minorities/majority population are compiled of voters just a demographic group, so that is something to keep in mind.

In terms of voting a lot of recent immigrant groups will go with the particular candidate that will help them and their families abroad. For example, George W Bush has a good relationship with Mexico, and has been pretty good to certain groups like migrant workers and what not, thus, it is not surprising that a lot of hispanic voters in Texas did vote for him. Adding to that he was the governor of that state prior to the Presidency and had the highest minority voting turn out for him than any other republican in the State of Texas as well, I believe.

For a nice argument on this, I can recommend reading John Micklewaith and Adrian Wooldridge's "The Right Nation: Conservative Power in America," a very informative and non-partisan view on the development of the conservative movement in the US. With regards to the Latino vote, I must agree with the authors' point of view. They argue that, although minorities have traditionally been seen as more favorable to the Democractic party, latino votes are likely to shift towards the right in the coming years. Already in the 2004 elections the Latino vote was almost evenly split, with about 45% of latinos voting Republican. The reasons are varied, but the authors mention fundamentally two: (a) the high levels of religiosity of hispanic communities and the emphasis on "family values," whether in Latino Catholic or Evangelical environments; (b) the fact that many Latinos are owners of their own businesses, a fact that makes them closer to Republican positions on matters such as taxation, etc. etc. THe authors argue: "(Latinos) have the highest male workforce participation rate of any measured group - and one of the lowest incidences of trade union membership and welfare dependency (...) Latinos are arguably the most family-oriented ethnic group in American society. They also have a marjed propensity to start their own businesses and buy their own homes - both incubators of Republicanism." They argue that in time the Latino vote will very likely split along class lines, with poorer Latinos voting for the Democratic Party, whereas more established and economically enfranchised Latinos will move towards the Republicans.

I live in a neighborhood that is about 80% Latino, and can certainly agree with the above argument almost letter by letter. The displays of extreme fundamentalist religiosity combined with a very visible emphasis on the subordination of women and the perpetuation of a very specific view of the family makes me think that progressive or even semi-progressive politics have no chance with this population group.

The population growth rate of Latinos is the highest in the country, and even though many of them do not have power vote (a recent article in the Washington Post argued that it takes 2 white people to produce 1 vote, but it takes 5 Hispanics to produce 1 vote), the reality is the Latino community is much closer to the Republican party than, say, the African-American community. Support for the war against Iraq amongst Latinos ranged between 60-67% in 2003, as opposed to a mere 45% amongst African-Americans. And this is just one example.

As a personal observation, what's interesting to me is how on the one hand Republicans use the Latino "threat" as a fear-mongering political strategy to pander to the white vote, yet simultaneously foment the indiscriminate immigration of Hispanics into the country and in fact have put forward proposals that in fact grant amnesty to people who, put simply, have entered this country by breaking the law. It puzzles me that I, who have been in this country for 8 years and have paid taxes every single year, must remain on a student visa and am not allowed to hold a job off campus. But people who have broken the law get a free ride??????? hmmmmm interesting, Mr. President.

Peace,
A.T.

 

[Kreth]

Personally, I've always been of the opinion that illegal immigrants should be deported, with one possible exception being cases where asylum is requested (human rights violations, etc). In addition, I think the immigration process should be streamlined for those who wish to immigrate legally.

 

[ave_turuta]

Personally, I've always been of the opinion that illegal immigrants should be deported, with one possible exception being cases where asylum is requested (human rights violations, etc). In addition, I think the immigration process should be streamlined for those who wish to immigrate legally.

Well, as long as business owners in the US keep benefitting from this extremely cheap source of manual labor, who is willing to work for peanuts, does not complain nor unionize, and behaves subserviently, why change??? The precedent set by the meat packing industry and the shift from a mostly white and african-american labor force that earned a decent living 20 years ago to the current situation where industries feed on illegal immigrants working on semi-slavery conditions has now spread to pretty much all areas of our economy, from construction to hotels, etc.: if you can find someone who will work for 2 peanuts an hour, with no benefits, and you know that the authorities will gladly overlook the matter and look the other way, why bother hiring American citizens or legal residents? The way I see it, if there was a true political will, the administration would take steps towards enforcing immigration laws. Alas, this political will being absent, nothing will ever change.

As I said: I am a foreigner (in legal status, tax paying, no trouble with the law) and in fact I am leaving the country in 12 days. But I find it quite offensive that the american government seems to be more worried in promoting corporate interests and favoring illegal immigration than it is in defending its citizens' interests. And by the way: I am a self-professed leftist who does not believe the uncontrolled arrival of immigrants will solve anybody's problems: it's not solving problems in the US, and it's not solving problems in El Salvador or Guatemala either (a nation whose GDP is 1/2 reliant on foreign remittances has serious problems to deal with, no matter the number of people it sends abroad!) Want more social tension, escalating crime, and cultural fragmentation??? Then let's keep up these ridiculous immigration policies, amnesty programs, and other such proposals. The way I look at it is Americans are being very naive about immigration matters: I do not believe massive immigration is overall good for the economy (people consume resources, so the supposedly positive effect of immigration on the local economies is something that still needs to be proven: see overcrowding in local schools due to massive population growth caused almost in its entirety by immigration, atleast in the DC metro area). Further, because of the fear of being called a "racist," progressives are blind when it comes to constructing realistic approaches to this matter. And that includes getting rid of the ridiculous assumption that all immigration is inherently "positive" and has "something to contribute." European legislation on illegal immigration is much tougher, and is certainly enforced to a much larger extent than it is here. Equally, Europeans are in general terms more weary than Americans when it comes to matters of "multiculturalism." I am from Spain, and I always give the same example. My parents and I fought for years to build a strong democracy in a country that suffered from almost 40 years of dictatorship. Our hard won liberties and freedoms are not and will never be bargaining chips to appease an increasing immigrant population. They don't like our laws? They don't like the fact that women have achieved equal rights, or that gays and lesbians have now achieved full equality??? Fine: you can go back where you came from. But do not tell me, under no circumstances, how to behave in my own country, cos it ain't happening. I fought too long and too hard as a lesbian woman to enjoy the freedom i enjoy today, and I don't care where you came from: when in Rome, do as Romans do.

Peace,
A.T.

 

[arnisador]

Here in NM, it's also minority-majority. I was in a large supermarket today with 100% Spanish signs. I was very lost!

 

[still learning]

Hello, Hawaii too is growing with a lot of Hispanics'. Today everwhere you go, you will hear the langauge spoken. See more working in different jobs too.

We have not experence the bad side yet! Most of the Stores carry spanish magazines which was rare only a few years ago (I delivery magazines) to the stores and supermarkets in Hawaii.

Like most States these people that are coming are looking for jobs. They are willing to work for lowering paying work and you get more of that type of people and their problems. In time we will get the same problems. Illegals are here too. and the ICE!

They sometimes look more like the local part Hawaiians untill they start talking. They blend right in with all the other mix races

You already can see problems (many don't know English langauge) and don't seem to care to learn it (mainly because in the USA-spanish is the second langauge)...............Taco- spanish food / Tako- local food (octopus) Pronounce the same.

Many years ago in the Marine base where I was fishing the young boy ask in the Mexican accent " What are you using for bait?

I reply " Tako" and he give me that funny look! Tako is a fraviote bait/ or to eat, also use for catching fish from the shoreline in Hawaii! (Tako is the most common use word to describe octopus) Tako- japanese word..Aloha