The GOP’s future speaks Spanish
Metaphorically, learning Spanish means learning people. Knowing them as human beings, not as statistics on a game board. Recognizing their humanity and finding new ways to talk about immigration that don’t alienate entire swaths of the population. …
The GOP was always a natural home for Latinos, who tend to be conservative and Catholic, though decreasingly so. Fewer than 60 percent of second-generation Latinos are Catholic, according to the Pew Research Center.
Even so, the Republican narrative of hard work, entrepreneurship and personal responsibility would seem to appeal to recent immigrants who are attracted by those very opportunities. Why aren’t Hispanics hearing the GOP call? Because this aspirational language is drowned out by the rhetoric of rejection.
You don’t need a dictionary to translate the following: In June, Obama, who won 71 percent of the Hispanic vote, announced reprieves from deportation for hundreds of thousands of young immigrants who were in the United States illegally, while Mitt Romney promised to end the reprieves if elected.
Blowback
Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.
Trackbacks/Pings
Trackback URL
Comments
Hispandering and identity politics is the future of the GOP?
No.
Besides being against every conservative principle there is, the GOP will never beat the DNC at it’s own game. The progressives invented identity politics, class warfare, and grievance mongering – there is no way the GOP could ever outpander or out-identify them.
Rebar on January 5, 2013 at 9:22 AM
The Peter Principle demonstrated to perfection with Ms Parker.
vityas on January 5, 2013 at 9:27 AM
The obvious answer then seems to be to throw the gates open and let everyone in, how is the ignoring the rule of law a conservative value?
Bishop on January 5, 2013 at 9:29 AM
Parker is just deplorable.
Big Orange on January 5, 2013 at 9:29 AM
Ya hemos conquistado Tejas, Nuevo Méhico, Arizona y California. Estados Unidos es nuestro taco.
CorporatePiggy on January 5, 2013 at 9:31 AM
dunning-kruger effect
Dear Kathleen,
You are an old withered up political hack.
Yours Truly,
trs on January 5, 2013 at 9:33 AM
If this is the case, then the GOP has no future. Hispanics are NEVER going to vote for the GOP. Never. Ever. These idiots need to give up this pipe dream and figure out how to make do with what we have rather than chase the next political fad.
Doomberg on January 5, 2013 at 9:37 AM
If there is going to be a conservative and thus lasting nation, then America had better make English the official and ONLY language used by the federal government.
As she says, you cannot get to know someone unless you speak their language. Well, their language is not a language of freedom and personal responsibility.
astonerii on January 5, 2013 at 9:40 AM
Of course the radicals of the 1880s union fights all spoke German. Their descendants today are 60%+ Republican. But I agree the future looks bleak because so many Hispanics appear to have chosen the path of gimme.
About 8 out of 10 Blacks will always vote for the politician that will give them the most free stuff, regardless of the candidate’s race. This is not racism on their part; they just believe in gimme. This ratio is never going to improve, and it is pointless to expend scarce resources trying to campaign for their votes.
About 2 out of 3 Hispanics will today vote for the politician that will give them the most free stuff, regardless of the candidate’s race. This ratio has been getting worse, not better. Obama has increased gimmeism across the board. Shame is a useful tool if we were not so afraid of the charge of racism.
About 1 out of 3 Whites will always vote for the politician that will give them the most free stuff, regardless of the candidate’s race. Part of this is trail trash, but most is single women who have been told they should not need a man but still want someone somewhere to gimme.
Ted Torgerson on January 5, 2013 at 9:48 AM
You want to converse in Romanian then go somewhere else, we speak American here.
Bishop on January 5, 2013 at 9:49 AM
They either speak English or they will be welfare gringos or housekeepers… forever. I think that’s the whole point, yes? Have them on welfare and scrubbing Kathleen’s toilets now and forever.
Hell, even the Chinese — the learned upper class Chinese — are learning and teaching their children English. English is the language of business and of the whole (functional) world. LEARN IT.
Punchenko on January 5, 2013 at 9:50 AM
An anecdote: One of my Latino relatives brought up the fact that I had GOP yard signs during the election. He was surprised that someone in his family wasn’t Democrat. He was genuinely interested in why I chose to vote GOP and asked a ton of questions. He was really pissed that the Dems kept extending unemployment benefits, for example. He understood the problem with too much welfare…
I think a lot of Latinos are really concerned about the future for their kids. This is the message that needs to be told: the choices the Dems making are destroying and diminishing the future for their children. This will trump everything else.
visions on January 5, 2013 at 9:58 AM
no Hispandering
Latinos will always be big government voters. Giving more of them the right to vote is asinine
We should be aggressively courting the Asian-American vote instead– a naturally conservative demographic, and growing faster than Latinos
thurman on January 5, 2013 at 10:02 AM
Get your head out of your azz and look around you, Kathleen. Recent “immigrants” are not coming here because they want to work hard and be responsible for themselves; they’re coming here because they want to get on the U.S. taxpayer gravy train. Recent “immigrants” (both legal and illegal) are receiving government-paid benefits (like welfare, food stamps, Medicaid, subsidized housing, etc.) at much higher rates than U.S. citizens. That information comes straight from the U.S. government itself.
If you want to make a persuasive argument Kathleen, don’t start with a demonstrably false premise.
AZCoyote on January 5, 2013 at 10:03 AM
When a large, neighboring country with an historic grudge against the US openly connives at the migration of ten million otherwise unwanted peasants into lands it believes were stolen, that is not what Emma Lazarus had in mind. It is passive-aggressive colonialism, and just because most Americans are white English-speakers does not mean they are not as capable as anyone else of being its victims.
Seth Halpern on January 5, 2013 at 10:09 AM
It’s really just KP’s take on Barky’s balkanization.
With the exception of the American Indians, everyone came from somewhere. Choosing to pander to ‘the community’, whether it’s the Irish, the Blacks, the Mexicans (sorry Latinos), or whomever is fundamentally anti-American yet people still insist on doing it.
In Boston people are at pains to tell you they are Irish. In parts of New York everyone seems to think they’re Italian. STFU, STFD – now show me your passport. Ah…thought so…
CorporatePiggy on January 5, 2013 at 10:16 AM
The only future for the GOP is the one in which it effectively sends the message that our country is not one of special interests, and that the only thing that matters are national policies that remove Government impediments to prosperity and freedom, and that liberal experiments at improving both have failed, again.
Got it douchenozzle Parker?
SuperBunny on January 5, 2013 at 10:23 AM
Because they are enrolled in NEA run schools that glorify Che Guevara and Fidel Castro, and teach reconquista history.
RedRedRice on January 5, 2013 at 10:26 AM
Speaking of La Raza goons:
http://www.contracostatimes.com/breaking-news/ci_22294545/salinas-school-named-after-bandido-ignites-debate?source=rss
Punchenko on January 5, 2013 at 10:27 AM
Umm.. remember how George W Bush won a lot of Latino voters in 2004? So yes it is possible but we can’t appear intolerant. And something needs to be done on immigration. No, we don’t need to hand out citizenship, but just giving out work permits would be fine.
Illinidiva on January 5, 2013 at 10:46 AM
The GOP’s future speaks conservatism or it goes the way of the Whigs.
wildcat72 on January 5, 2013 at 11:05 AM
The Demographics will betray you. A head is sand attitude is unhelpful. The GOP better reach out quickly and aggressively to the Hispanic community before the dems complete their solidification of that voting block. Sooner or later, their nos. will be much higher than you, and if the GOP continues with this hostile attitude, they’ll become a permanent minority. As I mentioned earlier, the demographics will betray you.
tommy71 on January 5, 2013 at 11:20 AM
Treating people equally as individuals is a hostile attitude to you.
Good to know.
Your value to this conversation has been found be 0 to negative.
astonerii on January 5, 2013 at 11:22 AM
Kathleen Parker’s Major & Masters degree in college was Spanish Literature.
Not kidding:
Parker grew up in Winter Haven, Florida, graduated from Winter Haven High School in 1969, and attended Converse College before transferring to Florida State University where she majored in Spanish Literature. She also holds a Master’s degree in the subject from Florida State.
portlandon on January 5, 2013 at 11:24 AM
@astonerii yawn. Facts are bitter.
tommy71 on January 5, 2013 at 11:32 AM
Yeah, and facts are something far beyond your reach.
astonerii on January 5, 2013 at 11:34 AM
@astonerii Lol, I know that you love your echo chamber and group think. If you can’t refute facts, you act miffed. Thats ok.
tommy71 on January 5, 2013 at 11:42 AM
And Kathleen Parker’s past present future speaks stupid.
stukinIL4now on January 5, 2013 at 11:56 AM
@tomny71: Tell me one thing Republicans could advocate regarding Mexican illegals that Democrats couldn’t either demagogue to death or easily outbid.
In fact the most effective anti-amnesty lobby is the Democrat- or non-voting populist white working/un/underemployed class. Republicans are already practically irrelevant.
Seth Halpern on January 5, 2013 at 12:12 PM
The future is trying to be liberal-lite to the “yo soy welfare recipient” crowd, which is already voting HARD liberal in a vast majority?
Yeah freaking right! What are we gonna do, promise half as much free stuff?
GOP is ineffective because they have no spine, liberal. Not because of insufficient pandering to a bunch of unimaginative wetbacks who get used as cheap labor until they go on welfare for the rest of their lives.
MelonCollie on January 5, 2013 at 2:14 PM
I couldn’t disagree with any of those ratios. Even the white one, much as I might like to, because my race has bought into Mr.Free-Stuff’s propaganda in no small numbers.
One of the many ticking timebombs is that 2 out of the 3 biggest races in America have no idea how to earn their own living. When the welfare system fails, this is going to result in not only riots, but quite possibly mass starvation. We could be looking at very serious depopulation. The “haves” will grimly defend their food supply and the “have-nots” will be unable to steal anywhere near enough to feed all of them.
MelonCollie on January 5, 2013 at 2:20 PM
You did not present any facts. Recall I said that facts are far beyond your reach.
Lets break it down…
1) Demographics are neutral, they cannot betray you. So the statement is just for flair and has no meaning at all. Certainly not a fact.
2) No one has their head in the sand, well, not me any ways. Again here, failure to demonstrate a single fact, just a simple accusation.
3) Wow, we should reach out to them, but you never said how or on what issues. Here again, fact free.
4) Hispanics are far from being the plurality, in fact we are still at the point where whites are a majority. Hispanics make up 16% of the population. So, not only are you fact free here, you are so far off it is ridiculous.
5) Repeat of number one.
astonerii on January 5, 2013 at 7:07 PM