Editorial Slams Republicans: GOP Hurting Itself With Latinos

An editorial in the Tampa Tribune today proclaims the GOP is kicking itself in the foot on the Latino vote. I agree and I want to give a big thanks out to Republicans for speaking very loud and clear on what they think of the Hispanic Constituency. Everyone should know.

The latest disrespect for Hispanics comes via Republican Presidential candidates with their announcements to skip the Univision Presidential Forum.

From the editorial:

The Democrats seem to have no problem making time in their schedules for Latino voters. Univisión’s Sept. 9 Democratic debate is on.

Talk about a missed opportunity for Republicans.

… 

Latinos made it clear in the 2006 mid-term election that they were not particularly happy with the choices in either party and that they would be discerning voters in future elections. Last fall, Democrats won the Florida Hispanic vote for the first time in 30 years – a message that Latino voters cannot be taken for granted anywhere.

…

A cold shoulder is hard to shrug off. If candidates refuse to show up at major Latino forums, they shouldn’t expect Latinos to show up for them on Election Day.

Really, talk about shrugging off the largest growing constituency in Florida, while on the other hand bending over backward to please the anti-Hispanic far right-wing. Hispanics are going to take notice of this and it just cannot be good for Republicans in Florida. Republicans lost the Hispanic vote in 2006 for the first time in 30 years and with the looks of the way things are going right now, it’s going to get worse for them in 2008. But if that’s what they want to do, then I’m very happy for them. They’re going to be the party of the very few in Florida very soon.

Meanwhile, an update on what the Democrats are doing:

All eight Democratic candidates are slated to show up Sept. 9 [at the Univision Forum], and party leaders plan to highlight the contrast. The New Democratic Network, a nationwide political group, is planning news conferences and inviting Hispanic leaders, including Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, former Cabinet member Henry Cisneros and U.S. Rep. Luís Gutiérrez of Illinois.

It is quite the contrast. While the Republican Presidential Candidates refuse to come, not only are the Democratic Presidential Candidates coming, but also Democratic Hispanic leaders from all across the country will be flocking into Miami. There is a clear difference here between a Republican Party that is becoming more and more open only to the Xenophobic and a Democratic Party that is open to everyone. Great, we should all give a big thanks in advance for the Republicans practically giving us Florida.

Check out some of my past diaries on the Florida Hispanic Vote:

Florida Hispanics Abandoning GOP

The Cuban Vote: Going Democratic in 2008

Influx of Puerto Rican Voters Provides Opportunity for Democrats

I think the question is when will we reach the climax of support from the Hispanic community, 2008, 2010, 2020? And secondly when will Republicans stop writing them off?

This is something that is going to be worth paying very close attention to, as the Hispanic community continues to expand in Florida and as their political dynamics change, particularly in the Cuban-American community in this regard. When Republican just write Hispanics off, the dynamics favor Democrats even more so. I think it’s going to be the Hispanic community that propels Democrats to election victories in Florida and when they do maybe Republicans won’t be laughing at them anymore.

Polk County: Influx of Puerto Rican Voters Provides Opportunity for Democrats

In what has been known to be a very red area in Florida in the past, there is some great news from The Ledger this week:

 Are you fluent in both English and Spanish? Then Polk County Supervisor of Elections Lori Edwards has a job for you – for maybe two or three days a year.

The Polk elections office is making an all-out effort to locate bilingual poll workers because of the increased Hispanic population in the county and the increase in the number of Hispanic voters.

The U.S. Census Bureau has estimated that there are 81,646 Hispanics in Polk, 14.5 percent of the total county population. Polk has gone from the 27th-largest Hispanic voting population among the 67 counties in Florida to the 11th-largest.

An influx of Puerto Ricans, who are U.S. citizens and have the right to vote, is contributing to the increase in Spanish-speaking voters, Edwards said.

That last little bit there is the gem. Many Puerto Ricans, all of whom are US citizens, have been moving into central Florida by the thousands in the past few years. This could have a huge impact on elections for many years to come in the area and I’m glad to see that Lori Edwards is playing it very smart here by reaching out to them and trying to give them a fair opportunity to vote.

Just the fact though that bilingual workers are now needed even in Polk County should give confidence to Democrats in the 12th and surrounding districts that what were once solid Republican areas could be ripe territory for pickups in the future. If Democrats make a strong effort and actively campaign for the Hispanic vote, then we will make continual gains and be able to engage in strong competitive campaigns in the area for years to come. What’s at stake here just in Polk County are five state house seats and 2 state senate states.

Remember in 2006, Hispanics favored Democrats at the top of the ballot for the first time in 30 years and this is including the Cuban vote (See: Florida Hispanics Abandoning GOP) and just last Spring in a special election, Democrat Darren Soto, a Puerto Rican, picked up the central Florida seat for State House District 49, previously held by a Republican. Democrats are already making waves in the central Florida area and we have the opportunity to make more waves in the years to come. Let’s start with 2008.

Our first goal must be to find candidates for many of the legislative districts in the area. These include:

HD-63: No Democrats, Republican Incumbent (Seth McKeel)

HD-64 (Open): No Democrats, Three Republican Candidates (English, Stargel, Walker)

HD-65 (Open): No Democrats, One Republican Candidate (John Wood)

HD-66: No Democrats, Republican Incumbent (Baxter Troutman)

HD-79 (Open): No Democrats, One Republican Candidate (Mike Horner)

SD-15: No Democrats, Republican Incumbent (Paula Dockery)

SD-17: No Democrats, Republican Incumbent (J.D. Alexander)

Yes, unfortunately the Democratic roster is completely blank right now in all of these districts. If we’re not competing it is going to be very difficult to make gains, so let’s get some candidates running.

Let’s keep an eye on these districts. I’ll be profiling them later on.

Florida Hispanics Abandoning GOP

Take a look at this for another sign Florida Republicans are in for some trouble with the Hispanic vote in 2008.

According to the latest Florida International University poll of Cuban Americans in Miami-Dade, 65 percent support a dialogue with the Cuban government, up from 40 percent in 1991. In another recent survey conducted for Democrats of two heavily Cuban-American congressional districts in Miami-Dade — represented by Republicans Lincoln Díaz-Balart and his brother Mario — voters rated getting rid of Castro sixth among their concerns. Their top priority for Congress: getting out of Iraq. President Bush’s approval rating was 39 percent, only a handful of points higher than in national polls.

It sounds like to me these districts’ constituents would be better served by Democrats than the pro-Iraq war Diaz-Balart brothers. It’s time we begin testing the waters in these districts. While Republicans have relied on these districts for years simply based on anti-Cuba rhetoric, it’s not going to work anymore.

The article continues on about the loss of Hispanics in the GOP:

Hispanic voters in Miami-Dade County, regarded for years as a solidly Republican catch for statewide and national candidates stumping in Florida, are increasingly becoming free agents.

Less than half of the county’s Hispanic voters are registered Republicans, down from 59 percent less than a decade ago, The Miami Herald found. Like newer voters elsewhere in the state and the nation, more Hispanic voters are rebuffing political parties: One out of four in Miami-Dade are registered as nonpartisan. In Broward County, one in three Hispanic registered voters are unaffiliated with either party.

”It’s a trend that I’ve seen happening, and obviously it concerns me,” said Jose ”Pepe” Riesco, vice chairman of the Miami-Dade Republican Party. “It’s a problem we can’t run away from.”

Even the Republicans are admitting it, they are beginning to lose the Cuban-American vote and more largely the Hispanic vote all together. It doesn’t take much thought to figure out why. When the Republican Party’s top nominees all refuse to attend one of the largest Hispanic conferences in Florida, while all of the major Democrats show up, the Republican Party begins to look, shall we say, a little less appealing. In the past, Republicans have been able to rely on their platform solely of smearing Cuba to win the Cuban-American vote, however now young Cuban-American voters are demanding much more than that.

Those independent voters tend to be younger Cuban Americans or naturalized citizens from Central America and South America, many of whom worry more about securing healthcare than toppling Fidel Castro, according to more than two dozen interviews with voters and Hispanic leaders.

Health care, Iraq, education, jobs? Don’t expect Republicans to talk to Cubans about any real issues any time soon. Republicans have used Cuban voters for many years and have given them nothing in return. They have made Cuba a wedge issue, trying to divide voters rather than unite.

Other good news:

Amid the nationwide backlash against the GOP in 2006, Hispanics in Florida favored the Democratic candidates at the top of the ballot for the first time in 30 years, exit polls show. Hoping to build on that success, the state Democratic Party has tapped Luis Garcia, the only Cuban-American Democrat representing Miami-Dade in the Legislature, to serve as vice chairman.

When thousands of Hispanic leaders convened at conferences in Orlando and Miami this summer, the Democratic presidential candidates were there to court them. At the Orlando event, Democratic front-runner Sen. Hillary Clinton seized on remarks by potential GOP rival Fred Thompson that seemed to suggest that Cuban immigrants posed a terrorist threat. (He was actually referring to spies.)

”Democrats have resolved that we are not going to make the mistakes of 2000 and 2004, when for all practical purposes, the Hispanic vote was written off,” said Miami pollster and paid Clinton advisor Sergio Bendixen.

In 2008, we can build on our past successes from 2006, further expand our Hispanic majorities, particularly into the Cuban-American community, and finally push for changes in our state that will help all Floridians. We have an opportunity to pick up those Miami House districts, as well as seats in the Florida House and Florida Senate.