If so it will largely be at ¿Jeb’s? expense. *
At least that is my bet after reports this morning sink in that Donald Trump told ¿Jeb? to speak English in the United States. Continuing my opinionated ways . . .
The pandering to liberal Hispanics that ¿Jeb? and the GOPe engage is insufferable and is a politically losing proposition as well. Multi-generational Americans with Hispanic ethnicity or surnames, which I will refer to as old line, are less impressed than the GOPe cheap labor promoters believe. Such families have been of the citizenry as long or longer than many Americans of European stock. They are Americans period. They are more conservative than law breaking border jumpers and their mouth pieces and manipulators. They largely do not speak Spanish and further recognize that the country, their country, is not sustainable financially or culturally with the level of illegal immigration (regardless of the countries of origin) .
The “old line” percentage of the total residents of Hispanic heritage in the U.S. is smaller because of the overwhelming influx of recent immigrants. That “old line ” group remains open to the conservative message as it has always been. They comprised a larger segment of the “Hispanic” vote sixteen and twelve years ago when G W Bush ran for president, thus his numbers. They are not the same percentage of the “Hispanic community” now.
If you have a group of “reddish” citizens that has suddenly grown nominally but with little association with the new influx of starkly blue welfare dependent (71%) people then the nominal mix is now bluish purple and trending blue. It is however a Democrat political strategy at work.
The “erosion of support” narrative put out by the GOPe is a confabulation of numbers and wasteful misdirection that is intended to create a front for support for regularizing illegal immigrants in various ways, not seriously ebb the flow across the borders. Various GOPe corporate patrons desire to have cheap labor with the true costs spread through welfare benefits.
As we have commented on previously, pandering to “Hispanics” large will get Republicans nowhere but will adversely affect supportive sentiment from “old line” citizenry of all ethnic derivation. As Byron York pointed out in the aftermath of 2012, Romney would have had to obtain 73% of the Hispanic vote (G W Bush’s high-water mark was 44%) to have won, but only 4% more “white” votes. Which is more attainable without sacrificing sustainable economic principles?
As York concluded:
But here is the real solution. Romney lost because he did not appeal to the millions of Americans who have seen their standard of living decline over the past decades. They’re nervous about the future. When Romney did not address their concerns, they either voted for Obama or didn’t vote at all. If the next Republican candidate can address their concerns effectively, he will win. And, amazingly enough, he’ll win a lot more Hispanic votes in the process. A lot from other groups, too.
The Trump phenomenon is visceral and his support is not in the mood to suffer namby pamby Republican politicians who they perceive as pandering and failing to grasp the problems or to deal with them decisively and dependably.
R Mall
Thanks to SF for the more appropriate typography to identify Jeb!
