Commentary
-
Our commentary partners will help you reach your own conclusions on complex topics.
The midterm elections put the spotlight on the Latino vote, much talked about but poorly understood.
Here are three things we know for sure. One, we’re significant. The nation’s 62 million Latinos, half of whom are old enough and eligible to vote, and a quarter of whom will end up voting, have an outsized importance in U.S. elections. That’s because we’re swing voters. This means that even though we identify as Democrats by a two to one margin, we have no trouble voting for Republicans who are not residents of crazy town.
Number two, we’re moderates. We don’t like the extremes on the right or the left. If you’re about defunding the police or storming the US Capitol, count us out. We are conservative Democrats and liberal Republicans. We vote for people, not parties. We’re sick of politics and the partisans. Most of all, we just want both parties to listen to us and not take us for granted like Democrats or write us off like Republicans.
Number three, we’re undecided. A new Axios Ipsos Latino poll in partnership with Noticias Telemundo found that as much as 25%, one quarter of Latino voters, still haven’t made up their mind about who they’re going to vote for on November 8th. A lot of us have left the Democrats because they stopped asking for our votes. But we don’t want to join the Republicans who use us to scare up votes from whites. As issues go, inflation and crime are the top concerns for Latinos. But immigration is close behind at number three.
On that issue, Latinos give F’s to both parties. According to the poll, 30% of Latinos think neither party is good on immigration. Republicans target us. Democrats sell us out. Look at President Joe Biden who bent over backwards to prove that he’s not soft on the border and wound up instead turning into a real hard case. While campaigning for president, Biden promised Latino voters that he would end his predecessor’s cruel and racist immigration policies. Instead, he kept many of those policies. He even expanded a few of them.
Here’s the scoop. The Latino vote is complicated, nuanced, and always in flux. It doesn’t come to the parties, not anymore. Now the parties have to go out and get it. You have to earn it, you have to work for it. It takes humility and takes a willingness to admit what they don’t know. The problem is, neither of these things come easily in politics.
One thing we’re going to see more of in the future are these 21st century matchups of Latino Republican versus Latino Democrat. The GOP finally wised up and started fighting fire with fire. Good on them. Good on them.
Still, the party has ruined this mano-a-mano matchup with a combination of ignorance and arrogance. Democrats need to stop sending know-it-all white-run political consulting firms to run the campaigns of their Latino candidates. And Republicans need to actually put some money, muscle and manpower into the campaigns of their Latino candidates.
I’ve studied Latino voters since I got into journalism in 1989. But I’ve actually been a real life Latino voters since even before that. I’ll let you in on a little secret. We’re single issue voters. That issue, it’s not inflation, crime, jobs, the economy, education, health care, or immigration. Although all those issues matter a great deal to us.
Our number one issue is respect. We call it “respeto,” along with family, community and hard work. It’s sacred to us. If you want our support, you need to show us the proper respect. You need to stop talking about us behind our backs and start listening to us so you can know what it takes to have our back.
Neither party does that right now. In fact, dating back to 1960 in the Kennedy election, when Latinos first landed on the nation’s political radar, the parties have never done that. And so neither party deserves our support. The Latino vote may be complicated, but that political reality is as simple as they come.
-
Trump supporters want to be victims of anti-white racism
The racial anxieties of conservative white Americans are certainly nothing new to U.S. history, but in recent years observers have warned of a range of factors that may be radicalizing right-leaning Americans into political violence and extremism. Donald Trump, in particular, often receives credit for normalizing this extremism for a new generation of Americans. Straight…
-
Texas is Hispanic, and that’s not going to change
Hispanic people now make up the largest ethnic group in Texas, according to the latest U.S. census data, and almost half of all minors in the state are Hispanic or Latino. This data feeds the fears of some right-wing Americans who believe in the “great replacement” theory. The theory states that non-white populations are displacing…
-
Liberal Americans are abandoning DEI
Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) have emerged as popular values for many left-leaning Americans. These Americans celebrate certain events, such as Barack Obama’s victory as the first Black U.S. president, as historical achievements and milestones of forward progress over time. Straight Arrow News contributor Ruben Navarrette worries that these values are eroding on the left,…
-
GOP hypocrites ‘tough on crime’ while supporting criminal Trump
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, conservative politicians won campaigns in part by positioning themselves as “tough on crime” and talking about “the rule of law.” Later, during the Trump administration, it was the Democrats who positioned themselves as the defenders of law and order. Now, despite fielding a presidential candidate who faces 91 felony criminal…
-
Democrats too soft on Biden’s poor treatment of immigrants
Republicans have attacked U.S. southern border security from every angle. What’s sometimes missing from the public view of this conversation are the criticisms of Biden’s own fellow Democrats, many of whom argue that the president is being far too tough with immigrants who dream of living in the United States. Straight Arrow News contributor Ruben…
Latest Opinions
-
Biden uses NFL draft ad to try to connect with young voters
-
Powering pot: Energy for US cannabis industry could electrify 13.5M homes
-
Allies plan for Trump to have more control over interest rates
-
FDA: Bird flu found in 1/5 commercial milk samples, suggests greater spread
-
China permanently deploys warships to second overseas base
Popular Opinions
-
In addition to the facts, we believe it’s vital to hear perspectives from all sides of the political spectrum.