The Barking
RINO Essay Five
Hispanics
and the Future of the GOP
In
the 1970’s and 80’s conservative white Southern Democrats migrated over to the
GOP. Among the many reason for the move, a prime impetus was Northern liberals
aligning with the GOP to push for civil rights. (Zelizer, 2004) By not relying on population as the
means to draw up Congressional districts, Southern conservative Democrats diluted
voter blocs in order to maintain ‘safe seats’ and thereby cling to seniority and
thus power in Congress. In 1962 the U.S. Supreme Court case, ‘Baker v. Carr,’ the
court ordered districts be drawn based upon population. (See: Wesberry
v.Sanders, 1964) This finding would result in urban votes having the same
strength as rural votes. In 1965 the Voting Rights Act was passed to further
enfranchise Americans whose vote had historically been marginalized by
procedural maneuvers. The long term result was that although African-Americans
remained marginal voters, they voted Democrat.
When
Jean Stothert soundly defeated Jim Suttle to become Omaha’s next mayor, she
handily won a majority of the Ward 4 or Hispanic South Omaha by taking nearly
57% of the votes. Of the three precincts that were lost, the tallys were 49.1%,
48.1% and 42.5%.
According
to the non-partisan research center PEW, only 24% of registered voters are
Republicans. (Partisan Polarization Surges in Bush, Obama Years, 2012) This means the
Republican base is no longer sufficient to elect a president. (The Hispanic Challenge and Opportunities for
Republicans, 2012)
Racial
fertility rates indicate that there will be no majority race in America by
2050. A fertility rate of 2.2 is required to maintain a population. Currently
Euro-American (white non-Hispanic) fertility rates are 1.8. The highest
fertility rates are Hispanics at 2.4. While all immigrants represent 13% of the
American population, their fertility rate represents 23% of American births. (U.S. Birth Rate Falls to a Record Low; Decline Is
Greatest Among Immigrants, 2012)
In
short, a GOP that clings to the language of fear and race (See voter ID) over
the pragmatic pursuit of winning elections is destine for the dustbin of
history.
Party Registration by Race
Party
|
White
|
white trend
|
Black
|
black trend
|
Hispanic
|
hispanic trend
|
GOP
|
32%
|
Down
|
5%
|
down
|
11%
|
flat
|
Dem
|
26%
|
Down
|
69%
|
up
|
32%
|
down
|
Independent
|
38%
|
Up
|
22%
|
flat
|
46%
|
up
|
North
American has always been a nation of immigrants. From the Mongolian land-bridge
that brought Native Americans here 10,000 years ago to groups that arrive
daily. The expectation of all immigrants is learn the language, learn the
norms, assimilate into the Middle Class and pay your taxes. When South High
School’s soccer team recently raised the Mexican flag at their victory, is that
so different than the Shamrocks and fervent celebration by Irish-Americans of
St. Patrick’s Day or Omaha’s St. Stanislaus Polish Festival?
If
the contemporary GOP wants to remain viable and win elections then it must be
inclusive. The recent RNC report, ‘Growth & Opportunity Project’ list 15
steps to reach out to Hispanics which should, based upon shared value systems,
fit comfortably within the GOP; although some disagree. (Williams, 2013) Perhaps most important is how the GOP
conducts itself during the forthcoming Immigration Reform negotiations.
Specifically, the Party needs to employ intelligent use of language while
holding to the value of support for legal immigration.
What’s
clear is that table turning lessons of the Civil Rights movement and the
eventual transition of Southern Conservatives into the GOP are before us again.
Will we acknowledge history and learn from it? Or will we choose race over our
shared values thus handing an insurmountable advantage to liberal ideology?
The
Administration of Mayor Jean Stothert has the opportunity to reach-out to
Hispanic South Omaha and solidify support for the Nebraska GOP which is based
upon the shared values of equality, strong families, religion, entrepreneurialism, legal immigration, fiscally conservative taxes and
government expenditures, life and women’s rights (Women are the more active
Hispanic voter.) Stothert received these votes in May and now has the precious
opportunity to earn them for the future. By ramping
down hurtful rhetoric and pursuing a long term relationship, Republicans
have an opportunity to build a lasting coalition that bridges the present to a
future of winning elections and growing individual freedom for all Americans,
native-born or naturalized. (Jordan, 2013) (Kagan, 2013)
Works
Cited
Center for Disease Control. (2010). Births - Final Data for 2010.
Retrieved from National Vital Statistics Report: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr61/nvsr61_01.pdf
GOP Seen
as Principled, But Out of Touch and Too Extreme. (2013,
February 26th ). Retrieved from Pew Research:
http://www.people-press.org/2013/02/26/gop-seen-as-principled-but-out-of-touch-and-too-extreme/
(2013). Growth
& Opportunity Project. Washington D.C. : The Republican National
Committee.
Jordan, J.
(2013, June 10). Tea Partiers to Omahas New GOP Mayor. Retrieved from
Nebraska Watchdog :
http://watchdog.org/88313/tea-partiers-to-omahas-new-gop-mayor-make-bold-budget-cuts-big-changes/
Kagan, D.
(2013). Illegal Aliens - What do they Cost, What Can We Do. Retrieved
from Nebraska Tax Payers for Freedom:
http://netaxpayers.org/alerts/illegal-aliens-what-do-they-cost-what-can-we-do
Partisan
Polarization Surges in Bush, Obama Years. (2012, June 4). Retrieved from PEW
Research: http://www.people-press.org/2012/06/04/section-9-trends-in-party-affiliation/
The
Hispanic Challenge and Opportunities for Republicans. (2012,
December 12). Retrieved from Resurgent Republic:
http://www.resurgentrepublic.com/research/the-hispanic-challenge-and-opportunity-for-republicans
Total
Fertility Rate by Race and Hispanic Origin: 1980 to 2008. (2010).
Retrieved from United States Census Bureau:
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0083.pdf
U.S. Birth
Rate Falls to a Record Low; Decline Is Greatest Among Immigrants. (2012,
November 29). Retrieved from PEW Research:
http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2012/11/29/u-s-birth-rate-falls-to-a-record-low-decline-is-greatest-among-immigrants/
Williams,
J. (2013, February 11). Opinion: GOP image toxic with Hispanics.
Retrieved from The Hill:
http://thehill.com/opinion/columnists/juan-williams/282145-opinion-gop-image-toxic-with-hispanics-
Zelizer,
J. E. (2004). On Capitol Hill- the struggle to reform Congress and its
consequences, 1948 - 2000. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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