In many states ‘It’s about Latinos stupid”
– Latinos thanking Republicans and Co.
Washington, DC,_ As both parties gear up for the fall race they are rushing to fill a heretofore gap in their preparation routines and resource allocation. Republicans and Democrats are behaving like soft drink or appliance sellers as they “discover” the power and surge of the Latino community and its newfound voting performance that has swept across the country and graced every news outlets “what matters” in the election stories for the first time in history. In an oddity of sorts the nation truly has the Republican Party to thank for this never before seen Latino surge in civic behavior. For awhile the right wing of the Republican Party forgot Latinos were listening and watching their anti Latino antics and actions especially on undocumented immigration issues which were really code for Latinos/Hispanic people of color. The issue perception of whether “they belong in this country” was long ago settled but the civic, citizenship, voter registration and turnout pace has overwhelmed a country where salsa surpassed ketchup or catsup as the spice of choice several years ago.
The Latino vote will be critical in deciding the fall election and those prospects are exciting to the country’s fastest growing community. It’s no wonder that this week John McCain and Barack Obama were campaigning in western battleground states Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada. Democrats are hoping to take advantage of the backlash against the right wing led anti-Latino rhetoric but like any market this fall’s race will be about performance and perceived real or genuine marketing appeal. If the primary results are indicators for November the Dems should feel stronger since they have had 3.6 million Latinos vote compared to one million in Republican contests. These results are nearly double those of Latinos in Democratic primaries in 2004. A prime example is California where turnout went from 16% in 2004 to 29% of California’s total in 2008.
