Arthur Schaper: Harrop, Hispanics, and How to Help RI GOP
Friday, November 29, 2013
The Hispanic vote is taking a heavier helping of the national tally in American politics. Romney lost this bloc 71-29, not that it mattered. One of the fastest growing minority groups in the country, Hispanic influence has made tacos more popular than burgers for the first time in US History. Pass the salsa!
California politicos are looking for every way possible to keep “La Vota Hispana” within the Democratic fold, while the Republican Party is hitting hard on family and religious values. George Herbert Walker Bush won California in 1988, but from 1992 on statewide offices have fallen into the Democratic column.
The results? Public sector union preeminence, high taxation, and a lax tax-and-spend political culture borrowing from the future and still failing to shore up the present. Hispanics are joining union ranks in record numbers, too.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTIn Rhode Island, Republican outreach remains out of reach. ProJo reports that the rising Hispanic presence allowed the Ocean State to retain their two House Reps (Rhode Island can afford to lose one, but porque no los dos?) Dominican-American Angel Taveras runs Providence, and is running for Governor in 2014. Statewide radio stations are open forums to all candidates to court the Latino vote.
Immigration alone is not growing the Hispanic influence in the state, either. At least sixty percent of Rhode Island’s Latinos are American born and bred. So, why not put aside the hyphenation of our nation? They are Americans, just like any other ethnic group.
Putting aside identity politics, GOP Chairman Mark Smiley wants to focus on the economic message to get Rhode Island back on track, and bring in line the Spanish-speaking population with the GOP, whose message is “Show us the votes, and we will help you with prosperity.”
When he is not analyzing Providence’s major problems, Dr. Dan Harrop wants to resolve the GOP’s Hispanic Problem: Immigration reform is the panacea to rescue the Hispanic vote. Reagan supported amnesty in 1986, yet the promised compromises of border control never materialized. Republicans in Washington are understandably skeptical.
Harrop’s line of argument begs a better question: Do Hispanics reject the GOP because of the stance on immigration?
First, it’s all about defining the problem.
Most columnists contend that Hispanics are a natural choice for conservative politics.
Is that really the case?
Granted, all the talk about “Amor. Familia. Fe!” makes the GOP a likely resting place for Hispanic voters, right?
Party leaders in my state are still flummoxed. Hispanics are Catholic, for the most part. Their faith forbids abortion, gay marriage, and supports strong ties to church and family. Keep in mind, though, that Rhode Island is the most Catholic state in the union, and one of the most liberal. Bishop Tobin of Providence joined the Republican Party over the social issues, but his boss (the Pope in Rome, not God in heaven) has sounded some disconcerted criticisms of free-market capitalism, coupled with a call for more state control. Religious calls for government intervention permeate the Catholic Church, including a vocal call for amnesty as a must-do reform for social justice.
A local mayor in California, and a friend of mine, ran in 2012 for a state senate seat as a Republican, then switched to Independent for a 2013 special election state assembly race, so frustrated was he with the GOP’s stance on immigration. A full-blood conservative on every other issue (low taxes, pro-life, hands off my guns), he still lost both races. Later on, he informed me that Hispanic residents, legal or otherwise, look at the GOP as a bunch of grumpy white men who want to deport every person with dark skin and no papers. The mayor-turned-state office candidate supports a pathway to citizenship and the DREAM Act, by the way.
I shared his point of view with another party leader in Los Angeles County, who had married a Costa Rican. The second party leader informed me that his wife waited eight years before becoming a legal citizen, then reminded me that blanket amnesty proposals are a slap in the face to the millions of individuals who immigrated legally.
Immigration is a dicey issue already, and the two sides debating the issue within the Republican Party bring valid points. Perhaps, the immigration argument is not the key reason Hispanics are rejecting the Republican Party, anyway. Following Romney’s bruising loss in 2012, National Review’s Heather MacDonald referenced a 2011 Moore Institution poll which suggested that the Republican Party’s economic values repulsed Hispanics, not the immigration issue. Pat Buchanan has also argued that Hispanics actually favor progressive taxation, a safe government safety net, and state intervention into the economy. A rising majority of Hispanics support gay marriage, and out-of-wedlock births are twice the national average among Hispanics, too.
Instead of appealing to Hispanic voters based on skin color or skill level, why not follow the best rule and talk to every voter about the same issues they care about: jobs and education? As for immigration, Republicans can offer amnesty, if Democrats dismantle the overgenerous welfare state. If Dems refuse, their resistance will expose their selfish agenda of state-sponsored dependency.
Arthur Christopher Schaper is a teacher-turned-writer on topics both timeless and timely; political, cultural, and eternal. A life-long Southern California resident, Arthur currently lives in Torrance.
Related Slideshow: Best and Worst Run States in New England
How well do the New England states stack up against each other in terms of how they're currently run?
According to Wall Street 24/7, looking at a state's debt per capita, budget deficit, unemployment, median household income, and percentage below the poverty line are all indicators of a state's level operational success - or lack thereof.
Below are how the New England states were ranked compared to each other, based on data from 2012 -- as well as the "best run" and "worst run" states in the country.
Related Articles
- Arthur Schaper: An Anti-Tribute To RI Gov. Lincoln Chafee
- Arthur Schaper: Dr. Dan: The Right Prescription For Providence
- Arthur Schaper: Gina Raimondo, You KO’d My 401(k)!
- Arthur C. Schaper: 2013 So Far–38 Studios, Babysitters, and Guns
- Arthur Schaper: Langevin Quotes (Racist, Statist) Woodrow Wilson
- Arthur C. Schaper: Iran, Susan Farmer + RI Kids Getting High
- Arthur Schaper: Libertarianism: The Heart of Conservatism
- Arthur C. Schaper: RI GOP: Come Together
- Arthur Schaper: Guns, Prizes, and the Dems’ Wedge Issues
- Arthur C. Schaper: Washington Sucks
- Arthur Christopher Schaper: Speaker Fox, Will You Marry Me?