Democrats and Hispanics love affair -- is it based on income?

[ag]

No. It is based on the Republicans consciously positioning themselves as The White Anglo party. Asians vote pretty much the same as Hispanics. If you choose to run as a party of one racial/ethnic/linguistic group, do not be surprised that you get few votes from other groups.

[ag]

No. It is based on the Republicans consciously positioning themselves as The White Anglo party. Asians vote pretty much the same as Hispanics. If you choose to run as a party of one racial/ethnic/linguistic group, do not be surprised that you get few votes from other groups.

That's the stereotype of the GOP painted by the media.

Mostly by Fox News, I guess.

[ag]

No. It is based on the Republicans consciously positioning themselves as The White Anglo party. Asians vote pretty much the same as Hispanics. If you choose to run as a party of one racial/ethnic/linguistic group, do not be surprised that you get few votes from other groups.

That's the stereotype of the GOP painted by the media.

Mostly by Fox News, I guess.

What about Fox News?

It is a horrible turn-off for all minorities.

[ag]

A few weeks ago I was in DC. My daughter wanted to see the Capitol, so we went. The Senate was in session. A Republican senator (I will leave him unnamed) was going on and on about immigration reform. Trust me: just broadcasting him live with Spanish subtitles on Univision (given the southern accent employed, Spanish subtitles would have even been useful for many Anglos)  would be enough to convince almost anyone bothering to listen never to vote for a party of that SOB.  Let us not search for subtle reasons - there is nothing subtle about that. If you spend much of the time trying to convince your white constituents that you dislike Hispanics, don't be surprised if Hispanics also listen.

Hispanics, on average, are no poorer now than they were 20 or 10 years ago - but they increasingly vote Dem. They, actually, understand English. They are much smarter than you think. And they hear you.

You want to change this impression? Well, start by stopping to play on nativist prejudices of your current electorate. That, of course, might cost votes among those many, who only vote Republican because they think that party defends their "superiority". Tough choice, I guess.

[ag]

To make my point even blunter. I don't think there is Hispanic love affair with the Dem party. There is a hate affair between the Hispanics and the Republican party. Which, in a two-party system, of course, means that Dems become the only option for the Hispanics.

[ag]

Hispanic electorate in a Republican primary in Florida and Hispanic electorate in a general election nationwide are almost as different as the white male electorates in Provo, UT and in Cambridge, MA Florida Hispanic Republicans would, mostly, if not overwhelmingly older Cubans. Making any conclusions whatsoever from their behavior about Mexicans in California or Puerto Ricans in New York would be rather rash.

[ag]

Aside from income and perceived GOP xenophobia, gender may play an important role as well. To the extent it is possible to interfere from Turkish immigrants into Germany on Latino immigrants into the US, the US should mean an opportunity for younger Latinas to liberate themselves from patriarchal traditions. As such, they may value social issues at least as high as economic ones, probably even higher, which should make them very solidly democratic. Among younger Latino men, there may be a push towards the opposite direction, as their traditional roles are getting questioned. However, in the absence of strong pull factors towards the Republicans, the "social push" is more likely to result in vote abstention than in actually voting GOP.

I haven't seen detailed analysis so far, but I would not be surprised if Hispanics under 45 showed an above-average gender gap, and a significantly higher female than male turnout rate.

I doubt. Parts of the US are, probably, more socially conservative than much of Mexico. Yes, abortion is illegal in many Mexican states and gay marriage has only been legalized in Mexico City and Quintana Roo (Cancun), but on many issues it is not a very conservative country at all. If anything, politically active Latinas are quite likely to be Evangelical.