Bush's 2004 victory wasn't because of his neocon views

[King]

It was because he didn't try to alienate Hispanics, didn't stereotype them as illegal immigrants, and wasn't afraid to produce Spanish-language advertisements, pamphlets, bumper stickers, etc. and unlike some 2008 GOP President candidates, did see brown people as human beings.

The biggest voting block shift in 2008 was not in evangelical turnout or vote.  It was not more black people than usual.  It was not more white people than usual.  It was a 14 percent shift toward Obama from Bush's 04 totals among Hispanic voting blocks.  That, more than anything else, resulted in a 51-48 to 46-53 nationwide switch and was directly responsible for the end results in 46 of Obama's EVs (150+ if you note the huge Dem shift in CA, TX, and AZ).

Lack of conservatism isn't going to bury the GOP.  It's going to save it from being the white old racist party. Agree? Disagree? Discuss.

[You kip if you want to...]

It was because he didn't try to alienate Hispanics, didn't stereotype them as illegal immigrants, and wasn't afraid to produce Spanish-language advertisements, pamphlets, bumper stickers, etc. and unlike some 2008 GOP President candidates, did see brown people as human beings.

The biggest voting block shift in 2008 was not in evangelical turnout or vote.  It was not more black people than usual.  It was not more white people than usual.  It was a 14 percent shift toward Obama from Bush's 04 totals among Hispanic voting blocks.  That, more than anything else, resulted in a 51-48 to 46-53 nationwide switch and was directly responsible for the end results in 46 of Obama's EVs (150+ if you note the huge Dem shift in CA, TX, and AZ).

Lack of conservatism isn't going to bury the GOP.  It's going to save it from being the white old racist party. Agree? Disagree? Discuss.

I agree. The amount that they've moved to (even further) the right over the past few months obviously hasn't helped them considering people have turned on Obama a fair bit.

[Stranger in a strange land]

The decisive factor in Obama's victory was the awakening of the Latino vote. This isn't discussed nearly enough, but Hispanics turned out and voted Democratic at a much higher rate than in 2004. In the end, this likely would have swept any Democratic candidate to victory.

It was because he didn't try to alienate Hispanics, didn't stereotype them as illegal immigrants, and wasn't afraid to produce Spanish-language advertisements, pamphlets, bumper stickers, etc. and unlike some 2008 GOP President candidates, did see brown people as human beings.

There's a common misconception that Latinos are single-issue voters on immigration. While immigration is an important issue for many - many have relatives who are here illegally or who are going through the immigration process - it doesn't directly effect many Latino U.S. citizens, who after all are the ones who are eligible to vote. It's the way that the immigration debate is framed that's alienating to Hispanic voters. Rhetoric like Sarah Palin's "Real America" statements don't help.

[nclib]

Which of the Bush/Obama states was Hispanic support the main reason? Certainly New Mexico and Nevada. Hispanics helped cement Colorado, though Obama won the white vote there. Perhaps Florida, though this related to Cubans not being as strongly Republican as in the past.

[cannonia]

Lack of conservatism isn't going to bury the GOP.  It's going to save it from being the white old racist party. Agree? Disagree? Discuss.

Total non sequitur. 

[Stranger in a strange land]

Which of the Bush/Obama states was Hispanic support the main reason? Certainly New Mexico and Nevada. Hispanics helped cement Colorado, though Obama won the white vote there. Perhaps Florida, though this related to Cubans not being as strongly Republican as in the past.

The Hispanic vote definitely helped in Colorado; though I'd forgotten Obama won whites there. It was also a factor in Virginia - Latinos are a big part of the reason NOVA has become so Democratic; it's not all white yuppies moving down from the Northeast.

[phk]

Which of the Bush/Obama states was Hispanic support the main reason? Certainly New Mexico and Nevada. Hispanics helped cement Colorado, though Obama won the white vote there. Perhaps Florida, though this related to Cubans not being as strongly Republican as in the past.

In Florida its more the case of non-Cuban Hispanic population growth.