Barack Obama beat John McCain among Hispanics by more than a 2-1 margin. This fact helps explain why Obama was able to thump McCain in New Mexico and Nevada by double digits and handily win Colorado as well.
This shouldn’t be a surprise. Watching the Republican convention, I was struck by the crowds at the convention. The words “melting pot” did not come to mind. This continued at campaign events in states like Colorado.
Republicans in Colorado pointed to other GOP mistakes.
“I have gone to a few Republican campaign events, and you don’t see a brown face or a black face in the crowd,” said former U.S. Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, a Republican who retired in 2004.
“The Republican Party, they are not inclusive,” Campbell said.
He would not say which candidate campaigns he attended, but offered, “the last couple of statewide races.”
During the primaries, the pundits said Latinos would not support a black candidate. After the conventions, many of them stopped talking about the Hispanic vote. It turns out this was one of the most under-reported stories of this campaign.
The Republicans are in trouble if this trend continues.
Yes, with demographics continuing that trend, the GOP is going to have a tough time finding success if they are not willing or capable of attracting minority voters. Many hardcore conservatives (especially in the South) harbor a lot of ill will towards minorities, so this will not be an easy task.
The electrician that was installing lights in my kitchen a few months ago could barely speak English, but he asked me who I was for – Obama or McCain. I said, “Obama” and he smiled and gave me a thumbs up. That spoke volumes.
Good blog.
I watched with glee over the last years as the GOP arrogantly and stupidly drove loyal conservative Hispanics en masse towards the Democratic party.
Hispanics are by nature more in tune with the better parts of the Republican philosophy. So what happened, the GOP big tent, led by fascist nuts and religious extremists, drive the Hispanics away by treating the illegal immigrant issue with a complete lack of comprehension.
Only McCain and Bush got it right but neither of them could save their party from this suicidal and idiotic move.