Political parties are in the business of winning elections. They do this by creating their party platforms, selecting candidates, and raising money to support campaigns in order to win come election day. But the voters that each party desperately covets are generally thought of as coalitions: groups of groups, that each party wants to assemble and hold in order to maintain a majority of voters voting for their candidates. A great example of this was the "new deal coalition" which were made up of union workers, African Americans, Jews, northern intellectuals, farmers, and a few others who voted in huge numbers for Democrats from the New Deal (1930s) until the 1980s or longer.
While campaigns are becoming more sophisticated and more individualized, parties still target groups that they would like to hold. This is true for the "Black Vote," the "Women Vote," and the "Latino Vote." The parties target these groups by trying to support issues important to many in the group. Obviously there is no single issue that everyone in a particular group agrees with. It is no more realistic to talk about women's reproductive health issues as THE issue for woman as it would be to talk about support of Israel wrapping up 100% of the Jewish vote.
That being said the Latino Vote in America is among the fastest growing groups of voters and has been shifting more and more into the Democratic column. Take a look at this great report from Pew about the Latino vote in 2012. You will notice the trends over time about which party Latinos are voting for and some information about the issues that Latino's felt were most important in 2012. There are many issues that were important, online one of which is immigration, though it grabs most of the attention. We have discussed earlier the recent proposals around immigration. Currently the Republican Party is trying to determine what its immigration reform proposal should be and whether they should introduce it now or wait until after the midterm congressional elections in November.
This week I would like you to analyze the role of the Latino vote today and as we look into the future. You can find a detailed look at the latino vote from many different angles here. You might want to take into account where Latinos live, recent public opinion data about their views on immigration, and what other issues might be particularly important to Latinos.
How should this voting block be viewed? What policies or actions by the government might be best for the largest number of Latinos? And most importantly how would you advise both parties (but especially the Republicans) in regards to gaining more Latino voters? Please respond to one another and simply use these questions as a discussion starter.
I think this voting block should be viewed as separately but still address major issues. In one of the studies it revealed more Hispanics thought it was more important for undocumented people to be able to work here without fear of deportation than having a clear path to citizenship.I find it interesting when you think about the day to day lives of Hispanic people in the U.S. They have to worry about finding a job but also of deportation. The focus for most seems to be just to stay here to work. If they get deported than all the work they put in to get here would be wasted. The same study said that Hispanics worry more about being deported than Asian Americans. This goes directly with how both parties should view gaining the "Latino" vote. If they know most Hispanics are worried about deportation then they should focus on these issues a lot more in order to get more Hispanics to vote for them. It might also encourage the rest of the eligible voters who are not voting to vote for them. Another study showed that only 48% of eligible Hispanic voters voted in 2012. This low turnout rate could be due to a number of factors and one may be both parties not representing their interest or even representing the wrong interest.By focusing more on Hispanics being able to work without fear of deportation, hopefully both parties can bring the number of Hispanics who didn't vote well above 50%.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is impractical to categorize all Latinos into one voting group. Many undocumented Hispanic immigrants living near the border would find immigration reform a much more pressing issue than US-born Latinos living in Montana, for example. That being said, this giant group, created for political purposes, comprises more than one-tenth of the electorate, so their views are impossible to ignore.
ReplyDeleteThe studies presented by the Pew Research Center show that the majority of Hispanic and Asian immigrants alike view safety from deportation a greater concern than eventual citizenship. I think any intelligent government party looking to increase Latino vote would turn to stopping deportation before moving on to the bigger issue of citizenship. I think that oftentimes the two parties are so obsessed with opposing each other that they forget to seriously analyze the problem at hand, and where their opinions on the issues really lie. With the number of undocumented immigrants here already, deportation is not a reasonable (or humane) course of action. Immigration is probably not an issue that can be solved with one all-encompassing reform either. Real reform will most likely need to occur in a series of steps.
Some interesting bits from the research: while the Democratic party has been quick to direct the blame (not entirely undeserved) at Republicans, under the leadership of the Obama administration, more people have been deported during his terms than any of his predecessors (Nearly 400,000 per year since 2009). Also, while immigrants would like to see a plan for legal work for undocumented immigrants, at least a third of them agree that such plans would encourage even more illegal immigration. With the way things have been panning out, it looks as if immigration reform will continue to be a difficult quandary for lawmakers for years to come.
The Latino population is increasing at a rapid rate and soon will no longer be a minority in the in United States. I feel for the political parties that it would be incredibly beneficial to focus on these groups of people. In 2012 more than 70% of their vote and the Asian American vote went to Obama and the democratic party. In order to receive the Latino vote it would be a good idea for the candidates to focus on immigration policy as well as job opportunities for minorities. By focusing on immigration policy more Latinos can gain citizenship and then find jobs that will support them and their families. Because Democrats have the majority of the Latino vote it would be a smart move for them to continue focusing on the policies that would benefit the Latino population. As the Pew Research Center shows that majority of Hispanic and Asian immigrants view safety from deportation more important than American citizenship. . I agree with Daniel that both parties should focus on the "Latino" vote. Along with immigration policy and employment parties should focus on the current deportation policies because Hispanics are afraid of deportation and that takes a away votes.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Sami. The Latino population is growing at such a fast rate that the politicians who are running for office need to focus on them more. That means looking into all of the issues that Latinos are concerned with and that is not restricted to immigration. The main goal of politicians is to win and in order to do that they need to appeal to the masses (mainly the majorities) and pretty soon Latinos will make up the majority of the US population. Because the Democratic party has a history of receiving the Latino vote, I think that they should stick to those policies that Latinos support. Latinos and the Democrats have a preexisting relationship, which shows that they have an upper hand on the Republicans. I also think that the government in general needs to look more into immigration reform because if Hispanics are afraid of deportation, voting will be the least of their concerns.
Delete-Katelyn Schweitzer
I believe, as Sami said, that with the Latino population growing at such a rapid rate, it would be impractical to not focus on the needs and wants of this particular grouping of people. At the same time, as mentioned in class, and as Kaitlyn mentioned above, it is a huge group of people, and therefore the generalize or summarize the preferred policies of all Latinos would be an over-simplification.
ReplyDeleteI think one of the most interesting points about the above topic is the difference between immigrants and their fear of deportation. While both Asian and Hispanic immigrants view safety from deportation more important, Hispanic people express a more pronounced expectancy of deportation. This is probably heightened based on geographics. Latino/Hispanic immigrants are predominately living in the south-west region of the US, whereas Asians are more evenly spread out (http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/asianamericans-maps/)
Finally, Kaitlyn began to hint at this, in her discussion that safety from deportation is a greater concern, and I think that this is because a lot of immigrants don't want to be American citizens. I think it is a bit of an ethnocentric ideology that we believe everyone who comes here wants to be American. A lot of immigrants come with the intention of simply working, whether that be with an undocumented status or on a worker's visa. The end goal is not always citizenship.
-Lilly McNicholas
I agree with Daniel, the voting blocks should be viewed separately so that individual issues can be addressed. In one of the links they mentioned "Much of the growth in the number of Latino eligible voters was driven by Latino youth." so the government should think about what would drive the Latino youth to vote. If they can reach out to the youth, they will more likely gain their vote a lot easier than if they mainly target the Latino adults. I'm sure a chunk of Latino adults are parents, so if they see changes being made that will benefit their children, if not only them, then that candidate will surely have their vote. Now whether they are the republican or democratic party they will differ their decisions based on their beliefs.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Sami, the Latino population is growing quickly and if the future candidates want a good chunk of votes, it would be smart on their part to focus on the Latin community. And as in any group of people, it's hard to generalize everyone's opinion so candidates should focus on some major issues that concern the Latin community, such as the worries of deportation or finding a job.
Like Daniel and Kaitlyn said, I think the most effective way for either party to gain the "Hispanic vote" is by stopping or even just delaying deportations. Although deportation cannot be completely eliminated, there can be reforms put in place to change the deportation policies. For example, they can set low deportation priorities for those with no criminal backgrounds, for parents of U.S. Citizens, adults and young adults who were brought unwillingly to the country as children, and parents of disabled children.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the Pew Research, 54% of Hispanics approve of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president. I was surprised by this number. This survey was conducted from October 16 to November 3, 2013, this is five years into Obama's presidency. 71% of those Hispanics that did vote in the 2012 Presidential election, voted for Obama. Many said that without the Hispanic vote, Obama wouldn't have been elected to office. I was surprised by the 54% approval rate of the president because from my own understanding, much of the Hispanic community is frustrated with Obama and the Democratic party. Just as Kaitlyn mentioned, more people have been deported in Obama's presidential term than any other before him (over 2 million since 2009). Frustration amongst Hispanic voters can also explain the low voter turnout. They might feel that neither parties represent them effectively.
Jasmine brings up President Obama's approval rating with Latinos at 54%. But in a Pew Research article on immigration, "34% of Hispanics say they would hold Democrats in Congress and/or President Obama mainly responsible" if the bipartisan immigration bill isn’t passed. And then "43% would mostly blame Republicans in Congress." I think if Republicans and Democrats want to gain more Latino votes they need to, like Joanna brought up, appeal to the future and betterment of the youth. Or, like Kaitlyn mentioned, start implementing the immigration reform bill. And in the Newsy video, they said that Republicans have “cautious approval” of the bill. But some like Republican Bill Kristol said that "immigration reform has been a problem for 15 years, and you know what? It can wait one more year."
ReplyDelete“55% to 35% of Hispanics said that they think being able to live and work in the United States legally without the threat of deportation is more important for unauthorized immigrants than a pathway to citizenship.” So it seems that the stance Republicans and Democrats take on the immigration bill would be a big way to draw in Latino voters.
Like my classmates mention, focusing on the subjects that matters to Latinos is important in order to get their attention and their votes. Especially the newer generations who will be voting in the future and to focus on problems that their families are facing is a huge step into gaining their votes. Only 48% eligible voters turn out to vote in 2012 which is lower than the 2008 election which was 49.9%. This is not a significantly big difference but it does provide room for change in Latino voting. The fix is to concentrate on the Latino population and address their uncertainty with deportation. This number then, I believe will increase by a substantial amount. The problems is obvious and if republicans want to increase Latino voting they must appeal to the Latino community and let them know what kind of policy changes they are willing to propose. The pace the Latino population is moving there is no question that that number will be higher and like Sami mention they will not be the minority in the country in the future so it is best to get their votes now.
ReplyDeleteThe data clearly shows the Latino population being more in favor of the Democratic party due to immigration issues. Specifically, Latinos are more focused on getting rid of the threat of deportation over the path to citizenship. With that being a major issue, 70% of Latino votes went to the Democratic party and 30% went to the Republican party. As many other people stated, the next logical thing for the Republican party to do, would be to focus on getting rid of the threat of deportation to result in more Latino votes and a closing of the 70 to 30 % gap. However I feel this solution is very contradicting. For example, if the Republicans and Democrats both focus on getting rid of the deportation threat this would just lead to an increased Latino population and a decrease in percentage of the Latino population voting; due to the lack of citizenship. In the data it even states " With the number of Latino voters growing more slowly than the number of Latino eligible voters, the Latino voter turnout rate declined between 2008 and 2012—despite a record turnout." I feel in order to truly keep raising the percentage of Latino voters and to continue progressing economically, both parties should focus on a path to citizenship. Citizenship is what ultimately grants the right to vote and would benefit a party in the long run not just in the short run.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Daniel on the first question. I feel like this voting block should be seen individually instead of one big group. I feel like politicians can hit a wide variety of issues if they divide the Latino voting population into subcategories like: Mexicans, Cubans, Puerto-Ricans etc. and focus on each of their main issues for the upcoming election.
ReplyDeleteAs for giving advice to the parties on how to win Latino's votes it is quite simple. I feel like if they create an immigration policy that tends to each individual subcategory of the hispanic voting population, instead of making a very broad and general one, they could win a lot of votes. I also feel like within the immigration policy if they focus on making it not as much of a priority or making it easier for the hispanic population to get citizenship here would help out a lot. That way, when hispanics get here they could focus on making a living for themselves and not getting deported after however long.
-Tyler Betancourt
The Phew studies show that the Latinos and Asian Americans make up at least 28 million immigrants who are legal and 11.7 million are in the United States illegal. I don’t think it’s fair that the Hispanic’s votes are the only votes that do not get counted especially since they make up so much of our population. Most Latinos are Democratic so like Sami said it should be these Democrats that help the votes of these Latinos count. These votes can help us when it the election time. Most of the immigrants plan on staying in America or have been here for many years. The Latinos are going to be in this country whether they can vote or not but it would be nice for them to be able to give their opinion as to who should run for president or whatever election it may be. Many of the Hispanic people are worried about being deported I personally think they that should be one of the last few things they worry about. I agree with what Sami and Daniel said Latinos should not have to worry about when they will be deported but instead they should be able to focus on other important things like jobs and supporting their family. Just because of deportation these people would have to leave their nice jobs and life behind and go back to their home country where it was probably hard for them. For American’s to take this right away from Latinos is truly wrong. Everyone has the right to vote and stay here no matter what they may be.
ReplyDeleteAs my classmates said above, if people want to get Latino people to vote for them, they should be addressing issues that are important to Latinos. However, as we discussed in class and as some people mentioned above, each Latino group, or at least more practically the larger groups such as Mexicans, Puerto Ricans and Cubans, should be looked at individually since they have different issues, generally speaking.
ReplyDeleteAnother suggestion for politicians is to follow through on promises. Stop being so vague. If you say you are going to address an issue, what do you actually mean by that? Instead of talking, take action. I know these issues are complicated, but they can keep the American people updated on what they've been trying to do if they've been trying to do stuff. I think that contributes to the low voter turn out that has been mentioned in some of the comments above.
Like many of my classmates, I believe separating the different Latino groups is better than grouping them all together. In order to gain the maximum amount of votes from the Latino population both Democrats and Republicans need to take at least a few of the main issues from these different groups and run with them. If an interest and honest move to make something happen is taken, many will stand behind the candidate or candidates doing so. Joanna Gwizdz spoke about the growing number of eligible Latino youth being a major factor in voting numbers. I agree that the government should focus more of their efforts on Latino youth which would in turn draw the older population wanting to see a change for their young. As for the immigration issue itself, everyone is always crying immigration reform but never really come up with a plausible or rational solution. So many immigrants coming from Mexico and other Latin American countries come for better jobs or lives for themselves and their families while others just want to work and send money home to their families. Stop deporting these people who are actually adding to our economy with their living expenses and find out why they are here before sending them away. Instill a program to help the people who are working hard and will be a positive addition to the country and create a work program that includes a special tax or something for those just working to send money home. I know there are a ton of factors to deal with but some action rather than nothing regarding many of the issues would bring many Latino voters to one side or the other.
ReplyDeleteI agree with some of my other classmates, but I believe that if Latino Groups choose to identify themselves in subgroup or different groups entirely than everyone should let them. It's their right to identify themselves as who they are ethnically. As for advising what Republicans and Democrats should do, the Democrats seem to be doing just fine with winning over Hispanic votes in recent years. On the inverse, Republicans, or a majority of Republicans, have shown less progressive ideas on most fronts whether it be Gay Marriage, Immigration, or passing bills in the House of Representatives. This gives off the idea of the Republican's party sense of elitism that has become very obvious in recent years. I believe that if the Republican Party continues the route they have drawn out already then their victories will decline in the future. Their strategies have been more about obstruction than progressing forward, and that doesn't seem to be a value most immigrants would see as productive. An immigration policy should promote the idea of people wanting to come to this country, legally, and seeking opportunity for a better future. That is the message we've put out there since the immigration booms from 1900-1950's. However, I also believe that if an illegal immigrant is caught over on U.S. Soil, and has a family here, they should be able to apply for citizenship. If they want to work hard and earn money, then let them.
ReplyDelete