Republicans Alienate Minority Voters
Has the conservative Republican Party Alienated their Minority Base?
Aug 13, 2009
A May 18 Gallup poll shows that GOP losses cover all demographics. The analysis reveals movement away from GOP affiliation since George W. Bush’s first year in office in 2001. Another Gallup poll from June of this year tracked the composition of political parties by racial, ethnic and ideological groupings through the month of May 2009 and found a strong preponderance of conservative whites making up the Republican party’s base. According to the figures, only 11% of the Republicans are Hispanics, blacks or other non-whites. In contrast, non-whites make up nearly a third of Democrats. Further polls show 63% of self-identified Republicans are white conservatives.
The Republican Conservatives
On one side of the equation, the Republican bastion has taken hits for recent events. The appointment of Sonya Sotomayor to the Supreme court (the first Hispanic and only the third woman to hold such office) raised controversy and division among the Republican party - Senator John McCain opposed her confirmation vehemently despite earlier support of the Hispanic community but nine Republicans voted for her confirmation making it a lock.
The election of 2008 brought out the worst in both the Democratic and Republican parties, as any criticism of the Democratic candidate was latched onto by activist groups who claimed racism. Republicans countered with their own attempts to reach out to the minority voting blocks, with varying degrees of success. Thoughtless remarks by several prominent Republicans stirred up anger and resentment among the black and Hispanic communities, and the GOP was once again tarred
Republicans and Illegal Immigration
The illegal immigrant issue is another division between the Republican party and the Hispanic community. Although most Republicans state they have no problem with legal immigrants, the issue burns hot in highly affected states like Texas and Florida where many citizens lump all Latinos together and speak in derogatory terms with no knowledge of a certain individual’s status.
Again, Democrats are alternately hailed as ‘champions of the oppressed’ and derided as ‘bleeding hearts’. Many left-of-center activist groups claim targeting illegal immigrants constitutes racism, profiling and a violation of civil rights. Political struggles over illegal aliens’ rights continue, with controversial groups springing up to patrol borders and others to lobby for green cards. Republicans are profiled as far-right militant racists and the party lines seem clearly drawn.
Republican Stance on Healthcare
As a rule, professed Republicans say they prefer less government, less taxes and more freedom to spend their money how and when they choose - they point to the enormous mismanagement of tax monies by the government (particularly the billions spent on health care for illegal aliens each year) and call for reform. At the same time, they want stronger measures to be put in place to keep illegal immigration to a minimum, which would require more government involvement.
The issue of health care has become a hot button, with Republicans again pushing for more government involvement to prevent illegal aliens from accessing government funded health care. This causes upset in the Latino community in places like Texas, where the cost of health care provided was over 1.3 billion in 2006 according to state comptroller reports; the large Hispanic population faces off against a primarily Republican voting block and protests are common.
Can the GOP Win Over the Hispanic and Black Voting Block?
The Republican party has a long way to go to mend fences with minorities. This is not all the fault of the GOP - far-left groups are quick to tar even legitimate raising of issues with the racist brush - but care is needed not to make this large segment of the US population feel unimportant or ignored.
More understanding of minorities is needed on the part of many prominent Republicans - ill advised comments do them more harm than any other factor when it comes to winning the trust of minority groups. A little tact could go a long way to mending fences and establishing relationships of trust.
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