TP: Hispanic Evangelicals Threaten To Abandon Republicans Over Immigration

[Statistikhengst]

Samuel Rodriguez, Jr., head of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, speaks to reporters in Houston, Texas on Wednesday.

CREDIT: JACK JENKINS/THINKPROGRESS
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Hispanic Evangelicals Threaten To Abandon Republicans Over Immigration ThinkProgress


Note: ThinkProgress is a very Left-Leaning publication, but this story is one that Conservatives should really, really read and digest.

Just a few hours before hearing speeches from likely Republican presidential candidates Jeb Bush and Mike Huckabee, the nation’s largest Hispanic Evangelical organization threw down the gauntlet and called on them and others running for the White House to pledge support for immigration reform.

“Republicans must cross the Jordan of immigration reform to step into the promised land of the Hispanic faith electorate,” said National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference president Sam Rodriguez at a press conference in Houston on Wednesday. “There’s a period there, not a comma. They must.” He then referenced Mitt Romney’s abysmal performance with Latino voters, which Rodriguez tied to his support for “self deportation” policies, as a cautionary tale.

The National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC) leans sharply conservative, with a long history of opposing same-sex marriage and abortion rights. But on the issue of immigration, they align more with President Obama, whose executive actions to protect parents and children from deportation they “reluctantly support.”

The exact text of the pledge has not been revealed, but Rodriguez said it includes four “pillars”: “No amnesty, secure borders, secure families, and an integration process” for the roughly 12 million undocumented people living in the United States. Over the next several months, the group will challenge all presidential candidates to sign on to support comprehensive immigration reform that “secures our values and our families.” If they don’t, Rodriguez warned, “they’re going to discard a vote that has natural tendencies with the GOP.”

That vote emerges out of a rapidly-expanding population of Hispanic Evangelicals, which some estimate is around 5.6 million strong — and growing every year.

Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), one of the few Democrats to speak at the conference, wryly noted, “One million Latinos turn 18 every year and there’s nothing anybody can do about it. You can’t shut down that faucet. That happens even if there’s not one more immigrant.”

Just to be crystal-clear, this group, The National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC) is a strongly CONSERVATIVE Latino organization and most likely accounted for a great deal of the 27% of the Latino vote that Mitt Romney got in 2012, which was still the second worst performance by a Republican in a two-man race since data for this electoral demographic has been collected:

1976: Carter (D) 82 / Ford (R) 18, margin: Carter +64 (1% of electorate)
1980: Carter (D) 56 / Reagan (R) 37 / Anderson (I) 7, margin: Carter +19 (2% of electorate)
1984: Mondale (D) 66 / Reagan (R) 34, margin: Mondale +32 (3% of electorate)
1988: Dukakis (D) 70 / Bush, Sr. (R) 30, margin: Dukakis +40 (3% of electorate)
1992: Clinton (D) 61 / Bush, Sr. (R) 37 / Perot (I) 14, margin: Clinton +24 (2% of electorate)
1996: Clinton (D) 73 / Dole (R) 21 / Perot (I) 6, margin: Clinton +52 (5% of electorate)
2000: Gore (D) 62 / Bush, Jr. (R) 37 / Nader (I) 2, margin: Gore +25 (7% of electorate)
2004: Kerry (D) 53 / Bush, Jr. (R) 44 / Nader (I) 2, margin: Kerry +9 (8% of electorate)
2008: Obama (D) 67 / McCain (R) 31 /, margin: Obama +36 (9% of electorate)
2012: Obama (D) 71 / Romney (R) 27 /, margin: Obama +44 (10% of electorate)

So, to lose this group does not mean that a Republican would lose his chances of maybe getting to George W. Bush 43's 44% of the Latino vote, as was the case in 2004. It means that if the GOP loses the NHCLC, it's strongest Conservative-Latino advocacy group, then it could easily slip well under 25% of the Latino vote in 2016, which has far-reaching implications for New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, Texas and yes, even Georgia.

Gerald Ford did the worst of all in the Latino vote, in 1976. He only got 18%, but at that time, the Latino vote was only 1% of the electorate on election night. Now it's 10 times that much. Tendency: growing.

There is more information at the link, I recommend that everyone take time to read it.


This thread is extremely relevant right now because the NHCLC is holding it's yearly conference in Houston right now, and indeed, some GOP presidential hopefuls are going to speak to the conference today.

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Discuss: Should GOP hopefuls sign "the pledge", or not? Or is that extortion for a vote?

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

So, the OP's conclusion is that if Republicans aren't Democrats then they won't get the votes of Hispanic Evangelicals, whom are apparently told whom to vote for by their religious leaders?

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

candycorn

I guess we should let Mexicans cross the border; just so long as they're not allowed to have forks at any Hillary Clinton fundraisers. I mean, isn't that why tacos were invented in the first place?

 

[Correll]

If the only way to compete in American elections is to put the interests of foreigners ahead of the interests of Americans then the nation is done.

We might coast along for a while, but it's over.

 

[TheOldSchool]

The problem republicans have with Hispanics is not immigration. It's the contempt and disrespect they regularly display against Hispanic culture.

 

[S.J.]

So hispanics are willing to sell out their faith and vote for baby-killing atheists because their sellout religious leaders tell them to?

 

[Siete]

not to worry, the Republicans will cave on immigration just like they cave on everything else, And it won't do them a damn bit of good just like caving on everything else does nothing for them.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

Just wait until they start making money,although that may be a little difficult with the obama job recovery,they'll turn republican.

 

[Statistikhengst]

So, the OP's conclusion is that if Republicans aren't Democrats then they won't get the votes of Hispanic Evangelicals, whom are apparently told whom to vote for by their religious leaders?

Actually, I did not say that at all.

I reported what the NHCLC is saying.

 

[TheOldSchool]

So, the OP's conclusion is that if Republicans aren't Democrats then they won't get the votes of Hispanic Evangelicals, whom are apparently told whom to vote for by their religious leaders?

Actually, I did not say that at all.

I reported what the NHCLC is saying.

Also, I wonder if he's aware that ALL evangelicals vote for whom they are told to by their leaders?

 

[Statistikhengst]

The problem republicans have with Hispanics is not immigration. It's the contempt and disrespect they regularly display against Hispanic culture.

AND the fact that in their scorn for illegal immigrants, a scorn that I share, btw, they lump ALL Latinos into the "illegal" category and make no distinction between illegal immigrants and Latinos who are 1st, 2nd 3rd, maybe 4th generation US-American citizens.

This is what separates Republicans from Democrats on this issue.

 

[Correll]

The problem republicans have with Hispanics is not immigration. It's the contempt and disrespect they regularly display against Hispanic culture.

If US Hispanic leaders are taking the side of illegals over that of their supposedly fellow citizens, then they deserve some disrespect.

 

[TheOldSchool]

The problem republicans have with Hispanics is not immigration. It's the contempt and disrespect they regularly display against Hispanic culture.

If US Hispanic leaders are taking the side of illegals over that of their supposedly fellow citizens, then they deserve some disrespect.

Even if those fellow citizens are demonizing them and have no interest in discriminating between legal citizen and illegal citizens?

The republican party does not like outside cultures. This is often mistaken as racism, but it's really just a case of mass xenophobia. If you're surprised that turns people with links to those cultures off then that's your problem.

 

[Katzndogz]

I almost took this seriously. Then I saw it was from think progress.

 

[Statistikhengst]

If US Hispanic leaders are taking the side of illegals over that of their supposedly fellow citizens, then they deserve some disrespect.

Well, GOOD LUCK with that one!

Yes, I hope and pray that the GOP makes YOU their PR man in 2016.

Please, trumpet that out to the four corners of the Earth, poste-haste!

 

[Statistikhengst]

I almost took this seriously. Then I saw it was from think progress.

You may be too drunk to be able to read it anyway, tipsykatzenfotze.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

Adios, fuckwad. Via con Fidel

There's already one political party that has absolutely no respect for our laws and founding, we don't need a second. If you'd rather sabotage the the hard work and efforts of Hispanics and other who migrated here LEGALLY, by all means be my guest but at least be honest enough to say so.

 

[Correll]

The problem republicans have with Hispanics is not immigration. It's the contempt and disrespect they regularly display against Hispanic culture.

If US Hispanic leaders are taking the side of illegals over that of their supposedly fellow citizens, then they deserve some disrespect.

Even if those fellow citizens are demonizing them and have no interest in discriminating between legal citizen and illegal citizens?

The republican party does not like outside cultures. This is often mistaken as racism, but it's really just a case of mass xenophobia. If you're surprised that turns people with links to those cultures off then that's your problem.

DIsmissing any concerns about massive and rapid change as irrational fear is an effect propaganda technique, but not actually true.

Voicing any such concerns is not demonizing those who are causing the changes.


Libs are constantly showing their complete contempt for religious people, demonizing Christians, supporting any number of types of moral decay, such as ABORTION.


These HIspanics are supposedly Evangelicals. THese issues should trump their concerns for interests of foreigners living here illegally.

 

[Correll]

If US Hispanic leaders are taking the side of illegals over that of their supposedly fellow citizens, then they deserve some disrespect.

Well, GOOD LUCK with that one!

Yes, I hope and pray that the GOP makes YOU their PR man in 2016.

Please, trumpet that out to the four corners of the Earth, poste-haste!

So the way you think to handle minorities is to never disagree with them? Or point out when they are in the wrong?

Mmm, I tole Al that when you libs don't call him on his BS that you were showing hiM disrespect because you didn't expect him to be able to understand complex issues.

He didn't believe me.

Maybe he will believe you?

 

[MaryL]

Oh the pain, the pain! Are Hispanics the equivalent of Dr. Smith? Bitch bitch, whine whine, for WHAT exactly? They are in the same boat as the rest of us...non Dr. Smiths, errr, Hispanics.