OPINION: What GOP Can Learn From Latinos And Same Sex Marriage

By Victor Landa, NewsTaco

The initial reaction was almost predictable. As soon as President Obama declared he was personally in favor of same sex marriage the ripple effect was scrutinized from all conceivable angles. At the top of that list was the Latino community.

We’re six months away from a presidential election in which the Latino vote is said to be vital, so if either of the candidates so much as sneezes the pundits will have an opinion about whether Latinos believe he has a cold (as if any pundit or expert can talk for the entire Latino community). I stay away from such generalizations because I find no use in them. But, I do find interest in sifting through some of the generally held beliefs about the Latino community, because they say a lot about what the candidates don’t know.

For instance, this same sex marriage thing. I agree that it doesn’t matter much in the Latino community. But it’s not because Latinos are generally in favor or against same sex marriage – that would be a non-Latino way of looking at the issue. Same sex marriage doesn’t matter to Latinos because Latinos don’t see it as a political issue (and there I go, speaking as if I talk for all Latinos…). 

I would bet a Cadillac, if I had one, that Latinos didn’t care much about the Clinton-Lewinski scandal for the same reason. It has nothing to do with politics, as Latinos see it. The difference is that back then no one really cared what Latinos thought politically. Now, what Latinos think matters so much that campaign big shots will believe whatever their paid experts tell them. It’s a pretty good racket if you can get a chunk of it.

But the truth is that Latinos don’t care. Marriage, as in who marries whom, is not a matter for the politicos. Neither is who the politico is playing with between the sheets. These are personal matters. And this is where President Obama played the issue well. He said he is personally in favor of same sex marriage. His personal beliefs are not politics. This is what progressives and Latinos have in common: they can separate one from the other – personally be against abortion but favor a woman’s right to chose; personally be in favor of same sex marriage but let the states decide on the legality. Conservatives can’t live in that space, it’s all or nothing.

So when Republicans say things like “Latinos are conservatives, they just don’t know it” – or something to that effect, they’re missing an important point that’s clearly illustrated in the same sex marriage  debate. Most Latinos have a specific way of looking at politics, and it has nothing to do with an all-or-nothing approach. Latino politics is practical, it’s about getting things done, about finding solutions and accommodating the future; but it’s also about justice and treating humans  in a dignified manner.

As most Latinos see it, the rest is up to a higher power and no human has the right to judge or impose. Some non-Latinos (you may infer what you will) see their role as having the obligation to set a specific moral standard, and that bleeds into their politics. The problem is that not everyone believes as they do.

And that, is the Latinos lesson they may not be learning.