Morning NewsTaco
Wednesday May 30, 2012
‘Sleeping giant’ Latino vote yet to awaken (CNN): Hispanics have been the ‘sleeping giant’ of American politics for decades. Each election season, we see more and more articles about how important this group of Americans is, and how their impact will be outsized and ever-growing. Yet for some reason, the ‘giant’ never quite seems to wake up.
Voter ID laws, fraud and Latinos: Discrimination, a ‘big deal’ or ‘insulting?’ (CNN): According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, thirty-two states have some sort of voting identification law. Many of the states with the strictest laws are also places where, according to aPew Hispanic Center analysis of census figures, the minority populations have mushroomed.
Texas Has More Latinos, But Not in Congress (Fox News Latino): The Latino population grew by 2.8 million in in Texas over the last decade, second only to California. That drove a population boom that rewarded with Texas four new U.S. House seats, but there’s no guarantee voters will elect more Hispanics to Congress.
Why Texas May Become a Blue State (PRI): Texas might not be such a Republican slam-dunk forever. The state’s demographics are changing quickly. Texas is 37 percent Latino, and demographers say the state could be majority Latino in less than 20 years. And those Texas Latinos have been overwhelmingly voting Democrat. But that wasn’t always the case.
Could Latino Voters Turn Deep-Red Texas Democratic by 2020? (The Atlantic): Though the Lone Star state is a sure thing for Mitt Romney in November, it could be majority Latino by 2030, and those Latinos are voting overwhelmingly Democrat.
The impact of the ‘Latino vote’ beyond Texas (CNN): Florida-based political analyst Charles Garcia noted earlier this year that in North Carolina, the number of registered Hispanic voters has almost doubled to more than 130,000 since the last presidential election.
Hundreds of Latino Cleaning Workers Threaten to Go on Strike in Houston (Fox News Latino): Hundreds of Hispanics cleaning workers in Houston are seeking better pay so that they will not find themselves having to work part-time at other jobs to make ends meet. For the past few weeks, SEIU and the cleaning companies have been engaged in negotiating a new labor contract, but they still have not come to an agreement.
Florida’s Latino Voters More Worried About Education Than Immigration (NPR): A new poll finds Latino voters are more concerned about education than immigration. The survey looked at five battleground states in the upcoming presidential election, including Florida.
Richard Riordan launches effort to court Latinos for GOP (Los Angeles Times): Former Los Angeles Mayor Richard J. Riordan’s political moderation and penchant for reaching across party lines hasn’t always sat well with many of his fellow California Republicans. They’ve long derided him as a “RINO” (Republican In Name Only) and soundly rejected him for a more conservative pol when he ran for the GOP nomination for governor in 2002.
Will Latino Identity Lose Its Salience? (National Review): Sean Trende argues that Latino identity will lose its political salience over time, just as Italian American identity has lost its salience. I am sympathetic to Trende’s view.
