What Both Parties Don’t Get About Hispanics

*Why is it that when non-Latino writers explain Latinos it carries more weight than if a Latino writer did it? It’s a rhetorical question, Latinos understand why. I admire the National Journal, but they couldn’t find one Latino to write this piece? Again, it’s the feeling of being talked about when you’re in the room, commenting about the server while he/she pours your water. Remember the dictionaries for American housewives that helped them communicate with Latina maids? This practice is just as outdated. Funny, the article talks about political parties’ mistake in taking Latinos for granted … VL

>Ron Fournier, The National Journal

The pressures against immigration reform are so obvious they’re almost cliché. Most Republican politicians fear revolt from amnesty-loathing conservatives. Many Democrats see strategic advantage in keeping the wedge issue alive.

What our leaders don’t see (or refused to acknowledge) are the false assumptions built into their positions, and the powerful incentives for both sides to compromise. They should read this report from Third Way, a Democrat think-tank with enough intellectual honesty to analyze data irrespective of its party bias.

Despite their rising political power, both Republicans and Democrats have tended to misrepresent Hispanic America.

Many Republicans view Hispanics as undocumented, poor, and unwilling to assimilate. But the data shows that Hispanics are overwhelmingly citizens and legal residents and have broadly adopted American values. Many Democrats emphasize immigration as the sole issue of importance to the community and assume Hispanics are liberals. But Hispanics are concerned with issues beyond immigration and hold complex—and often conservative views—on a number of issues.

The report’s author, demographer Michelle Diggles, warned her own party, “Hispanics are not born liberal Democrats.” While President Obama won the Hispanic vote in 2012 by 44 points, a majority of Hispanics identified at independents and only 32 percent as Democrats.

Click HERE to read the full story.