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Fed-up Hispanics tilting GOP
WHY do polls show that Latinos are drifting to the GOP? Like a lot of things that Washington doesn’t understand, it’s actually pretty simple.
When it comes to their expectations of government, Hispanic voters are like the rest of America: We want elected officials to stop throwing up barriers to achieving the American dream. We’re not looking for handouts or too-good-to-be-true promises. We know that if we have an equal opportunity, we are capable of supporting our families, accessing health care and making sure our kids receive a quality education.
For years, progressives promised that if we just give them more political power, government will make all these things much easier. Put them in charge in Washington, the promise goes, and they’ll approve economic “stimulus” bills, reorganize health care, fix our schools and pass immigration reform. And we responded — we voted — and liberal politicians came into power.
But that’s where things went wrong. Instead of making our lives better, they passed bills that spent our hard-earned money on things like corporate welfare and new regulations from Washington bureaucrats. They wasted our tax money and rewarded interest groups. Instead of empowering people to build better lives, they’ve offered a government-centered agenda.
The results are clear. Real wages haven’t grown. Education isn’t improving — in fact, most families continue to find themselves with very limited options. Health care is more expensive, and choices are limited. And when it comes to immigration, we’re still waiting for action — for measures to allow Dreamers and others to contribute more fully to the nation, modernize our agricultural workforce and enhance border security.
Many now recognize that we have little to show for our efforts.
The message I keep hearing from Hispanic voters is that all too often, liberals start in Washington and not at the grass roots. Instead of listening and responding, they show up with a plan that must be sold to voters. Instead of paying attention to our priorities in our communities, the goal is to convince them of a centrally planned, Washington-knows-best approach.
No voter will accept being taken for granted. Instead, we will seek out the candidate who pays attention, who offers an alternative approach and who has a realistic plan for delivering on promises. We are seeking policy champions who see us as part of the solution to America’s social ills, not as yet another problem to be addressed by an already bloated government.
No one should be surprised if that leads more Hispanic voters to support conservative candidates. Exit polls from 2020 show that 43% identify as moderates, with 32% calling themselves conservative and just 25% liberal.
And such voters know that before the onset of an unforeseeable pandemic, Hispanic unemployment reached an all-time low and revenues for Latino-owned businesses were on the rise. It’s not hard to see why they would be open to an approach centered on the free market and individual empowerment.
Where I reside, in South Texas, conservative gains are obvious and historic. In the state’s recent Republican primary, turnout shattered records — including in majorityHispanic counties that have reliably supported Democratic candidates for decades.
In a sign of how quickly the terrain has shifted, recent polling shows that Hispanic voters are evenly split between the two major parties.
This is good news for all but the most committed ideologues. It was not long ago that both parties tended to see Hispanic voters as already decided. Candidates invested little time and effort in genuinely connecting with voters on the issues.
Now that’s changing. Candidates in both parties are recognizing that our support is up for grabs — if they spend the time and effort to engage. It helps ensure that voters are educated and informed, and it helps elected officials both to genuinely serve voters. That’s better for everyone in the long run.