Why did Bush do so much better among Hispanics than in 2000?

[lancdem]

From http://www.emergingdemocraticmajority.com

But these data indicate that Hispanics only supported Kerry 53-44, a dramatic compression from Gore's 62-35 margin among the same group in 2000.

:(

[Dr Fate]

1. Bush used the "God hates Fags" argument.

That and the fact that Kerry is a "baby killer."

[taxismom]

2. Values

"values, values"

[okieinpain]

10. catholics

[blurp]

23. Mel Martinez in Florida "fighting the gay agenda"

That was worth thousands of votes in Florida.

[Township75]

24. So Hispanics hate fags?

Please, get a grip.

[blurp]

25. No, you need to spend more time with hispanic men

This "macho" crap is all too common among hispanic men.

It would be much more productive if you thought about ways to educate them instead of blowing it off. There are wives, children, and gay men that would thank you.

[Township75]

27. I understand the macho thing...

but consider the following

1. Kerry still got the majority of the Hispanic vote, so it can't all be about gays.

2. Female hispanics don't have to put up the macho image, so it can't apply to them

[blurp]

31. That's true.

Economic issues are the key.

[Dr Fate]

37. Yes. Some do. So do some whites, and blacks and asians.

Get a grip.

[GOPBasher]

3. I echo everyone else: values

[independentpiney]

20. Agreed, -values

We need to take this out of the national platform.

[mindem]

4. Read Palast's article at TomPaine.com

Minority groups had a lot of provisional ballots foisted on them. Provisional ballots tend to not get counted and makes it easy to screw around with the minority vote.

[soothsayer]

5. his flawless spanish accent

[judaspriestess]

26. Yes, Bush speaks "Mexican"

what is one of his famous bushism:
Not in French, English or Mexican
asshole.
I find that very offensive. every time I have heard that from unfortunately a white person for example, they are saying it with racial connotations.
I sell real estate here in Las Vegas and I always have certain races come in and ask me if there are any "mexicans" living in the neighborhood. I tell them that is an offensive question and it is also against the law!

[newscaster]

6. I think Hispanics came out for him.....

Because in one speech in the last or next to last day, he said he would work to get rid of Castro.

[calico1]

9. That only resonates with Cubans.

Its really not something the rest of us think about that much or at least not to be influenced by in an election. I am Hispanic (Puerto Rican) and most certainly did not vote for the cretin nor would I ever consider it. I can tell you this about a lot of Hispanics: Although they tend to be in line more with Democrats on social issues like health care and education, a lot of them are very religious and Conservative when it comes to issues like gay rights, abortion, etc. Hispanic men, (a lot of them at least) are still very chauvinistic and macho and very homophobic. I am sure the gay marriage issue resonated a lot with them.

[blurp]

18. Exactly

Although they tend to be in line more with Democrats on social issues like health care and education, a lot of them are very religious and Conservative when it comes to issues like gay rights, abortion, etc. Hispanic men, (a lot of them at least) are still very chauvinistic and macho and very homophobic. I am sure the gay marriage issue resonated a lot with them.

Mel Martinez in Florida made a comment about fighting "the homosexual agenda".

He was bashed in the press, but got overwhelming support from hispanic men.

[Dukakis88]

7. Hispanics love Yale frat boy cheerleaders with fake Texas accents

[HEIL PRESIDENT GOD]

8. Anyone who thinks of himself as "Hispanic"

Is probably a Bush voter. It's like saying "I am an Anglo-Saxon!"

[judaspriestess]

28. I disagree

I consider myself "hispanic"
it is more in line with my nationality. The word was born from the "chicano" movement in the sixties in California, with chicanos fighting for their rights.
I am american and I will always be american first but I also embrace my latina/mexican side.
As many other hispanics do. America belongs to all of us.
Especially if you are 5th generation. something I am really proud of.:)

[HEIL PRESIDENT GOD]

34. Don't you agree though

The word tends to the right wing of the Latino world--the people who identify with a European/Spanish rather than a mestizo/Indian past? To me it evokes Mexicans calling themselves "Spanish-Americans" in the fifties. I don't dig the word. I like Latino, Chicano, mestizo, or the actual nationality of origin (Mexicano, Salvadoreno, Guatemalteca). Americans of pure Spanish descent aren't Latinos.

Of course we can fight all day over names. I know "Latinos" who hate "Chicano" and vice versa.

BTW
Feliz dia de los muertos, un poco tarde. :)

[LuLu550]

11. So many Hispanics are in the military

They buy the Bush line about keeping American safe by fighting in Iraq, and they and their families "support the troops" by supporting the commander in chief. That, plus the "values" issue, along with the fact that the Catholic Church basically told Catholics they could not receive communion if they voted for Kerry, helped Bush steal this one, too.

Sad, but true.

[primavera]

15. I actually just got out of a meeting on this very topic

...and your points pretty much mirror what we came up with as well. To be honest, even the Latino organizations don't seem to really understand this issue, it was not a predicted outcome. The only conclusion the analysts can reach is that since neither candidate came out much on the issue that mattered most to Latino voters - namely, immigration - they ended up going for the whole supporting the troops garbage. Admittedly, both candidates talked very, very briefly about immigration during one of the debates, but they both expressed pretty much the same position, and neither made an issue of it, so there wasn't much to distinguish Kerry from the shrub on that particular topic.

[blurp]

17. They also tend to oppose gay marriage

the issue that mattered most to Latino voters - namely, immigration - they ended up going for the whole supporting the troops garbage.

Don't forget that there is also great hostility in the Latino community towards gay marriage. Mel Martinez made a comment in Florida about fighting "the homosexual agenda". He was bashed regularly in the press and on TV about his comments.

And yet, he beat beat Betty Castor. Why? "Being a real man", whatever that means, is important amoung hispanic men.

Far from turning them off, Mel Martinez's comment helped bring hispanic men to the poles.

[Village Idiot]

12. One word: Amnesty.

[ciaobox]

13. He didn't

Diebold

[buddhamama]

14. i don't think he did

was listening to NPR this morning they were speaking to an Hispanic journalist about this supposed increase of support for Bush.

I can't recall the man's name but, he actually believes that Hispanics were undercounted last time (he had data to back this up).
If he's correct than Bush's support among Hispanics decreased this election.

[blurp]

16. In FL, it was Mel Martinez, I think

Mel Martinez in Florida brought many more hispanics to the polls for Bush.

[GR]

19. It's Interesting That Everyone Believes THIS From Exit Polls....But

says exit polls were wrong on who won the states like Ohio, Florida and New Mexico

[Freddie Stubbs]

21. Hispanics tend to be Catholic and

many of the immigrants and their children are more likely to adhere to the teachings of the Church than Catholics who have been in the country longer.

[blurp]

22. True

[judaspriestess]

29. well let's see......

I think much and I mean much of the "Hispanic" vote #'s came from Texas and New Mexico. why from Texas? because he is a Texan!
as stupid as that might sound, when I was down in SA two weeks ago, my home town,(SA is very heavily democratic btw) the hispanics that did vote for Bush vote for him for that reason and this other one, My mom's friend said, I'm gonna vote for Bush "BECUASE THEY ARE BOTH THE SAME". I think the democratic party has kinda put the latinos on the back burner so they just "go with the flow" for lack of a better term. I don't buy the values bit, but I could be wrong.

[asian_al]

30. Honestly this is why....

Republicans are better at playing the game.

[blurp]

32. Funny thing is, Bush is actually from Connecticut!

[judaspriestess]

36. I knew that asshole

was not from Texas, whew that makes me feel better.
but I am still ashamed of those dumbasses down there.

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

40. Hispanics tend to be Catholic, hence, the abortion issue.

[Dinger]

33. I ThinkThis Whole "Election" Is A worse Fraud Than 2000

How do you KNOW he did better???

[goclark]

38. Worse, far worse than '00

I totally agree with you!

We must expose them ASAP.

I know the best and the brightest at DU are hard at work on the numbers right now.

But, one thing is for sure.

They stole this election!

[OnceAndFutureTruth]

35. On Sat eve, he went on Sabado Gigante and made effective appeal

My Spanish is rusty, so I can't report everything that was said, but I do know he spoke about values again: family, religion, opportunity. Those were the themes he stressed and they are ones that resonate strongly in the hispanic community. I had heard that Kerry was also supposed to appear but don't know if he did, as I tuned in late. I'm pretty sure Sabado Gigante has a HUGE viewership in the hispanic community.

Let's face it, they had a highly effective strategy and some of it went entirely under the radar of the left. We must learn from this and do better in the future.

[Democat]

39. WRONG? - Kerry increased Gore's lead with Hispanics according to this poll

LATINOS SUPPORT KERRY BY SUBSTANTIAL MARGIN IN PRESIDENTIAL CONTEST NATIONWIDE 67.7% TO 31.4% MARGIN INCREASES OVER 2000 ELECTION

Los Angeles, CA - Latino voters, staying true to form nationally in the presidential election, supported democratic presidential candidate John Kerry over President George W. Bush by a margin of 67.7% to 31.4%, an increase in support over the 2000 presidential election, according to a national exit survey conducted by the William C. Velasquez Institute (WCVI). For the 2000 presidential election, then Vice President Al Gore received between 62% and 68% support among Latinos, according to three different national exit surveys. Then-governor George W. Bush received between 29% and 37% Latino support from the same surveys.

''Nationally, Latinos continued their historic voting patterns, siding with the democratic challenger over the President by familiar margins, a little more than 2-to-1,'' said Antonio Gonzalez, president of the William C. Velasquez Institute (WCVI). ''President Bush tried unsuccessfully to increase his support among Latinos. The democrats' message appears to have resonated with Latinos.''

Looking at a select number of Congressional races around the country, the WCVI exit survey found that Latinos preferred democratic candidates over their republican counterparts by a margin of 67.5% to 30.3%, a significant sign of support for democratic Congressional candidates. The WCVI exit survey interviewed 1,021 respondents in 56 precincts across 14 states.

In determining the results for the presidential race, the WCVI exit survey interviewed 1,179 respondents in 56 precincts across 14 states on Election Day. The states where the exit surveys were conducted include Florida, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Nevada, California, Texas, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. These states represent over 90 percent of the national Latino vote.

LATINOS FLIP SUPPORT TO DEMOCRAT KERRY IN FLORIDA;
OVER 700,000 VOTES CAST IN STATE

Los Angeles, CA - Latino voters, historically a reliable vote for Republicans in the State of Florida, dramatically changed course this presidential election in support of democratic challenger John Kerry, according to an exit survey conducted by the William C. Velasquez Institute (WCVI). The survey determined that Latinos voted for Senator John Kerry over President George W. Bush by a margin of 52% to 45.7%, a 28-point swing from the 2000 presidential election, when then-governor Bush beat Vice President Gore by a margin of 61% to 39%.

''This is a sea of change in terms of the Latino vote in Florida,'' said Antonio Gonzalez, president of the William C. Velasquez Institute. ''Latinos cast over 700,000 votes in this election and can no longer be considered a reliable vote for one party or another. In past elections, Latinos were always looked upon as being on the Republican side of the ledger in Florida. That is no longer the case. Neither political candidates nor parties, going forward, can take the Latino vote for granted.''

In determining the results for the presidential race, the WCVI exit survey interviewed 1147 respondents in 45 precincts across nine counties on Election Day.

In the Florida Senate race, Latinos cast their support for Mel Martinez over Betty Castor by a margin of 52.4% to 47.6%. In that survey, the WCVI interviewed 958 respondents in 45 precincts across nine counties. ''Latinos split their vote between the major candidates, backing Mel Martinez and John Kerry with almost identical support,'' concluded Gonzalez. Visit www.wcvi.org to learn more.

http://www.wcvi.org/

http://www.hispanicaction.com/

This is a press release so I posted the whole thing.