Did the Republicans shoot themselves in the foot when they went nativist on the immigration issue?

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/deadlineusa/2008/nov/05/us-election-polls

Obama owes a debt to Democrats' growing Hispanic base

If only white Americans had voted in this election, John McCain would be the next president

<snip>If there was one decisive ethnic factor, it was the Hispanic vote. Obama won two-thirds, compared to John Kerry, who scraped just over half. The speculation that Hispanics would be scared off by a black candidate simply dissolved.

Obama even won the Hispanic vote in Florida, home to the Cuban population - a clear sign of a generational shift in that community. As Hispanics are the fastest growing sector in the population, this has to be good news for the Democrats.

[getthefacts]

1. I just hope he stands

by his promise to enact immigration reform in his first year. That was one of the reasons he got so much of the latino vote.

[steelmania75]

2. He'll get to that and looking at the news, it'll be coming within the next few days.

[getthefacts]

3. I didn't catch anything. What did you read/hear?

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

4. Yes, they absolutely did.

[Juche]

5. Hispanics have generally always leaned dem

going dem about 60-75% of the time. The fact Kerry got 53% and Obama got about 66% is not a huge jump. But suffice it to say, that is fairly normal. Having to deal with issues like poverty and social injustice, latinos are more likely to lean dem. I think Clinton got almost 80% of the latino vote in 1996.

The GOP has lost the support of every growing demographic. They have lost the support of single people, young people, latinos, asians, non-christians, the economically insecure, the urban. Every demographic who supports them (christians, the middle aged, married people, rural people, financially secure people, white people) is shrinking.

FTR demographics are not destiny, but they do define whether you are in support of or opposed to the status quo. The people who feel rejected from society are in the majority now. The people who are happy with the status quo are the minority.

Basically if a demographic is going to play a bigger and bigger role in US politics over the next 30 years, there is a good chance the GOP has lost support among them. Fine by me.

[getthefacts]

6. I think we can't forget also

that latinos are more often than not religious people, family oriented, against abortion and have a natural lack of faith in government, tenets Republicans always try to sell as their "values". However, I think you are right on target when talking about social injustice. I don't doubt though that a center Republican could win this group in the future.

[librechik]

7. oh boy did they ever

on the one hand, the Republican elites need vast amounts of cheap labor, and are willing to do anything to get it. At the same time the media machine they own is demonizing immigrants 24/7. What were they thinking? They had it sweet when Liberals had everyone loving the Great American Melting Pot. But they never stop being greedy, now they've spoiled everything for themselves.