From Goldwater to Pete Wilson to Donald Trump: Is GOP on verge of losing Latinos for a generation? [View all]

[Zorro]

Republican leaders are openly fearful that Donald Trump’s divisive presidential campaign will drive Latino voters away from the Republican Party for a generation or more, much in the way Barry Goldwater alienated African Americans during the civil rights era.

It was a similar lesson in California in the 1990s, when the state shifted from reliably Republican to bright blue in the aftermath of the heated 1994 anti-illegal immigration campaign led by then-Gov. Pete Wilson. Many believe that episode handed the Golden State over to Democrats.

Now Republicans worry that a similar shift is underway nationwide as Trump’s race-based campaigning repels even the most conservative Republicans, potentially marring the party as bigoted for years to come.

Among those most concerned is one who should know. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky voted against Goldwater in 1964 because of the GOP nominee’s opposition to civil rights. He worries a half a century later that the story is repeating.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-pol-gop-latinos-alienate-20160612-snap-story.html