California went its own way: Strength of the Latino vote is a key factor

The Los Angeles Times ^ | November 4, 2010 | Cathleen Decker

[Lurking Libertarian]

In one declarative night, California on Tuesday confirmed its status as a political world unto itself, zigging determinedly Democratic while most of the rest of the country zagged Republican. Voters not only restored the governor's office to Democratic hands, they may have given Democrats a sweep of statewide offices, though uncounted ballots could still shift one race.

Driving much of the success — and distancing the state from the national GOP tide, according to exit polls — was a surge in Latino voters. They made up 22% of the California voter pool, a record tally that mortally wounded many Republicans.

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California Republicans had multiple reasons for head-shaking on Wednesday. For decades, the state party has squabbled over whether success would come more easily to candidates running as conservatives or those who presented a more moderate face to the state's sizeable bloc of independent, centrist voters. This year they tried both. Senate candidate Carly Fiorina ran a firmly conservative race and Whitman took a more moderate road.

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Nationally, non-whites made up only 22% of the Tuesday electorate; in California they made up 38%. Latinos nationally represented 8% of the national electorate, just shy of a third of their power in California. Tellingly, Latinos in California had a far more negative view of the GOP than other voters — almost 3 in 4 had an unfavorable impression, to 22% favorable. Among all California voters the view of Republicans was negative, but at a closer 61% negative and 32% positive. Latinos had a strongly positive view of Democrats, 58% to 37%, whereas all voters were closely split, 49% to 45%.

[Pox]

We only have two or three election cycles to somehow remedy this

There is no "fix" to this issue. As long as politicians promise to take from producers and give to those who do not deserve the "wealth redistribution", those who are on the receiving end of such "charity" will continue to vote for those promising them handouts. It is not a situation that will ever be fixed via the voting booth.

It's not like history hasn't shown us what will eventually come to pass in this situation. How will this go around be any different from past examples?

[paul51]

ca is beyond the point of no return. one demographic is fleeing the state and another is flooding in. the trend is clear and it won't be reversed. it is hard to distinguish larger and larger areas of ca from mexico.

[Longbow1969]

This is the future for more and more states if conservatives do not find a way to win much higher percentages of at least some minority voters.

There are just not enough white people to overcome overwhelmingly losing every minority voting block.

Demographics are moving very quickly against us. Hopefully someone like Rubio can be a candidate for Pres or VP in 2012. That might really shift things and give us a better opportunity in some parts of the country.

[animal172]

What can you expect? The Latinos are almost the majority population in Commufornia. They will be in the next decade. They are like the Muslims. Can't beat us militarily. They will just out populate us.

[Reagan69]

Would those be the government-teat-sucking illegal immigrant Latino voters in California?

“the problem with socialism is that eventually, the socialists will run out of other peoples’ money.”

-The Great Margaret Thatcher.

Oh, and just wait till all the emergency rooms in CA close.. IT IS COMING.

[oneolcop]

“We are going to take California from you just like you took it from us.” -a Mexican man told me one day.

[notaliberal]

It’s the latino family values voters!

[curiosity]

Here's a good article debunking with hard data the 187-is-to-blame conventional wisdom.

[A CA Guy]

In Ronald Reagan's days there weren't that many Latinos compared with today. Also, then the majority of them weren't paid 300% pay to go get a government job or allowed 330% of welfare handouts compared to the hand outs in other states.

California is has the lower classes hands in everyone else's wallet and we are sinking. Many of these newer citizens have no loyalty to the United States IMO because they can step over a line miles off to go home, so there is no reason to not try and confiscate the state treasury.

This state is both a Democrat's wet dream and a broke joke.

[stripes1776]

“We are going to take California from you just like you took it from us.” -a Mexican man told me one day.

Great! They can turn California into the hell-hole of Mexico that they escaped from.

[pallis]

Large percentages of the Latino vote will do for the rest of the country what they are doing for California. If Hispanic families in California can’t understand the economic and cultural damage illegals are having on their state, to their own families, it’s unreasonable to expect things to go differently elsewhere.

Amnesty isn’t the answer. It’s better to follow Jan Brewer’s example in Arizona.

[Rational Thought]

One of the not so subtle tricks of the Liberal Media is to classify Illegal Immigrants as simply Immigrants. Mexicans here legally are not a problem. Mexicans who are here Illegally are a huge problem. For those who live in California, the suggestion that Latinos accounted for only 22% of the vote is laughable.

Brown was running fairly close to Whitman throughout the campaign. Yet, he trounced Whitman. Now, did anyone else happen to question Brown's statement a couple of weeks prior to the election on his stance that children of Illegal Immigrants should be provided a free college education? Just whom was that statement aimed at and why would Brown make such a statement?

The answer certainly appears obvious.

[MBB1984]

Back in Reagan's day, there were far fewer Latinos voting than today. The rise of Latinos dependent upon government handouts has risen exponentially. Add the fact that 50% of Latinos are born out of wedlock and you have a irreversible trend of parasitism and crime.

Mexifornia is coming soon to America.

[Springfield Reformer]

The reality is, the California disease is viral and contagious. As liberal policies fail, liberals who don’t get it leave the state, blaming the failure on individual performance, or lack of cooperation from conservatives, or some other wholly inadequate reason. These infected cells arrive at other relatively healthy states with full voting rights, and proceed to push the new host state ever more in a liberal direction, eventually replicating the failure there. If we surrender California to the left, we expose ourselves to greater infection risk than if we remained in the fight to win it back. We should not abandon California.

[Mr. Mojo]

Back in Ronald Reagan's day, the Latino vote in California was very competitive between Ds & Rs

Yep. In fact, the GOP Presidential nominee won CA in '68, '72, '76, '80, '84, and '88. ...with either majority or pretty evenly divided Latino support. Seem when most Latino (mostly Mexican) families first get here their values are traditional/conservative, but within a generation or two they become infected by liberal ideology, both fiscal and social.

[curiosity]

Would those be the government-teat-sucking illegal immigrant Latino voters in California?

Actually, legals are much more likely to suck the teat than illegals. Asside taking emergency room care and skipping out on the bill, as well as getting free schooling for their kids, there aren't many government programs illegals can access. On the other hand, poor legal immigrants are eligible for nearly all state and federal welfare programs.

That's why low skill legal immigrants of all races are a much, much bigger burden on the taxpayer and a much bigger problem for the GOP in the long-term.

That's why changing our legal immigration policy is just as important as stopping illegal immigration under control.

[curiosity]

In fact, the GOP Presidential nominee won CA in '68, '72, '76, '80, '84, and '88. ...with either majority or pretty evenly divided Latino support.

Not true. Check your facts.

[donna]

Hispanic Family Values?

"Hispanic immigrants bring near–Third World levels of fertility to America, coupled with what were once thought to be First World levels of illegitimacy. (In fact, family breakdown is higher in many Hispanic countries than here.) Nearly half of the children born to Hispanic mothers in the U.S. are born out of wedlock, a proportion that has been increasing rapidly with no signs of slowing down."
Source

The "Prop 187 killed the California GOP" narrative is first based upon a misconceived view of the Republican Party's historic strength in California.

Source

[RJL]

California slit its own throat.

This what the Bush and Rove "comprehensive" immigration reform folks want to import nationwide.

What fools they are.

[chuckee]

Californians voted themselves the double whammy restoring a free spending liberal to the governorship and voting yes in no longer requiring a 2/3 legislative majority to approve the budget only a simple majority. Basically, the bankrupt state voted to dig its own grave. The House must kill all bills that try to backdoor bailout the state. Hopefully, they let it go into default so they learn what the word consequences means.The only way the Feds should agree to guarantee their bonds is if they turn over the fiscal management of the state from the Governor and legislature to an outside body much like NYC had to do in the 70s to clean up their act.