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60% of America is white, and a substantial percentage of Latinos identify as white. What do those numbers tell you objectively?
I continue to be baffled by our reporting. We continue to interpret issues on a very superficial level. The post-mortem of the catastrophic 2012 loss Republicans suffered was summarized as a party demographically out of line with the country. In other words, the Republican Party’s most significant constituency is white people in general and white males specifically.
While the statement is true, it is very shortsighted. Human beings respond to one of two things, irrational fear or policies that materially affect them.
Republican policies have been provably bad for the middle class. One needs to examine a few charts to see that supply-side economic policies have caused a substantial transfer of wealth from the middle class to the wealthy. Moreover, their policies caused the decimation of worker unions, leaving the worker with no bargaining power with the employer. These policies depress wages, savings, and access to wealth. Yet, the media gives no substantive coverage to how these policies affect the middle class in the mainstream media. Instead, “fear” stories continue to permeate the mainstream media.
Republicans instigated a fear of a healthcare law with misrepresentations that give the fears plausibility even though the law is significantly better than the status quo. And it saves lives. The GOP instigated fear in the formation of unions, the institution of responsible regulations, and increased taxes on the wealthy with the false claim they kill jobs. These lies worked with a plurality of the electorate. They need to play the race card, the fear of the other to close the deal.
While many believe the anti-immigrant stance would be the death knell of the Republican Party, I beg to differ. Whenever one mentions immigration, many think of Latino immigration. They treat Latinos as a homogeneous race instead of a cluster of convenience. The reality is the same racial issues we exhibit in America proper they also demonstrate among those Latinos, whether they are from Cuba, Mexico, Panama, or the Dominican Republic. The reality is that 53% of Latinos are white. While the Latino population will continue to grow, that percentage is unlikely to change. As more Latinos assimilate into the predominant American culture, they will migrate to whatever the country’s racial reality is at that time.
Governor Mitt Romney presented a 5-point plan that protected the rich’s wealth and income and claimed to create jobs and balance the budget, which seemed plausible to many even though there was no meat on the bones of the plan. President Obama presented a “balanced approach” to job creation and budget deficit reduction that included increasing taxes on the wealthy, which seemed plausible to many. The 2012 election’s tipping point seemed to be who could instill the most fear in the voters. In this election, the Republicans successfully made the wrong ones fearful.
The attack on a woman’s rights and her body was not racial. The attempt at voter suppression woke up the carnal fears of those who had been denied that right for centuries. The attack on immigrants was on anyone who recently came here or empathized with friends and relatives who wanted to be here.
Those who continue to think that Democrats can somehow get a baked-in majority or lasting political power with this “new reality” better think twice. The white American population is diverse with liberal and conservative values. So is the Latino population. When we remove the element of fear from them, they will exhibit the various behavior and voting preferences of the typical American. Latinos are generally more religious and conservative on issues like abortion which makes them easy pickups for Republicans when their culturally ignorant members die out or when the economy becomes robust.
Numbers matter. As of 2019, America was 60.1% Non-Hispanic White, 18.5% Hispanic, 12.2% Black, 5.6% Asian, 2.8% multiracial, and 0.9% other.
In 2020 20% of Latinos self-identified as white, down from 2019 when 65% identified as white. That fluidity should tell us something significant. That population is up for grabs depending on how the wind is blowing. But when it comes to growth, this at best says that the white population will decline slower than advertised but likely will remain constant or grow depending on the whim of Latino self-classification.
Democrats need to take this time and understand who the genuine swing voters are. White people will be the only swing voter in America for the foreseeable future. Why? Because as the most populous subset, they can be more effectively programmed. When one sears unjustified fears in their psyche, there is a more considerable subset to work with for the foreseeable future. As such, it is in the best interest of Democrats that as Republicans start fighting for Latinos (likely the white ones), Democrats start fighting to bring more white men (and women) into their ranks. A party perceived to be the party of minorities that will disregard a subset of the population will be used as a tool to further mislead people into voting against their interests as they justify joining an evil party where racism and fascism are their foundational tenets.
The above reality is likely not a popular sentiment for Democrats or Progressives. But as a Democrat and Progressive who wants to win, I want a fact-based winning formula, not hunch-based or wish-based. Study the numbers. Most importantly, remember that Trump got more votes in 2020 than Hillary Clinton did in 2016. And Latinos are starting to break from Democrats. As a Progressive, I include everyone and will fight for every vote. I will speak to everyone’s fear, real or imagined. While America is racial and racist, one has to start the transition and destroy the construct; else, it will kill us all.
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