Latinos should not take the blame for Democratic losses. Arturo Dominguez makes it clear why as we dissect his article.
Do not blame Latinos
I was distraught that the Texas Democratic Party took Texas 34th district for granted. They thought they owned the community. Unfortunately, the Republicans had other ideas.
Republican Mayra Flores beat Democrat Dan Sanchez in a heavily Democratic Latino district. Republicans invested heavily to cauterize a growing narrative that, while not true is becoming more true — Latinos are sliding towards the Republican Party.
Arturo Dominguez points out in his recent article at Latino Rebels, “Blaming Latinos for Democratic Political Losses Just Needs to Stop,” that the Chairman of the Democratic Party admitted that they took the district for granted.
“Despite flooding South Texas with over three million dollars in far-right dark money — in a special election called by the Governor at a time specifically chosen to give Republicans an overwhelming advantage — Republicans could barely squeak out a win in CD-34,” Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa said in a statement.
It was not long before some in the Democratic Party and MSM would blame Latinos for the Democratic Congressman’s loss.
Still, now Latinos in South Texas are getting blamed, despite low turnout based on grossly deficient outreach.
We hear it all too often. When Democrats lose in predominantly Latino populations, it’s never the fault of Democrats for failing.
When Biden lost Florida in 2020, the internet went crazy blaming Cubans for the loss despite his winning Cuban strongholds in South Florida. Big names like liberal darling Don Winslow came for us pretty hard, inviting a ton of hate towards Cubans in his replies on Twitter.
Dominguez, in his article, makes it clear that blaming Latinos is a fool’s errand as he points out those who vote massively against their interests.
For a guy like Winslow and his ardent supporters, it’s much easier to blame non-white people for a white-centric society’s failures. Instead of addressing and trying to talk to the majority of white people who vote Republican, Latinos are constantly targeted on social media as if every election hinges on us. The last time I checked, white people still have the most voting power. …
The 2020 presidential election is the perfect example of that. Democrats put all of their focus on courting Latinos in South Florida — giving them wins in Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. The cost of that outreach, however, meant taking losses in places like South Texas. Counties that typically vote Democrat voted for Trump due to unchallenged far-right noise and voter suppression tactics that ranked Texas last in the nation for ease of voting in 2020.
It is easy to wonder if Democrats have any interest in winning 2022. There is so much to work with now. Unfortunately, Democrats fail to engage. Instead of blaming Latinos for Democratic losses, maybe Democrats should ask why Latinos and young black men are open to MAGA, as irrational as it sounds.
Democrats are not engaging and investing in communities they think they own. It is a disrespectful proposition, and Republicans continue to take advantage of it. They pay millions to elitist strategists and consultants to advise them instead of using those funds in the communities that generally support them. Mayra Flores’ win proves that engaging the community works.
Democrats losing, their core demographic is not isolated to Latinos. Father’s Day brought me joy and pain. I found out that one of my extended sons believes things were better under Trump. Worse, he would have considered voting for Trump if he runs. If Republican engagement, social media, and other techniques can get to him and his cohorts, it is clear it is happening throughout America. I got through to him by informing him and dispelling the unending disinformation and misinformation that bombards him courtesy of an engaging GOP. He was oblivious to the truth with corroboration I provided.
Blaming our core groups is not the answer. If Republicans can get to Democrats’ core demographic with disinformation, then Democrats can get to their own base with truth and continuous engagement.
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