The Hispanic Republican Conference of the Texas House of Representatives endorsed Governor Rick Perry for President of the United States – before most anyone had even considered his running.
Didn’t anyone tell them they aren’t even supposed to be Republicans?
If Texas is any judge, it looks like this stereotype may be losing traction, and writing off Hispanics as a lost voting bloc is a mistake in any campaign. “Hispanics are Republicans,” Ronald Reagan once said, “they just don’t know it.”
Who stands to gain from this? Rick Perry.
The fact is, Hispanics do vote Republican – the number may even be increasing – and the Lone Star State is the perfect case study. Lionel Sosa, a nationally recognized media consultant out of San Antonio, said, “This is a new revolution that is happening in Texas.”
According to the 2010 census, Hispanics make up over a third of the state’s population, and growing. Republicans gained five Hispanic representatives in the 2010 elections, and they comprise a powerful force in the legislature. Similarly, the percentage of Hispanics voting Republican or intending to vote Republican has increased, growing from just 8% in 1978 to nearly 40% in 2010.
As the leader of what some might call a demographically oxymoronic state that votes overwhelmingly Republican but boasts a substantial minority population, Governor Perry has had to maintain a delicate balance. Some have criticized Perry for perceived inconsistencies on immigration reform (a hot-button issue, but certainly not the only topic of importance to Hispanics), and others point to his tepid reception at a prominent Latino convention last month.
But Perry has done a remarkable job of winning the Hispanic vote, taking a sizable 39% in 2010. “I support Governor Perry because of the traditional values he stands for,” says Geoffrey Tahuahua, a young Hispanic conservative who serves as State Chairman of the Texas Students for Rick Perry. “The values of the Republican Party are the same values that the Hispanic community holds near and dear to its heart, and I am proud to support him.” And with President Obama’s approval rating having dropped significantly among Hispanics, that number could grow in 2012, should Perry choose to run.
The fact is, Perry resonates with voters, regardless of race. If he can do nationally what he’s been doing in Texas, y’all had better get ready. This is shaping up to be one heck of a campaign season.
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Comments
Two points:
1) Texas has always had a substantial Hispanic population, and even in the bad old days of “lazy Meskins” a Texas Governor couldn’t ignore them. Texas Hispanics maintain family and friendship ties with the folks in the Old Country. No Governor of Texas is ever going to satisfy the more extreme of the close-the-borders crowd.
2) The policy proposals of the Democratic Party aim to replicate, here, the socioeconomic system most Hispanic immigrants fled: an entrenched oligarchy using vaguely pseudo-Marxist rhetoric to glom onto every cent that moves. Not a few Hispanics have begun to notice that, which I for one consider a good thing.
Regards,
Ric
“…immigration reform…certainly not the only topic of importance to Hispanics..” Thank God, someone finally pointed this out! Perhaps the Democrat’s monotonic “Hispandering” will eventually be recognized for what it is…
1. The fact is, Perry resonates with voters, regardless of race. If he can do nationally what he’s been doing in Texas, y’all had better get ready.
Y’all?
2. Also OT: I like this new site but miss Blogger’s preview feature, especially when I make a hyperlink.
Unnhhh….not as easy as that, Professor.
Note that GWB’s Hispanic vote was not overwhelming (max of ~40%) and that McCain didn’t even get close to that.
While many Conservatives would LIKE to believe that the Hispanic vote is (R), it simply hasn’t been so, and there’s no reason to think it will change.
Perry has always been perceived as pro-amnesty ala Bush. If he is plan B for the Rovian progressive interests, you can bet that he made a deal to push for “comprehensive” immigration reform aka blanket amnesty triggering an even bigger wave of illegal immigration.
Only in the minds of the painfully uninformed.
Perry is the only governor of a border state that has actually put crack state troops on the border with an order that if they are shot at from the Mexican side, they shoot back, which the Texas Ranger Recon squad recently did, killing two Mexican slugs on the Mexican side of the border.
If you are anti-Rove, you should be in love with Rick Perry. They have no love for each other and that is obvious with the establishment Republicans (Rove) telling Rick he needs to stop disagreeing with Bush policies.
The Pew Hispanic Research Center reported that in 2008, 30% of Hispanics voted Republican. Just two short years later, in the 2010 elections, that number had inceased to 38%. That is on a national level.
In 2010, Francisco Canseco, Republican, ran against Ciro Rodriquez, Democrat, in a district that is solidly blue and a Hispanic majority district since that particular district emcompasses almost 3/4th of the Texas counties that border Mexico. Canseco won. Bill Flores, another Texas Hispanic Republican, defeated Chet Edwards who Policito clamied could not be defeated. Ted Cruz is the hands on favorite to win the seat being vacated by Kay Bailey Hutchison.
Marco Rubio is bringing pride to all Hispanics in every state. He is their success story. And he is a Republican who can relate to all Hispanics, no matter their country of origin. A simple addition jump of 7 points in the percentage of Hispanics voting Republican will put a Republican in the Oval Office on January 20, 2013.
And don’t fall into the trap of thinking the Hispanic vote is monolithic. It’s not. Hispanics understand that our pourous borders affect them more adversely than the rest of our society. It is in their neighborhoods the illegal thugs hide in plain sight. The Tejanos of El Paso are fully aware that the bullets fired from the Mexican side that hit the El Paso City Hall could have just as well landed on one of their children playing in their front yards. They also understand that it is them, second and third generation Americans, whose jobs are being taken by illegals.
In your comment, you actually prove one of the main points of the blog post. Rick Perry received 39% of the Hispanic vote in Texas in 2010 and won. George W. Bush received about 40% of the Hispanic vote nationwide in 2004 and won. John McCain received only 29% of the Hispanic vote nationwide in 2008 and lost. Like many in the electorate, Hispanic voters are turning away from Obama. If Perry can perform nationally as he has in his home state, winning 4 out of 10 Hispanic votes, we may be calling him President not Governor Perry.
Above comment meant to be directed to dad29.
Au contraire. What does Bush or McCain have to do with Rick Perry popularity among the Hispanics? It’s Rick Perry that causes the Hispanics to vote Republican, You didn’t offer any substantiation of your statements, no statistics, no facts just your opinion whereas Katie offered fact after fact after fact.Republican is the party of Abraham Lincoln whereas Democrat is the party of who? Uh, Rosie O’Donnell, LesbianGayTransgender, Saul Alinskyites like Clinton and Ubama, Rainbow Coalition, Jesse Jackson,Al Sharpton, Jeremiah Wright,yeah. Why wouldn’ Hispanics who value family, freedom, right to work, and religious observance freedom vote Republican? Obviously because of values.
Thanks Katie for another eloquently true and elegantly written expose on Governor Perry.
Au contraire. What does Bush or McCain have to do with Rick Perry popularity among the Hispanics? It’s Rick Perry that causes the Hispanics to vote Republican, You didn’t offer any substantiation of your statements, no statistics, no facts just your opinion whereas Katie offered fact after fact after fact.Republican is the party of Abraham Lincoln whereas Democrat is the party of who? Uh, Rosie O’Donnell, LesbianGayTransgender, Saul Alinskyites like Clinton and Ubama, Rainbow Coalition, Jesse Jackson,Al Sharpton, Jeremiah Wright,yeah. Why wouldn’ Hispanics who value family, freedom, right to work, and religious observance freedom vote Republican? Obviously because of values.
Thanks Katie for another eloquently true and elegantly written expose on Governor Perry.
Sorry for highjacking this thread about Rick Perry, but since we’re talking about Texas Hispanic conservatives, it seems like a good time to bring up Ted Cruz.
George Will wrote a column a month or so ago titled, “In Ted Cruz, A Candidate As Good As It Gets”.
Ted Cruz is a Hispanic guy from Texas who is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Kay Bailey Hutchison. After I finished reading George Will’s column, I thought to myself this guy is a alot like Marco Rubio, a rising star for conservative Republicans but from Texas. I suspect Tea Partyers are going to get behind his candidacy in a big way. Keep your eye on Ted Cruz.
Here’s Will’s profile of Cruz including his moving life story:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/in-ted-cruz-a-candidate-as-good-as-it-gets/2011/06/14/AGdrmWWH_story.html
Very nice post that deserves a thoughtful answer. I’m working on one.
I need to learn more about Perry, but he looks pretty good at this point.
Having lived in Colorado for over 30 years, I have always been perplexed about the state of Hispanic politics. It seemed to me that the Hispanic leaders, particularly in the Denver City Council, had embraced corruption for quite some time and preached victimhood to their community. Then again, when I looked at many of my neighbors in the Hispanic community, there were many of them who were extremely hard workers who were really interested in advancement – and this was true of quite a few of them.
Perhaps we are now seeing that the Hispanics who are prone towards achievement, the ones who join our military in great numbers and the ones who go to work and exhibit exemplary work ethics and diligence, are beginning to ask themselves if they want to go down in flames like the black community has by following the Democratic Party, or if they want to advance like many in the Asian community.
I think the verdict is still out on this one, however, I am heartened to see Hispanics that want to assimilate, embrace that which has made America great and take the fibers of their greatness and now weave them into the fabric of America, instead of embracing the MEChA, La Raza, Aztlan, Reconquista crowds.
Time will tell, but with people like Marco Rubio out there, I am hopeful for them.
Message from Texas … don’t count on the Mexicans. Believe me, these folks have every intention of getting on the government tit at every opportunity. They come from an entitlement/feudal culture and they intend to milk the American system for everything they can get.
Of course Rick Perry was an Al Gore supporter. But many influential conservatives are those who have seen the light (eg. David Mamet)
He seems to be a good governor and Texas has done well under his stewardship. He will have to stand up to being Alinskied.
There is going to be a battle royal for the GOP nomination. I expect it will be a fight between Perry, Palin and Romney. But the Mittster’s time has passed. All of the other candidates have fallen by the wayside, are falling by the wayside or will fall by the wayside. If Perry declines it will be Palin and the Mittster. Perry will be the GOP establishment’s anti-Palin candidate. I wonder about the marketability of another Texan for President.
I expect Palin is going to have unexpected crossover appeal to surprising demographics including Hispanics and even some conservative black families. She fits a model found in their communities of rock solid hard working women.
GOING ROGUE, GOING PALIN
Cuando lo rebelde es ser conservador
LA ENTREVISTA DE NEWSWEEK
Palin planea su próximo movimiento
“Sarah Palin no ha entrado en la carrera por la Casa Blanca (todavía), pero cree que el premio está ahí para quien lo quiera coger. En una conversación con Peter J. Boyer, Palin advierte a Boehner que no eleve el techo de la deuda, proclama que Obama es vencible y dice que la competencia por 2012 está lejos de estar completa.
“Nosotros no hacemos publicidad de a dónde vamos”, dijo Palin, quien regresó a su casa de Wasilla, Alaska, después de una serie de apariciones multitudinarias por todo el país.”
GoingPalin
“Dentro del Partido Republicano estadounidense, y sobre todo una vez que terminó la presidencia de George W. Bush y sus funestos compassionate conservatives, veo a Sarah Palin como la figura que mejor encarna esos valores en los que creo, de acuerdo con sus declaraciones públicas y contrastadas con lo que fue su actuación como gobernadora del estado de Alaska.
No niego que puedan existir dentro del Partido Republicano estadounidense otras figuras tan o más valiosas que Sarah Palin, pero ahora mismo, y eso es algo que debemos agradecer sin reparos a John McCain, es ella la única que disfruta de la proyección nacional necesaria para suponer un rival creíble para el actual presidente de los Estados Unidos.
En consecuencia, de poder yo votar en las próximas elecciones presidenciales estadounidenses, Sarah Palin sería ahora mismo mi elección y es a ella a quien dirijo actualmente toda mi atención. Si en algún momento, alguna de estas premisas se revela falsa, me comprometo a clausurar inmediatamente el blog, ya que a partir de entonces carecería de sentido.”
America is Ready!
El primer libro publicado en español sobre Sarah Palin
Bubok
Rick Perry Candidacy Would Help Republican Outreach to Latinos: http://www.christianpost.com/news/rick-perry-candidacy-would-help-republican-outreach-to-latinos-52654/