GOP Threatened By Loss Of Hispanics: Former Governor

Former Governor Jim Edgar says the future of the national Republican Party is threatened by its loss of support in the Hispanic community.

Edgar also said Thursday that Illinois Republicans need candidates who are moderate in order to win races for U.S. Senate and governor in 2010. He added the candidate has to be somebody who can win more than a Republican primary.

Edgar was Illinois' governor for eight years in the 1990s. He was among panelists analyzing Tuesday's election at an event sponsored by the Institute of Government & Public Affairs at the University of Illinois.

Edgar said he is most concerned as a Republican by how strongly Hispanics voted for Democratic President-elect Barack Obama. He said if the GOP lose the Hispanic vote like it has the African-American vote it will be a minority party forever.

Comments

[unscum]

Latinos are the future of the democratic party. As the GOP, through it's ideological fanaticism, disintegrates into an older, whiter, southern party. The democrats shouldn't screw things up by adopting policies that will alienate this community, much like the republicans did during the Bush years.

[dcrinaz]

You said it very well. But after the election, you'd be surprised how many fear that they will be ignored. There is a common feeling that Democrats take us for granted and that in spite of our loyal voting, we are ignored. Well, let's get the dream act going, a real immigration policy that is humane and serves the employment needs of our businesses while protecting all workers' rights and includes some form of amnesty. Most importantly, LET'S GET THE DREAM ACT WITH A PATH TO RESIDENCY FOR THOSE BROUGHT HERE AS CHILDREN PASSED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!

[dcrinaz]

Republican politico Jim Edgar fear about the GOP losing support among the Hispanics is unfounded because the vast majority of Hispanics have NEVER supported the GOP.

Perhaps Mr. Edgar does not understand that Hispanics are not a community but a mosaic of many communities; we're the original E Pluribus Unum. One might find one community among us, like old Cuban-Americans who are still resentful about Fidel Castro, supporting Republicans, but let me assure you, the bulk of Hispanos, the Mexicans, and Puerto Ricans, do not and never have supported Republicans.

Ironically, the newer Hispanic immigrants might have been easy to recruit into the Republican party because of their family values and conservative Christian beliefs. But since so many of these immigrants were undocumented, they became the scapegoat of the white supremacist wing dominating the Republican party. In addition, Republican support of ethnic cleansing in places like Arizona, where Republican law enforcement officials routinely use racial profiling against dark-skinned people, has alienated U.S.-born Hispanics. So, by practicing racism, Republicans guaranteed that the vast majority of Latinos would reject them. One reaps as one sows.

Unfortunately, the party we Hispanics do support, does not always support us, as is currently evident by a lack of discussion about reforming immigration law and about the continual human rights violations against Hispanics being pursued by Republican officials in concert with federal Immigration services. Hopefully, P-E. Obama will work quickly to neutralize the modern Bull Connors plaguing the Southwest today.

[politigal]

The Republican Convention showed the "diversity" of the Republican Party- 92% - White- 5% - Hispanic and 3% - Black. Hardly representative of the true racial mix of this great country.
Tho I can honestly say that the idea of them being the Minority Party for a long time to come has great appeal!

[naschkatze]

Someone recently posted here, a real Latino, said that "Hispanic" is the word the Republicans use. So, HuffPo I am sure you used it because you were actually quoting one (Republican) and that you will use the preferred word Latino in your own posts.

[bintalshamsa]

Maybe if they stopped blaming Latin@s for everything but global warming, the Republicans might have a better chance at attracting them to their party. As long as they allow their party to be run by folks who use immigrants, especially Latin@ immigrants, as scapegoats for the state of the economy and the lack of job security, they are proving that they don't really care about the needs and interests of minorities.

[margardner]

Viva Obama!

Solamente quiero dar las gracias al Senador Barack Obama por presentarnos una campana respetosa y con entegridad. Tambien las gracias a todos los Latinos que votaron para Obama. Estamos en un momento muy dificil como Latinos, pero Obama es inteligente y como marcho en Chicago, Illinois para ayudar nuestra gente, yo se que el President Obama va ser los que puede en estos tiempos dificiles para nuestra communidad.