Hispanics, Obama, and the Republican Future

A lot is being made over the fact that Hispanics--the fastest-growing demographic in the United States--voted overwhelmingly to re-elect President Barack Obama. Indeed, the data shows that about 71 percent of Hispanics voted in favor of an Obama second term. This percentage is made all the more impressive as the number of voting Hispanics continues to grow (see chart below).

Source: http://pewresearch.org/pubs/2353/2012-election-hispanic-vote-latino-voters

But why the big turnout for Obama? A prevailing theory stemming from conservatives, in this case Bill O'Reilly, is that "it's not a traditional America anymore":

The white establishment is now the minority and the voters, many of them, feel that the economic system is stacked against them and they want stuff. You are going to see a tremendous Hispanic vote for President Obama...People feel that they are entitled to things and which candidate, between the two, is going to give them things?

Further, Stuart Varney on Fox Business claimed that "With Obama’s victory, the takers have taken over. The makers are clearly in the minority.”

Might have some Hispanic voters chosen to re-elect Obama due to some Obama phone-like feelings? Possibly. And, probably, so did some whites.

The truth, though, is that Republican view on immigration--in this case highlighted by Mitt Romney's policy ideas--hurt the Republican with Hispanics. To be sure, Romney's "self-deportation" idea, in which illegal immigrants would find conditions in the United States so tough that they would leave the country on their own, turned off the majority of Hispanic voters. In addition, Romney and Republicans were not kind to the idea of making the road to citizenship for illegals easier. This helps explain why Romney received "27 percent Hispanic support, less than any presidential candidate in 16 years."

The oft-mentioned GOP civil war may change this. Senator Marco Rubio and former governor Jeb Bush have been saying for a long time that Republicans must make themselves more attractive to Hispanics if they are ever going to have a chance. But how to do this?

Allowing Puerto Rico to become the 51st state would be an interesting place to start. Second, Republicans could work with Democrats and the Obama administration on making an easier path to citizenship for both legal and illegal immigration. Third, Republicans should end the rhetoric of calling Hispanics "lazy" and willing to take handouts.

All this said, it is important to remember that Hispanics are not one. To be clear, Dominicans do not vote the same as Puerto Ricans who do not vote the same as Cubans. Some lean more conservative and some lean to the left. Thus, a more moderate approach to the Hispanic issue would help the Republicans gain ground in this essential voting demographic.

As GOP strategist Matt Dowd recently said, the GOP is "a ‘Mad Men’ party in a ‘Modern Family’ world." It's time Republicans started acting like it.