THE GOP'S HISPANIC OPPORTUNITY

Governor Susana Martinez of New Mexico

Amid the speculation about what went wrong for Mitt Romney and the GOP this election cycle were several articles and on-air opinions regarding the impact of Hispanic voters, both now and going forward.  Almost immediately there were calls by prominent Conservatives to take a second look at comprehensive immigration reform, including some sort of of "amnesty."  Others went in the opposite, negative direction and pointed out that neither a shift on immigration policy nor promoting GOP Hispanic politicians nor even appeals to common core values would be able to significantly change the current status quo.

For the record, I am not one of those who believe that Romney's defeat was the result of "demographics" in this election cycle.  Romney's failure to match even McCain's vote total in 2008 indicates that the election was lost when white Republicans failed to turn out for Romney. Nevertheless, steps must be taken by the GOP to increase its outreach to Hispanic voters in preparation for future battles with the Left regarding the future of our country.

For me, the best advice I've read so far on this topic was written by Rachel Campos-Duffy, wife of Wisconsin Congressman Sean Duffy.  In her National Review article she writes:

First, let's start with the facts. Hispanics rank immigration fourth in their list of concerns, behind the economy, education, and health care. Obama has actually deported more Hispanics than any other president. Hispanics simply perceive him as caring more about them, and this is more an issue of style than of substance.

Hispanics start businesses at twice the rate of the general population. They are entrepreneurial and naturally averse to governments that breed economic stagnation, which stands in the way of the upward mobility they seek. They've experienced centralized, dysfunctional, crony government in their countries of origin, and they know it doesn’t lift anyone out of poverty.

I agree with her on the idea that there really is no solid reason for Obama to have received 71% of the Hispanic vote.  George W. Bush received 44% of the Hispanic vote during his successful reelection campaign in 2004.  Needless to say, if Romney had been able to duplicate that performance last week he'd be busy putting together his transition team and looking forward to his inauguration.

The Democrats want to believe that they've got the Hispanic vote permanently locked down and that demographic shifts in the electorate spell doom for the GOP in the future.  This, of course, is merely wishful thinking on their part.  The Hispanic community in the United States is far too diverse to ever be tied to one party or another.  And there's no reason why the GOP can't do a much better job of attracting Hispanic voters for future elections.

There are three Hispanic members of the U.S. Senate and two of them (Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas) are members of the GOP.  There are two Hispanic governors (Brian Sandoval of Nevada and Susana Martinez of New Mexico), both of whom belong to the GOP.  Martinez, who was once a Democrat, is also the first female Hispanic governor in U.S. history.  A third GOP Hispanic governor, Luis Fortuño of Puerto Rico, suffered defeat in his reelection bid last week.  These are just some of the party's deep bench of future contenders.  But we need many more. 

Campos-Duffy outlines the reasons why Hispanics, particularly those living in large immigrant enclaves, tend to lean to the Left:

Hispanics come to America for the American Dream. They are “trabajadores,” and you would be hard pressed to find an American farmer, contractor, or restaurant owner who would not testify to their work ethic. Unfortunately, the communities in which they live and work are teeming with liberal activists: farm and service-industry labor unions, well-intentioned community-based social services providers and more radical and racially motivated Latino groups such as La Raza, LULAC, and Mecha. In addition, the curricula their kids encounter in public schools are either hostile or silent on the Founding Fathers, the Constitution, and ideas that are the foundation of conservative thinking. All of these activist groups and institutions have a common ideology and an affinity for big and centralized government, and of course, entitlements. They go out of their way to sign folks up and to begin the cycle of government dependency. Once hooked to the IV of government handouts, a steady drip of ideology, and a heavy dose of raunchy pop culture, the once vibrant American Dreams and traditional family values of Hispanics drift into a slow, deep coma.

The sad fact is that these activists operate unimpeded. The voices of economic freedom, personal responsibility, and self-determination are virtually nonexistent in Hispanic communities and media. The Catholic Church, a potential counter to these secular and socialist ideas, tends to place its most liberal priests in these communities. Thus, the “social justice” mantra so effectively co-opted by the Left in the Obama/Soros era is often reinforced in the churches Latinos attend.

Meanwhile, since Republicans and conservatives prefer D.C. think tanks and expensive ad buys to the long, hard, dowdy work of community organizing, we’ve effectively ceded these communities and the culture that surrounds them to the Left. We simply aren’t playing. And we’re either too lazy, or enamored with quick fixes, or overwhelmed by the task, to begin the work.

But here is Campos-Duffy's blueprint for the long-range task of bringing a greater number of Hispanics into the GOP:

In the long term, education on American history, economic freedom, and the principles behind conservatism must be a part of the playbook if we want to make lasting inroads. The Libre Initiative, a new organization dedicated to educating Hispanics on the benefits of free-markets and limited constitutional government, has begun the work. Likewise, Hillsdale’s highly successful (and free) online Constitution courses are an excellent model of how we can do it in a cost-effective manner. Soon, over a million people will have taken Hillsdale’s courses.

At the same time, in our zeal to promote the economic advantages of our principles, we must not shy away from the social issues. When we highlight our position on abortion and traditional marriage, we spotlight the secular and radical social agenda of the Left, an agenda that is foreign and antithetical to Hispanics’ values.

This is not easy work. Educating children and their parents on the universal messages of free enterprise and self-determination takes money. So does grooming political talent within the community and training and hiring Latino surrogates to bring the message to Spanish- and English-speaking media. Building community coalitions with pro-life groups and pro-business groups takes time. It also takes time to earn the trust of Hispanics and to see the fruits of our work in the dreams of their children. But make no mistake — we can do this.

The countdown to the 2014 mid-term elections has already begun, not to mention the long road to 2016.  There's plenty of work to be done but it is worth the doing!