The Democrats Shouldn't Count on Hispanics Being the Silver Bullet for a Century of Political Success. Things Change!

President Barack Obama’s executive decision to stop enforcing certain deportation laws was a crass insult to the principle of the separation of powers embodied in the constitution. While he can make a political argument for his position on immigration he cannot defend his lawlessness.

Oh, I know about the so-called academic legal scholars who signed a letter defending his action. You can hire Democrat academics to endorse just about anything. (See Gruber, Jonathan. MIT)

It might be different if the action were taken out of a noble concern for the welfare of the victim class he sought to serve, but it was not. It was raw politics.

The Democrats are convinced that they just created 5 million new Democrat voters. They may be sorry.

Things change.

I am old enough to remember when African-Americans were reliable Republican voters. Those who lived through those years knew first-hand that Jim Crow laws, and even the Ku Klux Klan, were formal policies of Democrat politicians. In many southern states the Democrat Party refused to register African-Americans and they joined the Republican party without any questions asked.

Today they are told every election how bad Republicans will be for their community while they can see with their own eyes the double tragedy of the loss of jobs and hope. The campaign commercials are a lie and they are getting tired of being insulted and taken for granted.

Things change

Throughout the 1950s President Dwight Eisenhower resisted statehood for Alaska. It was a reliably Democrat territory and he was concerned that they may impede his desire to build military installations there. He was interested in statehood for Hawaii first.

Hawaii was reliably Republican, but the political leadership became fearful of the increasing numbers of babies being born of Asian heritage. They saw their electoral advantage being threatened and appealed for statehood.

It was the grand compromise. Alaska became a state in January of 1959 promising not to interfere with the militarization of parts of the state. Hawaii followed seven months later. Within a generation Alaska became a Republican state and Hawaii is dependably Democrat.

Things change.

Though President Obama received over 70 percent of the Hispanic vote in 2012, that vote seems less than firmly tethered to the Democrats.

In what was perhaps the best-run Senate race in the country, Republican Ed Gillespie lost by less than one percent to “safe” Democrat Mark Warner in Virginia though Warner outspent him by more than 2 to 1.

Ed ran an old-fashioned race in this modern media era. First, he enjoyed the campaign and it showed. He went into the Black and Hispanic and Asian communities and campaigned. He took the time to tell them what he believed and how he saw his beliefs shaping a future for his kids and for their kids.

The people he approached could tell that he enjoyed their company and to have the chance to talk to them about his campaign. They were pleased that he cared enough about them to come and ask for their vote.

Gillespie increased the Black and Hispanic vote in his race by more than 50 percent compared to Romney’s vote in 2012. He got half of the Asian vote.

If the Democrats think that they can keep the Hispanic vote “on the reservation” like they have successfully done for 150 years with the Native American Indian and for 50 years with the African-Americans they are going to be surprised.

We all have access to real information now on the Internet. Not all of it is accurate, and some is just fraudulent, but many people get their “news” curated and passed on by friends. It is still the case that the most powerful influence for a vote is the recommendation of a friend. Friends are trusted.

The new generation knows from personal observation that the New York Times, Washington Post and broadcast television cannot be trusted for news. Future generations are less likely to be captured by them like earlier generations were.

We have now lived through 6 years of an administration that identifies Americans by what group they fit in so they can be bought off group by group. It has been successful only in managing to insult all groups equally.

The Hispanics who Mr. Obama believes he has captured for the next century think more highly of themselves and their ability to achieve, than Democrats give them credit for. They will be seeking to be appreciated, not cared for. As they seek appreciation they become more individuals. They will not be voting for folks who only see them as part of a group.

Things change.

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