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Charles L. Cotton wrote:

anygunanywhere wrote:Let's just assume for a moment that immigration reform will drive conservative hispanics our way.

Let's also assume that sometime during the next 4 years this reform happens.

The dems get the credit.

In order for the GOP to get the credit we need to be in the white house.

We can't get into the white house without the support of the conservative hispanics.

Catch 22.

Anygunanywhere

I agree in part, especially the credit part. However, I would never support the Democrat version of immigration reform as it will always be an open-door approach with virtually guaranteed U.S. Citizenship at the end of some period of time. What I propose is Republicans start talking about specific reforms (perhaps like those I outlined) right now! Then add it to state and national platforms. The Republican-controlled House needs to pass an immigration reform bill ASAP, before the Democrats can do it in the Senate. If the Senate refuses to pass it, then the Republicans can and should point that out on a frequent basis, all the way up to the mid-term elections. If the Senate does pass the House version, then Republicans will get the credit.

Some Hispanics in the U.S. will not be satisfied with anything but an open-door policy, but most will accept a compromise. Once we get over that hurdle, then we can talk about what unites us instead of what divides us.

Chas.

Charles L. Cotton wrote:

anygunanywhere wrote:The reason hispanics vote democrat is not because they like the dem approach to immigration.

. . .

Immigration reform will not do anything to move them to our side.

Anygunanywhere

This is flat wrong and every political policy expert agrees. This is your opinion and it's wrong.

Chas.

AJHutton wrote:

Charles L. Cotton wrote:I'm a life-long conservative, death penalty-supporting, white Republican and every day that passes I become more of a minority.

Here are the hard cold facts. Obama won, the Democrats pickup seats in the Senate and in the House, and Romney got about all of the white vote possible. If the Republicans couldn't unseat an absolute failure like Obama, and couldn't gain seats in the Senate, then we had better take a hard, cold look at what we are doing wrong.

The Republican Party better start appealing to Hispanics with whom we have a lot in common, or we will not see a Republican in the White House again. We will also see the Democrats take the House and increase their margin in the Senate. Bush won by the slimmest of margins (lost one popular vote) and he was more popular with Hispanics than any Republican candidate in years. If Republicans concede the rapidly growing Hispanic population to the Democrats, then all of us conservatives will simply have to sit back, complain, and reminisce about the "good old days."

If the Republicans had come up with some form of immigration reform, then we would have taken a much larger percentage of the Hispanic vote. White Republicans and Hispanics share a strong family values ethic and we are natural allies. Letting the immigration issue drive them to the Democratic Party is political suicide.

I know some will argue that conservatives didn't go to the polls for Romney, but that's not the case and that's not why we lost. The sad truth is this: conservatives are in the minority and this is happening at an accelerating rate. The only way to revive conservationism is to attract Hispanics and appeal to all educated young people with a message that resonates with them and doesn't simply sound like bitter old white guys.

I know many of our Members aren't going to like this post. Heck, I don't like it myself, but these are the facts and the ostrich approach never works.

Chas.

+1 for this. The climate was ripe for Republicans to get the Hispanic vote too - the President did nothing special to earn that community's vote... in fact he broke his promises to them and they STILL voted for him. Of course, that was kind of the story in general for the nation, wasn't it. Chas is right, Romney maxed out the white vote and it's just not enough any more. The Republicans better take these next few years to start addressing that fact.

TexasCajun wrote: He's going to have to reach across the aisle in order to get anything done.