Will Latinos Get it Done For Texas Democrats?

[ashling]

http://politic365.com/2012/04/30/will-latinos-get-it-done-for-texas-democrats/

With Latinos quickly becoming the largest demographic group in Texas, there is no shortage of speculation on the political ramifications of that demographic trend.

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Last year the Texas Democratic Party launched an innovative Latino engagement program called the Promesa Project. Through this program, we’re asking young Latinos to give us their promise, or “Promesa”, that they’ll talk to their family and friends about voting Democratic.

That simple premise was the product of two recent findings. First, that today’s young Latinos are increasingly the trusted sources of political information in their families. Second, that the Internet has surpassed television as the main source of news for people under thirty.

We believe that utilizing online outreach layered on top of traditional grassroots techniques will allow us to efficiently increase our vote share among older Latinos, boost Latino turnout among younger Latinos and simultaneously begin an engagement process that will build out Party towards the future.

Time will obviously tell us whose theory is correct. Our project began last year and we’ll be proud to stand by our results in November. Mr. Wilder’s theory will face a crucial test on May 29th and we’ll be anxiously watching to see how his Republican “success stories” fare.

ANTHONY GUTIERREZ serves an advisor to the Texas Democratic Party and other Democratic candidates through his video production and digital media firm, Cadre Media.

[Vogon_Glory]

1. Texas' Latino Population Has The Power To

Texas' Latino population has the power to completely upend the current political equation if they wanted to. A politically-active Texas Latino population with as few as forty percent voter turnout, could make it very dangerous for any current establishment population to cut funding for education and access to healthcare for lower-income Texans or use the old, time-worn Texas Dixiecrat ploys of race-baiting and class division.

The power is there, but it would require millions and millions of individual decisions to use it and start by the elementary steps of registering to vote--even as independents--and finding out about their current representatives' positions even on just a few local issues important to them.

[derby378]

2. It's a start, but aren't the rural counties still predominantly white?

I think there's enough boiling anger over Range Resources and fracking in places such as Parker County that if the TDP just presses a bit in these areas, Big Energy would be in for a rude awakening come Election Day.

That said, I hope the Promesa initiative works.