WP: Bush Is Losing Hispanics' Support, Polls Show

[kskiska]

Surveys Find the Immigration Debate Is Also Alienating White Conservatives

Hispanic voters, many of whom responded favorably to President Bush's campaign appeals emphasizing patriotism, family and religious values in Spanish-language media in 2004, are turning away from the administration on immigration and a host of other issues, according to a new survey.

At the same time, separate polls show that conservative white Republicans are the voting group most hostile to the administration's support for policies that would move toward the legalization of many undocumented immigrants.

Cumulatively, the data underscore the perils for Bush and his party in the immigration debate churning on Capitol Hill, one that threatens to bleed away support simultaneously from the Republican base and from Hispanic swing voters, whom Bush strategists had hoped to make an important new part of the GOP coalition.

A survey of 800 registered Hispanic voters conducted May 11-15 by the nonpartisan Latino Coalition showed that Democrats were viewed as better able to handle immigration issues than Republicans, by nearly 3 to 1: 50 percent to 17 percent. Pitting the Democrats against Bush on immigration issues produced a 2 to 1 Democratic advantage, 45 percent to 22 percent.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/20/AR2006052000964.html

[jerry611]

1. This proves something very clearly...

The business interests are more important to the Republican party than the opinion of their own base.

The GOP is willing to commit political suicide in order to make sure their corporate friends keep that steady flow of slave labor coming into this country.

I read a poll somewhere that said over 75% of conservatives are opposed to Bush's and the Senate's immigration plan.

Wave good-bye to the GOP! :hi:

[sutz12]

32. What are you talking about?

Business interests are his base. The rest is just window dressing to weasel votes from from people he fooled.

The funny part is, with his years as governor of a border state, he should have some credibility on this issue. If he had initiated this, with his plan, a year ago, he probably would have got it. But right now, he is so pathetically weak, he can't get any traction, so he panders to both sides and flops on his ass. :rofl:

[TomInTib]

2. Pop! Goes the Weasel.

As OldLeftyLawyer once said, "George Bush is the only person who could fuck up fucking".

These arrogant fools have bobbed to the surface and are screwing in reverse.

Won't it be interesting to see just how many of these idjits are left in the ol' corral when the dust settles?

[Democracy deth watch]

6. I'll pass on misunderestimating Bush again

Maybe if I keep my expectations low enough I won't be disappointed.

[VegasWolf]

29. Bush can't be "misunderestimated", there are no depths to the stupidity,

worthlessness, soiled his own pants, this crap of a president can sink past. BTW, the election was stolen by mechanisms in Ohio. This is not a year for Presidential elections, so Ohio won't play the spoiler role. But you are right about Bush, he is the worst piece of shit that ever wore the crown.

[stepnw1f]

3. Well , DUH!

I'm sure the Jews didn't care for Hitler either. How fucking ignorant...

[rpannier]

4. Everyone else is

why should hispanics be any different?

[QC]

5. Lay down with dogs, get up with fleas.

Anyone who voted for Bush deserves to be disappointed and will get no sympathy from me.

[Erika]

7. Hispanics come here to improve their family earnings

With the global economy, outsourcing, why shouldn't they do that?

[Hekate]

8. There're large numbers of US-born Latinos who have to be offended...

Bush was wooing them on socially conservative values, patriotism, and the like.

By now he has not only betrayed so much of those values, but he has spent considerable energy whipping up jingoistic fervor aimed at Spanish-speaking brown people. It's not that every Latino in the US is automatically in sympathy with undocumented border-crossers, but they'd have to be blind to not see how this "border security" crap translates into being about people who look like them.

And to cap the hypocrisy, Bush is trying to have it both ways with his half-baked ideas about cheap labor for corporations/guest worker/bracero program.

At a certain point, Latinos in this country have to be asking themselves just how stupid Bush thinks they are.

Nice to see the poll numbers beginning to reflect awareness.

Hekate

[Kolesar]

9. I thought bush* was always in favor of guest-worker or some other such ...

...program for undocumented people to stay in the US and work. That's not "whipping up jingoistic fervor "

[rodeodance]

10. He has basically ignored them -then the House passed a dragonian

bill --with WH input. They are not stupid.

[sadiesworld]

13. Bush supports the Kennedy-McCain bill, earned legalization,

and a guest worker program. Always has. Have you somehow missed his statements about the "work Americans won't do" and "the minutemen are vigilantes"? He's very much at odds with the base (and repubs in the House) over this. The REAL sham is the repub congressmen pandering to the gullible side of the base in anticipation of '06 by talking deportation, etc.. The corporate donors KNOW it is all a sham (which is why they'll continue to donate to the repubs)...in the end the corporatists will get their cheap labor.

[Ms. Clio]

18. According to Sensenbrenner, he was for S's bill before he was against it

Sensenbrenner claims that the White House asked for the more draconian parts of his bill.

[truth2power]

11. And the sun is gonna rise tomorrow...

What did he think was going to happen??

Oh, I'm sorry...I used the word "think" in reference to the pseudoPresident. My bad! :evilgrin:

[Liberty Belle]

12. I just had a meeting with a lady who organized immigrant marches

in San Diego. She tells me there are 80,000 Hispanic immigrants who live in Duncan Hunter's district (the Rep. who authored the bill to build the border wall). She's helped register 8,000 of them to vote -- and there are many more. If we can translate materials into Spanish and mobilize the masses to walk precincts, Hunter could finally be voted out.

This is a powerful constituency that he and many other conservative Reps are ignoring at their peril.

[mucifer]

14. congress is trying to outlaw voter registration in foreign languages.

Pure hate filled crap!

[Zorra]

15. The question is: Why would Hispanic folks EVER support Bu*h, or any

republican for that matter?

What good have republicans ever done for the Hispanic community?

From the OP:

"Hispanic voters, many of whom responded favorably to President Bush's campaign appeals emphasizing patriotism, family and religious values in Spanish-language media in 2004...."

The fact that so many Hispanics supported Bu*h in 2004 indicates that a fairly large number of Hispanics in this country are poorly educated, lack understanding of the English language, and are unaware of US political and social history. Therefore, they are highly susceptible to buying into republican propaganda such as the propaganda spread by Fox News, and far too many of them vote against their own interests and the interests of our country.

Other minorities, like black and native folks, vote overwhelmingly Democratic.

Maybe the DNC should start broadcasting in Spanish, and use these broadcasts to try to drive home the fact to Hispanics that Republicans want to keep them as poor slaves and grind them into the dirt, while Democrats want to give them more opportunity.

[Ms. Clio]

19. Why would any working and middle class whites support Bush?

"The fact that so many (working and middle class whites) supported Bu*h in 2004 indicates that a fairly large number of (working and middle class whites) in this country are poorly educated, lack understanding of the English language, and are unaware of US political and social history. Therefore, they are highly susceptible to buying into republican propaganda such as the propaganda spread by Fox News, and far too many of them vote against their own interests and the interests of our country."

[951-Riverside]

23. I saw quite a few hispanics with Viva Bush stick(er)s on their vehicles

*bleh*

[Ms. Clio]

25. Yeah, and I still see quite a few Anglos with Bush/Cheney stickers

I always turn and look at them, and they are ALWAYS white.

But I have NEVER before or since the election seen a single "Viva Bush" sticker, and I live in a city with a large Latino population. In fact, one evening before the 2004 election, when I was driving through a predominantly Latino part of town, the overwhelming majority of the yard signs were Kerry/Edwards.

And I don't understand this strange need to single out the Hispanic voters? There were also African Americans who voted for Bush because of gay marriage.

[951-Riverside]

26. "I don't understand this strange need to single out the Hispanic voters?"

If you're directing that at me, LOOK AT THE TOPIC!

I'll admit I havent seen that sticker since the election.

[Ms. Clio]

27. again, so what?

The point of this topic is that those voters are probably now LOST for the Repubs.

[Cha]

16. What would we

expect? No brainer!

Never should have had it in the first place.

[fshrink]

17. They (whoever that is) will go to the second most abject.

If you're sick enough to support someone like the Idiot, it'll take more than a disagreement on a detail to make you resistant to demagogy.

[lovuian]

20. The people whoever they are white hispanic etc... are NOT

going to let their children go back to being a third world country...

They have seen where the people go... into poverty...

[LoZoccolo]

21. An apology is in order from all the people who played the race card on DU.

At the same time, separate polls show that conservative white Republicans are the voting group most hostile to the administration's support for policies that would move toward the legalization of many undocumented immigrants.

You can start lining up these humble apologies as replies to this reply.

[rocktivity]

22. Duh, how does immigration "reform" help Hispanic VOTERS?

They're just as vulnerable as losing their jobs to illegal workers as anyone else!

Remember a couple of weeks ago, the Repubs ran ads in Spanish-speaking media blaming the Dems on the initial collaspe of the immigration bill? Stephanie Miller's sidekick Jim Ward was kind enough to translate one of them: "Bone-os nauseos, seniors. El presidente Bush thinks you are mucho stupid-os..."

:headbang:
rocknation

[Hoooweee]

24. this is not a short term loss for them

The only Hispanic demographic they aren't going to lose numbers in is Cuban-Americans.

Putting a fence and troops up at the border for a ginormous version of Red Rover will enuse that the Republican Party will trend more and more to white, male, christians. It's like they're TRYING to become a permanent minority party within two decades or something...

New Mexico, Colorado, and Nevada were dead tight in 2004. Bush's policies could easily put them into the blue and Arizona into a dead heat for 2008. Shit, if this demographic goes this way in two years, we wouldn't even have to campaign in Florida. They could have it. They'd be spending all their money in the Southwest just to stop the bleeding. We'd probably win it anyway thanks to Dean's 50-State party on top of the current trends and then be able to spend he rest winning the other swing states.

[Demeter]

28. Pretty Soon, Down to 2%, Just Like Blacks

Downsize the tent, everybody. We've had some cancellations.

[Up2Late]

30. O.K. Hands of anyone who didn't see this coming!

Hispanic Support for Bush and the GOP was always as big of a puzzle to me as the "Black Republican" always was.

In the RNC's effort to recover the Extreme Right White Racist wing (ERWRW) of the GOP, they committed a massive SNAFU and now the situation is FUBAR.

ERWRW? I'm going to have to work on that one.

[sutz12]

31. Bush initially won the Hispanic vote...

because he and his people convinced them that if they elected Democrats, the D's would outlaw religion.

[opihimoimoi]

33. He is at it again...destroying with his horrid decisions...

Who the fuck let him in there for gods sake???

[told you]

34. Bush is also about to lose..

...the Cubans' support. Want to know why? Check this out:
www.flcoverup.blogspot.com

[zann725]

35. No kidding! That was a no-brainer.His largest 'loyal' base of blue-collar

votes, and he alienates them ALL too!

Smart move for a Prez. with almost NO 'base' at all remaining!