Aren't immigrants from Latin America more likely to be Republican?

[Pryderi]

Does anyone know?

[marmar]

1. Cuba, perhaps....

But I'm not too sure that holds true for people hailing from the rest of Latin America. Latinos, as a whole, vote Democratic more than Repug.

[demosincebirth]

30. Cubans are the exception. They came here for different reason

than Mexican immigrants. They came here with their "loot" made off the backs of the cuban poor.
Mexican immigrants know "which side their bread is buttered on."

[JohnKleeb]

2. No and either way thats beside the point

If we are going to welcome immigrants in we shouldn't be thinking about their political ideology..

[smtpgirl]

6. That is what

Republicans do, recruit, recruit, recruit

[JohnKleeb]

8. I think Bush wants to try to get Latino support

for the GOP. I agree too. I believe Jon Stewart mentioned that when he was interviewing I forget who it was some GOP pundit. Whether these immigrants agree with us on political issues is beside the point. These people deserve to be welcomed to America with dignity.

[babylonsister]

13. John, I get where that question was coming from. The massive

marches we've seen begs the question: who will the legal residents vote for? There are many in number, and that will be an issue. What were their past voting habits, their future ones, and who's winning the war of ideas? Repugs are just as curious, trust me.

[JohnKleeb]

16. I know, sorry it just reminded me of the Catholic thing last night

I've gone to school with many of these immigrants and they seem like everyone to be diverse. Its all good.

[babylonsister]

20. Dang, I musta missed

the Catholic thing last night.
Being diverse is excellent, and what makes America America. :)
P.S. I'm a product of immigrants; who isn't?

[JohnKleeb]

23. Someone basically accused the Vatican of

taking the human rights road on the immigrants because they thought these immigrants were pro lifers and would thus vote Republican even though the church has always been like this ever since my ancestors got here and yes tehy were Catholic. Yep diversity really is what makes America America.

[babylonsister]

28. I can see why that would piss you off. The churches in general used

to be about 'for the people'. The Catholic church did come out to support immigrants and it had nothing to do with pro-life.
It is too bad they're not as understanding about many other issues. And I'll stop there.
But I applaud anyone who is speaking for the people!

[JohnKleeb]

31. I strongly disagree with the church on abortion and gay rights

However, they're not doing this for political gain at all. Catholics faced a rough time when they first got here because of fears that they would if elected to high offices be the pope's puppets.

[babylonsister]

33. I disagree also. I'm happy about their support of immigrants, but

I have issues with their stand on abortion and gay rights.
I have a very Catholic sister-in-law (she 'used to be' Catholic), who got her marriage annulled, for a certain amount of $, even though she had a son. Her husband was slime, but why should it have cost her to get out of it?
Anyway, everyone finds their comfort, or not, wherever it makes sense.

[demosincebirth]

34. You know as well as I do, John, that its not true.

The Church has always, and still is, in the forefront of helping immigrants. It just happens that immigrants from Latin America happen to be Catholic.

[JohnKleeb]

41. Yep

Its not a political thing at all as some are saying. The Catholic church was also very strongly pro labor too, I know that the late Pope was very supportive of Solidarity in Poland and furthermore many union memebrs such as my great grandfathers were Catholic.

[Xipe Totec]

18. I Think they're Pissed at both parties right now

The numbers are likely to swing in favor of the Dems, but let me tell you it's not a slam dunk.

Judging by some of the posts I've seen on DU lately, it's getting hard to tell the difference between the left and the right on the issue of immigration.

Frankly, it's made me feel unwelcome.

[babylonsister]

38. Please don't feel unwelcome. I am fairly surprised myself,

but I have a husband who thinks it's not a bad thing to do away with Muslims. One of our best friends is a Muslim woman. How stupid is that? He's bought into that frame of mind, and lives with ME!

[AlphaCentauri]

40. Latinos may emerge as an independent vote

Latinos see social justice as a priority, and for most of them gay's rights and abortion are not big issues since they are more focus on the family cell, than in making abortion a birth control pill or segregating gays.

[demosincebirth]

32. Not to worry.

If and when they become citizens, 85% will vote democratic. I know, I live among them.

[smtpgirl]

3. maybe not anymore

[Fountain79]

4. not necessarily...

Although many do tend to be socially conservative, that doesn't automatically mean that they align themselves with the Republican Party. I think among Latinos living in the United States, the majority votes Democrat however Cubans, particularly older Cubans tend to align more with the Republicans. In my family's case the majority of them are Republicans.

[paineinthearse]

5. Immigrants are to, emigrants are from. nt

[TomInTib]

7. That held true until a couple of years ago.

Educated Mexicans had placed a great deal of trust and hope in Vicente Fox.

Nowadays, there is much disillusionment in the land.

As far as illegals are concerned, they have been screwed so badly by PRI and Fox they trust no one.
But they don't vote.

[Fountain79]

12. Correction they can't and should not vote....

at least not here anyway. Personally I think Fox has done a decent job with the situation in Mexico. His is trying to undo some 70+ years of corruption and indimidation at the hands of the PRI. I remember distinctly watching the PRI campaign commercials when I was in Mexico and thinking...."my god this party has no shame".

[TomInTib]

Fox's ship will sink with *'s.

I know very few people in Mexico who think he has accomplished much at all.

Unfortunately, PRI is poised for a comeback.

[Fountain79]

24. Again...

It will take a long time for Mexico to undo the damage the PRI has caused. Do you realize that until Fox, the President of Mexico could not be mocked on television? (SNL type)

[TomInTib]

26. I am very aware of that. And I believe PRI is two cycles, at most,..

away from reclaiming power.

This immigration thing is just as risky for Fox as it is deadly for the GOP.

One thing that got Fox elected was the perception that his wagon was hitched to gwb. And Fox was glad to play that card.

I know Mexicans who were in tears because they thought the nightmare of the PRI was over and that Fox was going to usher in a bright new day.
After all, had not his good friend, gwb, promised that, if elected, immigration laws would be greatly relaxed and that amnesty was on the horizon?

BTW, my family has been in Texas for close to 400 years. I hate PRI for what it did to a fine country. But reality is what it is.

Fox is screwed and immigration will only increase. There is nothing that will work.

[0007]

9. They're all repukes here in West Texas.

[Inland]

10. No, nobody knows.

For one, latin america is a big place. For two, immigration is self selecting.

[Zen Democrat]

11. Not any more.

The Hispanics have been very pro-military and supported Republicans for that reason. Remember, many immigrants, children of undocumented Hispanics, have joined the military and came out good little Republicans.

I think Iraq began to open their eyes. The last few weeks have opened their minds and hearts. The vast majority of Hispanics -- citizens, legal residents, and undocumented workers -- will remember the House Bill and the Republican talk-show maggots championing it and making ugly racial slurs along the way.

The Spanish-speaking television and radio programs are getting the truth out.

As for English-speaking talk radio, I briefly heard Sean Hannity this afternoon and he was denouncing Ted Kennedy for speaking Spanish at the rally in Washington yesterday. This kind of thing will be long remembered.

[RagingInMiami]

14. No

My family lives in Colombia and they hate Bush. I live in Miami, home to immigrants from all over Latin America, and the only ones who tend to be republican are the Cubans. And that is just the Cubans who've been here for several decades.

The new Cubans can go either way as well as the younger Cubans who were born to the Cuban immigrants. The new Cubans don't like Bush because he made it harder for them to send money back to Cuba.

And the old Cuban republican hardliners are fading away as we speak.

[Breeze54]

15. I found this...

http://www.nclr.org/content/publications/detail/28218
How Did Latinos Really Vote in 2004?
From The National Council of La Raza: Publications:

Click here for NCLR's analysis of the Latino vote in the 2004 election
http://www.nclr.org/files/28218_file_NCLR_HOW_DID_LATINOS_REALLY_VOTE_IN_2004_revised_final_1_05.pdf

[TexasProgresive]

19. Around here they a democrats but they

don't have good voting habits.

[Pryderi]

29. Looks like they've been trending republican since 1992.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

17. The Right Wing xenophobes have ended that inclination.

The (not so) thinly veiled racism and fearmongering during the demonstrations and immigration bill debates have managed to turn Hispanics to turn against the Republicans for, probably, generations.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

21. Not Sure Of The Root Of That Ridiculous Sentiment. Not Sure Why The

fuck it matters either, with all due respect.

It's hard to take questions like this or their intent towards discussion seriously.

[Marie26]

22. No. Cuban emigrants are, though.

[The Backlash Cometh]

25. The top 10% of latin American countries will probably be Republican

If what you're doing is looking for over-generalizations, I'm in the mood to give you what you want. In latin America, there is a huge exploitation of human labor, the kind that George Bush only dreams of for this country. My cousin who had a civilian job working for the U.S. military could afford a nanny, a cook, a cleaning lady and a maid and an ironing lady. The ironing lady came once a week or so. Though, I don't really know how much of this actually came out of her U.S. salary, because her mother was in real estate and was very politically connected. These people, who get very, very use to hiring other people to do their mundane work for them at very cheap prices, come to America and fit in with Republican values because they know how much better their lives will be when they can get Americans to do the same kind of mundane things that poor latin Americans did for them back home.

That leaves the rest of the 90% of latin Americans. They will tend to be Democrats in their beliefs but may not connect with the U.S. Democratic party right away. Not if the Republicans manage to spin them first, or if the Democratic leadership in their area is too corrupt to convince them that they will represent them properly.

That's it in a nutshell.

[VPStoltz]

27. It would seem they don't know which way to turn.

Now, there is a move to make those hiring "illegals" criminals themselves. Just how many Repuke businesses hire cheap labor - um, don't take too long. Do they really think this administration would criminalize a bunch of businesses trying to make a profit - no matter how they are doing it?

[Lefty48197]

35. Something like 80% of Hispanic-Americans vote Democratic

.

[nonconformist]

36. 40% voted for Bush in 2004

Very depressing statistic.

[nsd]

37. That number's a bit high. It's more like 55-65% /nt

[pitohui]

39. what was your first clue?

the fact that reagan/bush are the ones giving them the vote and taking jobs/votes away from native Black men?

wow, you are already ahead of 90 percent of so-called "progressives"!