“It’s absolutely urgent. The demographics are there in black and white…If we don’t figure out a way to open our party up to more Hispanic voters, nothing else we do will matter. Mathematically, we can’t get there from here.”---Former Rep. Henry Bonilla (Republican) is alarmed at how the Latino vote has mostly fled away from the GOP and towards the Democratic Party.
Bonilla’s comments are nothing to shrug off; the “anti-Hispanic rhetoric” has become louder within the GOP, as ex-Republican Party chairman Mel Martinez observed.
A recent survey by Bendixen & Associates found that 71% of respondents feel that the Democrats best represent the Latino community on immigration and that President Barack Obama has done “an excellent or good job” on Latino issues. Another study conducted by the University of Washington found that four in five Latinos back Obama’s presidency so far.
Image- citypages.com
Online Sources- Politico.com, chron.com, miamiherald.com, Latina
