The Republican National Convention has many goals for this election season; the GOP will formally establish the party's running platform and introduce Mitt Romney as the presidential candidate to face President Obama in November. Of course, the RNC also aims to attract voters to Romney and the Republican Party. This year a large emphasis is being placed on gaining the approval of a large, quickly growing, and potentially essential group in the United States: the Latino population.
 |
| http://www.pewforum.org/Christian/Catholic/A-Portrait-of-American-Catholics-on-the-Eve-of-Pope-Benedicts-Visit-to-the-US.aspx |
Latino populations are influential in many US states such as California, Colorado and Nevada. However, Florida will be especially important this election season as it is a historical "swing state" that has enough electoral college votes to potentially change the outcome of the 2012 election. Latinos make up a quarter of the population of this important battleground state. In 2000 and 2004 George Bush won Florida, while in 2008 Obama won the state by 51 percent to 48 percent.
Romney and the GOP will use the party convention to appeal to this important constituency. This years convention will feature speeches by many elected and prominent Latino officials:
"Among the Latino speakers appearing at Tuesday's Republican National Convention session are Rep. Francisco Canseco, R-Texas, Sher Valenzuela, the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor of Delaware, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, and Texas GOP Senate nominee Ted Cruz."
Florida Senator Marco Rubio will even introduce Romney before his speech on Thursday.
One wonders how effective these attempts will be in gaining additional Latino voters. Judging by Obama's performance in 2008 as well as recent polls that show extremely strong support for Obama and disapproval for Romney, it seems like the Florida Latino vote is a lost cause for the GOP. But not all is lost for Romney! History and research show that party conventions often strongly influence public opinion; polls have shown increases of up to 14 percent and an average of 5-6 percent directly following conventions.
How successful do you think Romney's appeal to Latino voters will be? Do you think that focusing on a specific racial group is an effective method of gaining votes? Should candidates focus on politics and policy or just battle for constituencies?
5 comments:
Seeing how much influence Hispanic voters maintain in the states of California, Colorado, Nevada, and Florida, it's no wonder why Romney desires to gain these voter's support. However, after seeing that the vast majority of Hispanic voters would vote to re-elect President Obama, I really wonder whether Romney's campaigning on this end could significantly impact anything. While i do not think Romney will be able to woo the Hispanic populations to his favor, "party conventions" can influence constituencies. I believe that the Latino vote leans towards re-electing President Obama, but it is still too early to know for certain.
The importance of attracting constituents, especially in this case, seems to me like it could have adverse effects on the quality of the policymaking. I feel like it is an opportunity for superficiality rather than critical reasoning and decision making, especially given the desperate situation. It will be interesting to see how Romney attracts the Latino vote. Will it be appear natural or overly contrived?
In general, latinos have higher poverty rates than many other groups including asian and white people. This makes Romney's plans less attractive because of his seemingly lack of empathy for the non-elite. Romney's plan to end things like Obamacare which was heavily supported by low income people, will probably not help him get the Latino vote. Though some prominent Latino are endorsing Romney, many are not. Celebrity talk show host Cristina Saralegui and Latino singer Marc Anthony are among the many latinos backing Obama for the 2012 elections. Romney does not have an easy fight to win the Latino's vote, and I don't have too much faith that Romney can use is charm to get their support at this point (at least I hope not.)
-Sam Alavi
I too agree that Romney's efforts to appeal to Latinos may be in vain. Latinos make up the largest proportion of illegal immigrants, and Romney's immigration policies are no match for Obama's recent immigration reform. Romney's policy includes creating a "high-tech fence" along the border (I am frightened by what that might mean--electric fences are not meant for humans), and his website mentions that, as governor, he was against "in-state tuition benefits" and driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants. Still, I am interested in Romney's approach to gaining Latino votes during the RNC. I hope he recognizes that having a Latino introduce him is not enough to gain votes...
-Paniz Amirnasiri
One should note that although the RNC is featuring speeches that appeal to Latino voters, Texas GOP Senate nominee Ted Cruz as a naturalized Latino has turned his back on much of the Hispanic population in the United States. Cruz has fought strongly against Obama's deferred action policy, the Dream Act and even mentioned reinstating deportations for people already granted deferred action. He jumps over the fine line regarding Obama's immigration policy that Romney has refused to specify his stance on, and it may cost his platform a number of votes. I believe such alienation of constituents will pose quite a challenge for the GOP to overcome.
Post a Comment