Latino Alienation: Demographic Disaster Awaits Colorado GOP

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by: Colorado Pols

As the AP reports via the Pueblo Chieftain, new census results released yesterday underscore what we’ve been saying in this space for years–the Republican Party’s anti-immigrant posturing is making them their own worst enemies at the ballot box, and severely undermining their future electoral prospects in Colorado. Don’t believe us?

Hispanics of any race now account for one-fifth of the state’s population, and El Paso County has surpassed Denver as Colorado’s most populous county, the Census Bureau said Wednesday.

The census shows there are just more than 1 million Hispanics in Colorado. In 2000, there were about 736,000, comprising about 17 percent of the state’s population…

People who did not identify themselves as white on census forms increased in all categories, including blacks, Asians, Native Americans and Pacific Islanders. People who identify themselves as non-Hispanic whites of a single race still make up the largest population group at 70 percent, but they’re not growing as fast as minorities. The white population is now at about 3.5 million and grew by 9.9 percent since 2000. But the population of Hispanics of any race increased by 41.2 percent since 2000. [Pols emphasis]

So tell us again, skeptical reader, what a great idea it was for Colorado Republicans at every level to abandon their own gubernatorial nominee, and embrace America’s most notorious anti-immigrant demagogue Tom Tancredo as their savior. Tell us again how smart it was for all those Republican legislators to visit Arizona last year, and come back with a slate of unpassable, unconstitutional legislation for our state–whose only effect could be widespread publicity of Colorado Republican efforts to mimic Arizona’s reviled new anti-immigrant laws.

And we are not the only ones who have been saying it. Former Colorado GOP Chairman Bob Martinez, who preceded Dick Wadhams, repeatedly warned his colleagues that continuing down this path would leave them in both a moral and a demographic wasteland. Nobody listened to him.

Well folks, the epic and generational failure of the GOP’s anti-immigrant strategy is looming.

18 thoughts on “Latino Alienation: Demographic Disaster Awaits Colorado GOP”

MADCO says:

February 24, 2011 at 10:21 pm

“Anti-immigrant” is not “anti-Hispanic.”

Does the census estimate how many of those self identified Hispanic Coloradans are immigrants?

See, the R party loves the Hispanic voters. As long as they are not illegal immigrants.

Illegal immigrants can be Hispanic, or Russian or African or Canadian. They’re not all HIspanic. You just think they are.

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1. Ellie says:
  
  February 24, 2011 at 10:30 pm
  
  The majority of currently active, vocal R’s are singularly of one mind – illegal immigrants come from south of the border and are Hispanic. Other nationalities are incidental to their cause.
  
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  1. JeffcoBlue says:
    
    February 24, 2011 at 10:33 pm
    
    I think he’s being sarcastic.
    
    🙂
    
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    1. Ellie says:
      
      February 24, 2011 at 10:42 pm
      
      Problem is I’ve heard far too much BS in their meetings, i.e.
      
      .
      
      ..the R party loves the Hispanic voters. As long as they are not illegal immigrants.
      
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      1. BlueCat says:
        
        February 24, 2011 at 11:32 pm
        
        This is Madco so sarcasm goes without saying.
        
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        MADCO says:
        
        February 25, 2011 at 2:24 am
        
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      2. MADCO says:
        
        February 25, 2011 at 2:27 am
        
        And then when I ask about the Aussie, Peruvian, German, English, Canadian, Chinese, African, Russian or Indian neighbors, I get blank stares.
        
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2. davebarnes says:
  
  February 25, 2011 at 6:09 am
  
  I hope the GOP will hire the dirty, illegal Canadian and Russian immigrants to built the facilities (e.g., rail cars) that are necessary to ship those wetbacks back to MГ©xico forthwith.
  
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3. reubenesp says:
  
  February 25, 2011 at 8:24 pm
  
  If the r party loves the Hispanic voters, then why is the r party so virulently anti-labor? Seems like a strange way to express your love for a group with thousands of union members in Colorado.
  
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  1. MADCO says:
    
    February 26, 2011 at 6:24 am
    
    If it has to be explained, you are just not getting it.
    
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cunninjo says:

February 24, 2011 at 11:14 pm

I can probably guess the answer, but I would like to see statistics on how many of those new Hispanic residents are registered to vote as Democrats – particularly in El Paso County. And, what percentage of people that identify as Hispanic consider themselves “anti-immigration”?

Again, I my intuition tells me that most Hispanics side with Democrats on the immigration issue, but without proof I’m not sure we can say that, without a doubt, more Hispanics equals more Democratic votes.

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1. shrubHugger says:
  
  February 24, 2011 at 11:35 pm
  
  Which is safe to say that they are more than likely children or grandchildren of immigrants. So I would bet that with Repubs lining up hard and fast against bills like ASSET and pushing Voter id and AZ type nonsense that yeah, they are going to rally with the Democrats.
  
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2. BlueCat says:
  
  February 24, 2011 at 11:36 pm
  
  voted for Bush and other Rs because of wedge issues that appealed to their social conservatism on religious issues but the Rs have pretty much blown that brief shift up by coming across not just as anti-illegal immigrant but as just plain hateful bigots.
  
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abraham says:

February 25, 2011 at 7:17 am

Do we have a county stratification of ethnicity yet?

Be curious to know how many, and what percentage, of the population in El Paso County is hispanic.

Also, how are active duty military counted? Are they counted for their homes of record or where they are on active duty when the census is taken?

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1. Phoenix Rising says:
  
  February 25, 2011 at 7:32 pm
  
  The census bureau website has an extensive reporting tool called the American FactFinder which will break things out for you.
  
  El Paso county has a total population of 622,263; of that, 93,665 or 15% say they’re Hispanic.
  
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Half Glass Full says:

February 25, 2011 at 9:58 am

… it’s even worse!

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1. reubenesp says:
  
  February 25, 2011 at 9:12 pm
  
  who already vote Democratic!
  
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CastleMan says:

February 25, 2011 at 8:38 pm

should enjoy their state House majority while they can, because come 2012 it’s not likely to survive.

It’s true that Hispanics, at least in some states, seem not to vote to same extent as Caucasians in those states, and it’s also true that not all Hispanics will vote Democratic.

However, in a presidential year, especially one in which Obama will seem far more appealing than whatever winger gets put up by the right, enough of Colorado’s newly-arrived and citizen Hispanics will likely pull the lever for the Democrats to dash GOP hopes of a resurgence.

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