Having known more than a few legal immigrants and their children, this is not terribly surprising to me. The position of Democratic activists that racial identity rules all is simply wrong. For that matter, Hispanics (and Muslims) are multiracial groups. Hispanics also intermarry with Anglos (another term I object to, being of Irish descent) in large numbers.
Excellent analysis of one of the biggest ironies in American history, namely that Democrats imported the very people who voted against them and, in all likelihood, will continue to do so.
Dems lost Latinos, for the same reason they lost the majority of the rest of the country. Groceries, gas and electricity, are not priced by skin hue.
Dems made life $13K a year, more expensive. For wealthy Dems, that is a mere inconvenience. For the working class, it is the largest step down in living standards, in 40 years. 1/2 the country lives on less $75K a year. 40%, live on less than $45K, annually. For them, Dem inflation, was akin to drowning, in an economic Ground Hog Day movie, day after day, after day. All as Dems lectured Americans, they enjoyed the best economy on earth, but were too "uneducated" to appreciate their good fortune.
Immigration is even easier to understand. Had Dems also imported 10 million journalists, pundits, lawyers, lobbyists, investment bankers, writers, teachers, pro athletes, actors and their ilk, all willing to work for 1/2 the current US wages of those professions, Dems would have lost the Progressive vote too.
Dems, purposefully, imported 10 million people, without a single extra housing unit, healthcare worker or speciality teacher. New arrivals, were overwhelming dumped in working class/Latino neighborhoods, where they consumed city and State budgets, that have never been sufficient to aid Americans, in need. Latino Americans watched migrants bath in the most generous Welcome Wagon gifts, on earth. All while they, were forced to choose between gas and groceries. Those who dared question the policy, were deemed racist.
Migrants drove up the cost of affordable housing, drove down working class wages and overwhelmed healthcare facilities. Already underperforming schools, suddenly became worse. Working class American kids, in need of extra teacher time, have no chance, when new arrivals descend upon classrooms, speaking a variety of languages, and, sometimes, lacking any previous, formal education.
Just as with inflation and immigration, Latinos are no more fond of crime, than anyone else.
Violent crime has risen 50% in Chicago and 35% in NYC since 2019, according to the City Journal. It has, obviously, risen everywhere else, also. Yet Dems, felt the inexplicable need, to state US crime rates were at a 50 year low. The claim was so ridiculous, it would have been funny, had more murder, rapes and carjackings not been the reality. Toothpaste was not suddenly under lock and key, as a political statement, but because Harris and Dems decriminalized theft in much of the US.
There were other issues, trans women in formally female only spaces, homelessness and the like, but until Dems undergo a Reformation on inflation, immigration and crime, and develop a little empathy for those not in the top quintile of US earners, they may have a long, cold, political winter.
The congressional district next to mine, where I used to live, the most heavily Latino in the state, flipped blue to red. Young Hispanic congresswoman too, she ran a close race and was a good congresswoman.
People in CO-8 are heavily working class, and I do mean working. Everyone works and they are proud of it. Our governor is also proud, proud of being a sanctuary state and proud of our open border, a libertarian Democrat. Nice guy but the tens of thousands of illegal immigrants he welcomed here are within easy commuting distance of all the jobs in the populated parts of five other congressional districts. Statewide I'd think the population in the low to mid six figures.
We have a couple of pretty good senators, the problem is they don't get it. Our elected officials all have staff and supporters who are high income, highly educated, and far removed from the lives experienced by voters. Something has to change.
I am pleased to see that someone recognized that this wasn't a landslide and it is about 50 years too early to decide that the last election rewrote American politics. Both parties need to make adjustments to win next time. But is the question really winning elections or effecting policies?
Excellent article. One of the few lucid, honest and insightful analyses I have seen. One thing left out: Latinos I know were disproportionately harmed by the covid lockdowns and covid vaxx mandates. Many believed that covid was a deadly plague- at first. But after catching it several times, often working throughout the pandemic, they started to wonder if this was some sort of a con.
I wish Trump would take some inspiration from Javier Milei and junk it all. At the very least, the hands-off attitude in micromanaging would be welcomed in my camp.
One thing I want to hammer in people's heads is this: Unions are a huge part of the Democrats concerns, but union workers are a minority by a long shot. Unionization is practically illegal and sometimes does more harm than good (NYT, Teacher's unions) in some places. The public good is thrown out the window for union workers. However, I understand many workers depend on them for fair wages. The problem is that you have to lift up the whole ship and not just the places that can get you political donations and endorsements. So many workers without these protections are overlooked by design in Democratic politics.
We live in Arizona. It seems that all or almost all of the hard outdoor work is done by Latinos.
We have great respect for them. I didn't know about this just-in-time scheduling thing. That's awful. How can you provide child care if you have so little predictability in scheduling? Who is making the money from these folks' hard labor?
They are GREAT Americans as far as we are concerned. The epitome of hard-working, family-oriented people. Let's treat them with dignity, starting by raising the minimum wage. We like keeping the money we have earned, but we like fairness more....and for these folks that is fairness.
Thank you for common sense!
Having known more than a few legal immigrants and their children, this is not terribly surprising to me. The position of Democratic activists that racial identity rules all is simply wrong. For that matter, Hispanics (and Muslims) are multiracial groups. Hispanics also intermarry with Anglos (another term I object to, being of Irish descent) in large numbers.
Excellent analysis of one of the biggest ironies in American history, namely that Democrats imported the very people who voted against them and, in all likelihood, will continue to do so.
Dems lost Latinos, for the same reason they lost the majority of the rest of the country. Groceries, gas and electricity, are not priced by skin hue.
Dems made life $13K a year, more expensive. For wealthy Dems, that is a mere inconvenience. For the working class, it is the largest step down in living standards, in 40 years. 1/2 the country lives on less $75K a year. 40%, live on less than $45K, annually. For them, Dem inflation, was akin to drowning, in an economic Ground Hog Day movie, day after day, after day. All as Dems lectured Americans, they enjoyed the best economy on earth, but were too "uneducated" to appreciate their good fortune.
Immigration is even easier to understand. Had Dems also imported 10 million journalists, pundits, lawyers, lobbyists, investment bankers, writers, teachers, pro athletes, actors and their ilk, all willing to work for 1/2 the current US wages of those professions, Dems would have lost the Progressive vote too.
Dems, purposefully, imported 10 million people, without a single extra housing unit, healthcare worker or speciality teacher. New arrivals, were overwhelming dumped in working class/Latino neighborhoods, where they consumed city and State budgets, that have never been sufficient to aid Americans, in need. Latino Americans watched migrants bath in the most generous Welcome Wagon gifts, on earth. All while they, were forced to choose between gas and groceries. Those who dared question the policy, were deemed racist.
Migrants drove up the cost of affordable housing, drove down working class wages and overwhelmed healthcare facilities. Already underperforming schools, suddenly became worse. Working class American kids, in need of extra teacher time, have no chance, when new arrivals descend upon classrooms, speaking a variety of languages, and, sometimes, lacking any previous, formal education.
Just as with inflation and immigration, Latinos are no more fond of crime, than anyone else.
Violent crime has risen 50% in Chicago and 35% in NYC since 2019, according to the City Journal. It has, obviously, risen everywhere else, also. Yet Dems, felt the inexplicable need, to state US crime rates were at a 50 year low. The claim was so ridiculous, it would have been funny, had more murder, rapes and carjackings not been the reality. Toothpaste was not suddenly under lock and key, as a political statement, but because Harris and Dems decriminalized theft in much of the US.
There were other issues, trans women in formally female only spaces, homelessness and the like, but until Dems undergo a Reformation on inflation, immigration and crime, and develop a little empathy for those not in the top quintile of US earners, they may have a long, cold, political winter.
The congressional district next to mine, where I used to live, the most heavily Latino in the state, flipped blue to red. Young Hispanic congresswoman too, she ran a close race and was a good congresswoman.
People in CO-8 are heavily working class, and I do mean working. Everyone works and they are proud of it. Our governor is also proud, proud of being a sanctuary state and proud of our open border, a libertarian Democrat. Nice guy but the tens of thousands of illegal immigrants he welcomed here are within easy commuting distance of all the jobs in the populated parts of five other congressional districts. Statewide I'd think the population in the low to mid six figures.
We have a couple of pretty good senators, the problem is they don't get it. Our elected officials all have staff and supporters who are high income, highly educated, and far removed from the lives experienced by voters. Something has to change.
I am pleased to see that someone recognized that this wasn't a landslide and it is about 50 years too early to decide that the last election rewrote American politics. Both parties need to make adjustments to win next time. But is the question really winning elections or effecting policies?
This title could also be "How Latinx Did Not Elect Harris"
Excellent article. One of the few lucid, honest and insightful analyses I have seen. One thing left out: Latinos I know were disproportionately harmed by the covid lockdowns and covid vaxx mandates. Many believed that covid was a deadly plague- at first. But after catching it several times, often working throughout the pandemic, they started to wonder if this was some sort of a con.
I wish Trump would take some inspiration from Javier Milei and junk it all. At the very least, the hands-off attitude in micromanaging would be welcomed in my camp.
One thing I want to hammer in people's heads is this: Unions are a huge part of the Democrats concerns, but union workers are a minority by a long shot. Unionization is practically illegal and sometimes does more harm than good (NYT, Teacher's unions) in some places. The public good is thrown out the window for union workers. However, I understand many workers depend on them for fair wages. The problem is that you have to lift up the whole ship and not just the places that can get you political donations and endorsements. So many workers without these protections are overlooked by design in Democratic politics.
We live in Arizona. It seems that all or almost all of the hard outdoor work is done by Latinos.
We have great respect for them. I didn't know about this just-in-time scheduling thing. That's awful. How can you provide child care if you have so little predictability in scheduling? Who is making the money from these folks' hard labor?
They are GREAT Americans as far as we are concerned. The epitome of hard-working, family-oriented people. Let's treat them with dignity, starting by raising the minimum wage. We like keeping the money we have earned, but we like fairness more....and for these folks that is fairness.