Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Texas Turning Blue

The Washington Post reported today that nearly half of all Texans under 18 (48%) are Latino. These numbers represent a steadily increasing percentage of Latinos in Texas. As the Census Bureau figures show, Texas has joined the ranks as a majority minority state.

Latinos, who overwhelmingly vote Democratic, pose as a threat for Republicans, with the potential to turn things blue in Texas. What is the Republican response to this demographic shift? Op-Ed Columnist Harold Meyerson argues, “Republicans have elected to become increasingly white.”

In light of the recent political moves in Nevada, California and Colorado last fall to embrace restrictive polices similar to Arizona’s identification law, it would appear Republicans are embracing an anti-immigrant stance.

Last month, Texan anti-immigrant activists asked Texas to consider allowing districts with a disproportionate number of undocumented residents, be made larger than others to account for non-citizens. As Meyerson argues, this would  result in fewer Latino-majority and fewer democratic-majority districts.  

Are Republicans so desperate to keep their Texan electoral college cornerstone red, that they are willing to base success upon a continued stir of hostility towards minority representation?

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