The Voice of Young Conservatives Blog

Minority voters, led by Hispanics, will represent the majority of voters by 2050. It will simply be impossible for a political party to remain viable without tapping into the Hispanic vote. That is why Jeb Bush is teaming with the American Action Network to create the Hispanic Leadership Network, a tool for reaching out the to ever-growing Hispanic population.

Through a purely political lens the Network is a welcome component to the center-right movement. As Jeb Bush explained in an op-ed in today’s Miami Herald,

“Conservatives continue to get unacceptably low support among Hispanic voters nationally. According to the Pew Hispanic Center, only 38 percent of Hispanics voted Republican in the 2010 congressional elections. In fact, center-right candidates have failed to win more than 40 percent of the Hispanic vote nationally since 2004. . . I don’t think 40 percent of the Hispanic vote can be our ceiling if we plan to impact our nation in the coming decades.”

But courting Hispanics is not pure politics. More than that, it is a natural result of the shared values and ideals between our party on the one hand, and the Hispanic culture on the other. As Raul Vargas wrote in Politico, “The core values of Republicanism still resonate among most Hispanics – things like family, faith, freedom and opportunities. Core principles also ring true, including, personal liberty, individual responsibility…[the list goes on].”

The point is, we don’t have to pander to win Hispanic votes. We don’t have to compromise our conservative values or principles in order to win over a growing majority. In fact, we largely agree! Now, it is just a matter of improving our outreach.

Fortunately, Republicans are not starting from a clean slate. The 2010 slate of Republican candidates showcased our party’s ability to reach out to the Hispanic community.  Republicans such as Raul Labrador of Idaho, Quico Canseco of Texas, and perhaps most visibly, Marco Rubio of Florida, showed the bright future of Hispanic Republicans. Rather than rest on the successes of 2010, the Hispanic Leadership Network is a welcome recognition that our outreach efforts are just beginning. As American Action Network CEO Norm Coleman said, “On the even of an election that will see record diversity among center-right candidates and center-right voters, now is the time to harness that energy and turn those shared values into real grassroots action.”

Coleman is exactly right. While the Left is busy playing politics with immigration, attempting to drive a wedge between Hispanics and Republicans, the Right has a golden opportunity to offer positive, forward thinking solutions for Hispanics. By and large this means continuing with our current reform agenda – focusing especially on limited government, encouraging free markets, and increasing our efforts in education reform.

There are certainly areas of improvement. By and large this means changing how we discuss the immigration solution. Rather than demonizing illegal immigrants, highlight the crucial role legal immigrants will play in fixing our economy. Rather than dismissing the idea of immigration reform in its entirely, discuss a conservative alternative which focuses on border security and expanding the ranks of skilled immigrants. In short, promote conservative immigration reform for what it really is – a key to economic success. As John McCain said in 2007, “I think some of the rhetoric that many Hispanics hear about illegal immigration makes some of them believe that we are not in favor of or seek the support of Hispanic citizens in this country.” In reality, that could not be further from the truth. But in the world of politics, as elsewhere, perception is reality, and Republicans must make a visible effort to reach out to Hispanic communities.

The new Hispanic Leadership Network represents an exciting beginning for that outreach effort. The Hispanic community represents a true opportunity for Republicans. A chance to immeasurably grow the party, create a stable forward-looking base of support, all while staying true to our ideals of limited government and personal responsibility. As Jeb Bush concluded, “the level of investment in outreach today is inextricably linked to the continued success of the center-right movement.” It is an investment that has already seen an enormous return, but with continued efforts like the Hispanic Leadership Network, it will pay even larger dividends in the future.

by Brandon Greife, Political Director