If last election is any indicator, the Hispanic population will be as divided as the rest of the national. The evangelical and Catholic church really mobilized this last election, and are doing a better job in regards to voter education on conservative values issues. The Liberals just don't have a message, and no doubt Hispanics will start picking up on this. Welfare mentality and big government can only go so far. But, the Republican party better get their act together and start showing some leadership if they are going to take a lead in capturing this key demographic. Knight Ridder has a story on research results.
WASHINGTON - A Hispanic baby boom could surge into American politics in the next few years, adding to the growing political clout of the nation's largest minority group, a new study predicted Monday.
Two demographic trends are merging to produce the boom - immigration and a higher birthrate among Hispanic women than the rest of the population. Of America's entire population growth from 2000 to 2004, some 5.7 million people - or half the total - were Hispanics. Of them, one-third weren't yet old enough to vote.
Whether they vote, and which party they vote for, remains to be seen. But the fact that they're part of the fastest-growing population group in the country suggests that they could change U.S. politics even if only a fraction participates - just as the older Hispanic generation already has changed U.S. culture - provided they tilt decisively to one party in a nation still fairly evenly split between Democrats and Republicans.
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