Study: Democrats will benefit from growth of core voter groups
Wednesday, June 23, 2010 at 1:37 pm
- 4 Comments
Ruy Teixeira
If it is true that demography is destiny, then the Democrats will benefit at the ballot box, according to a new study by Ruy Teixeira, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress and The Century Foundation.
Teixeira believes that heavily-Democratic voter groups — Latinos, professionals, Asian-Americans, millenials, secular voters, among others — have increased and will increase their numbers, while the white-working class that votes mostly for Republicans has and will continue to decline.
He observes this trend in swing states like Nevada and Pennsylvania.
For the GOP to change these trends, Teixeira writes that Republicans have to:
• Move to the center on social issues (“especially on immigration”)
• Pay attention to whites with some college education and to young white working-class voters in general
• Another demographic target should be white college graduates, especially those with a four-year degree only
• In the long run the GOP has to have serious solutions of its own that go beyond cutting taxes. These solutions should use govermment to address problems but in ways that reflect conservative values and principles
The GOP appears not to be taking Mr. Teixiera’s advice. On immigration, delegates at the Texas GOP, for example, voted to include a plank endorsing an Arizona immigration law for Texas in a state that is 36 percent hispanic. When Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels called for a “truce” on social issues, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee said that he could not stop fighting against abortion and gay marriage. A letter to President Obama from top House GOP officials on how to create jobs in December 2009 called for tax cuts, energy deregulation, and a spending freeze, but virtually no role for government.
4 Comments
Comment posted June 23, 2010 @ 3:10 pm
“The GOP appears not to be taking Mr. Teixiera’s advice.”
For good reason. It’s based on identity politics which assumes that 1) people who are members of various racial groups all think alike (which is fundamentally racist – I’m not white, for example) and 2) people’s politics don’t change over time (“if you’re not a liberal when you’re 20 you have no heart but if you’re not a conservative when you’re 40 you have no brain.”) I didn’t vote republican until I was 30 years old and got fed up with the ineffective Jimmy Carter in favor of the tough-talking governor from California.
Bottom line, his assumptions are at best flawed and at worst racist.
And to permanently tie young, college-educated people to the democratic party is laughable. Naive, idealistic college students who are indoctrinated by their professional leftist professors eventually grow up, get married, have children and evolve into conservatives.
If it can happen to Abbie Hoffman and Dennis Hopper it can happen to anyone but the most close-minded kool-aid drinkers.
Mr. Teixiera’s work is a study in wishful thinking.
Comment posted June 24, 2010 @ 12:02 am
Of course the white working-class is declining. Republican policies have all but destroyed it. The irony is this demographic keeps voting for the same people who hurt them the most.
Comment posted June 24, 2010 @ 9:14 am
We can however create an atmosphere where the retiring hippy boomers stay home and don’t vote. Let them have their legal pot. These people are the activist of the 60’s and are very involved but most of them have been busy raising a family and working. As they retire, they become very active once again.
Imagine its election day and these people don’t show up because they are home all smoked up eating cookies. Every demographic counts and this one we can encourage to stay home.
Comment posted June 24, 2010 @ 8:30 pm
Mr. Teixeira’s analysis is shallow and simplistic. I could do a dissertation on all the flaws in it.
The GOP does have a small tent, but their propaganda campaign is drawing in many who do not necessarily share a lot of their ideology.
I keep telling people not to underestimate the power of prejudice and ignorance, but liberals still keep claiming victories that are not really there.
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