Want to win Latino voters? Drop the assumptions and organize
Back in the day, we made phone calls. Community leaders would call other community leaders. Of course, this only works when the candidate is potentially attractive to the community. They must also be encouraged to become an integral part of the local party leadership structure. They cannot be just an election season resource. This means sharing power and sharing ideas in the 18 months between electoral seasons. If joining has real power (a point lost on Bernie supporters), Hispanics will sign up. This proves Tip O'Neil's Rule One: All Politics are Local.
As far as who the villain is on anti-Hispanic bigotry, while Steven King of Iowa comes to mind, the Grand Wizard is James Sensenbrenner, the House Judiciary Chair who single-handedly derailed President Bush's immigration reform efforts. He is also a champion of the Republicanization of the Pro-Life movement. What a guy.
The issue of abortion, or rather that it is not an issue except as far as expanding the Child Tax Credit goes, must be aired out if Democrats want Latinos to stick around. This should happen with finesse, but it needs to happen, not just to put together a coalition but to heal the nation's self-inflicted wounds.
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