Jim Gilchrist, MMP Exclusive — How many Latino voters can Republicans expect to gain by supporting amnesty?
Not many, if history and performance are any indication.
Consider this…
After Ronald Reagan passed his amnesty in 1986, George Bush senior received only 30% of the Latino vote in 1988.
In 2012, Latino voters supported President Barack Obama over Republican challenger Mitt Romney by a margin of 71% to 27%, despite Obama’s record-setting pace of deportations in a single term over that of two-term “compassionate conservative” George Bush junior.
Bush deported 2 million illegal immigrants over an 8-year span, whereas Obama deported more than 1.5 million in just 4 years. This did not go unnoticed by the Hispanic community, yet the vast majority voted for Obama anyway.
Analysis by Tanya Golash-Boza, associate professor of sociology at University of California-Merced, reveals that 2 million people will be deported by 2014, if the Obama Administration continues at the current rate.
Against this background, the recent remarks of Senator John McCain (R-AZ) hardly pass the laugh test. He warned that failure to pass comprehensive immigration legislation could mean continued election losses for the GOP.
McCain obviously forgot the 31% Hispanic vote in his presidential run against Obama in 2008, despite being the amnesty champion then, as well as in the years before.
Time for a new game plan Senator!
