The GOP’s suicidal politics

‘When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”

By now, most non-Latino voters have probably forgotten these words, uttered by the Republican frontrunner Donald Trump back on June 16. After all, it’s just one of the many hateful, demeaning and utterly ridiculous things Trump has said on the campaign trail, sandwiched for the historical record between his sexist comments and his assertion that his life has been a tough one, having received only modest help, in the form of a “small loan” of a meager $1 million, from his father.

And to be fair to him, what he said was merely what other Republican hopefuls have been saying in less colorful words and what nativists have long maintained.

But even if most non-Latino voters forget Trump’s racist outburst – and let’s call it what it is: pure and simple racism – Latinos have not and will not, and this is bad news for the GOP, a party that clings to relevance thanks to a shrinking pool of older, white voters. In coming years, this bloc of the American population, however, will decrease substantially, as whites become a minority, while Latinos become a major cultural, social and political force.

Attacking our moms and dads

The GOP appears unconcerned. Their logic and their worldview make no room for such painful realities. Besides, as many have pointed out correctly, undocumented immigrants can’t vote, and Trump attacked “illegal” immigrants, not legal residents and ethnic Mexican citizens. Fair enough. But as the political cartoonist and Chicano activist Lalo Alcaraz has noted on Twitter, “What US pundits don’t get about (Donald Trump’s) attack on Mexican immigrants is that he attacked our moms and dads. It’s personal.”

It’s also political suicide. Even conservative Latinos have spoken out against this kind of rhetoric. As Latinos become a larger and more influential voting bloc, the Republican Party will suffer. As conservative Latina and former treasurer of the United States Rosario Marin said recently: “Heed our warning. Don’t expect us to come to your side during the general election. You are not with us now, we will not be with you then. You don’t need our vote now, you won’t have it then. You insult us now, we will be deaf to you then. You take us for granted now, we will not recognize you then.”

If the GOP wishes to remain relevant, it will have to do a better job of reaching out to Latinos, and attacks on immigrants will not do the trick. There is, in fact, much that Republicans could do to court Latinos. Like many in the GOP, the majority of Hispanics are religious people, opponents of socially liberal causes like abortion rights and drug legalization. Yet, with each comment like Trump’s, with each derogatory remark about “illegals” and with every attack on communities of color, the issues on which the GOP and Latinos agree will become more and more insignificant. Put plainly, you cannot denigrate and alienate immigrants and expect their children to support you. So far, this appears to be lost on GOP leaders.

But soon enough, ignoring reality will not be an option.

This story was originally published November 5, 2015 at 4:31 PM with the headline "The GOP’s suicidal politics."