CPAC 'GOP minority outreach' panel goes as well as you'd expect

[hopper]

The issue here is that a minority outreach panel defaults to "minority voters want stuff from the government, unlike our rugged individualist whites” which is kind of racist and shows the usual blind spot to "goodies” the Republican base loves.

It isn't a "goodie" when the receivers are old white people (like Medicare). It starts being a “goodie” when the recipients are minorities in urban areas (like food stamps).

No Medicare people pay into out of their paychecks. It has nothing to do with color either from the GOP's point of view. I don't think the GOP wants white people living off Government Benes the rest of their life either.

[hopper]

I am absolutely loving how slowly... ever so slowly... the Democrats are beginning to control the narrative.

Watching Republicans begin to do what the Dems did for the past 35 years is such sweet victory.

Can you go into detail about this statement?

I think the Dems controlling narrative is about them having the liberal media and the demography changes at their back. The other is the Republicans weak messaging and the Republicans totally turning off Hispanics at the polls and also the Republicans not modifying their policies to adapt to the changing demography of the electorate.

[hopper]

The issue here is that a minority outreach panel defaults to "minority voters want stuff from the government, unlike our rugged individualist whites” which is kind of racist and shows the usual blind spot to "goodies” the Republican base loves.

It isn't a "goodie" when the receivers are old white people (like Medicare). It starts being a “goodie” when the recipients are minorities in urban areas (like food stamps).

No Medicare people pay into out of their paychecks. It has nothing to do with color either from the GOP's point of view. I don't think the GOP wants white people living off Government Benes the rest of their life either.

A couple reaching retirement age today, on average, will receive triple the Medicare benefits compared to what they paid in Medicare taxes.

True.

[hopper]

What about the whole premise that minority = poor person wanting government handouts? Maybe that is part of the problem? Is the reason 90%+ of blacks vote for Dems because they are all getting 'goodies'?

There are a lot of factors as to why Blacks vote 90% Dem. Here are some of them:

1.) The New Deal: Blacks back then saw this as groundbreaking in terms of policy.
2.) Barry Goldwater in 1964 though that "The Civil Rights Act of 1964" was a state issue which turned off a lot of Blacks from voting Republican that year.
3.) Strom Thurmond becoming a Republican: Strom Thurmond was disliked in the Black Community because of his racist statements.
4.) The Great Migration-A lot of blacks moved North before the "Civil Rights act of 1964" and its hard for the Republicans to make inroads in The North because the Black Vote is so strongly Dem.
5.) Al Sharpton still popular and is on MSNBC.

Most of the issues as to why the Dems have a stronghold on the Black Vote go back to the early to mid 1960's the other is that Blacks live in Cities which are run by Democrats and the Northeast which is liberal socially. I will say also Blacks are less likely to marry than other ethnicity/races which reduces their likelyhood of becoming Republicans.

[hopper]

The pathetic "Democrats win bc welfar queeenz want handouts!!!!11!!!1!!!" spiel is directly contradicted by one group: Asian - Americans.


Higher incomes, higher education levels, higher entrepreneurship levels, "traditional values", work ethic, etc. etc. etc. and yet they went from 55% Republican in 1992 to 63% Democrat in 2008, then 73% Dem in 2012 (a swing toward Obama).


Clearly, it's not just "gifts".

Asians that's different. Asians went for Republicans until the Cold War ended and than the Republicans became a Deep South Party as the decade of the 1990's went which Asians couldn't relate to. Some of the Asian demographic patterns can be traced to where they live like strong Dem Strongholds like NY, NJ, MA, CA, MD, and WA. A lot of Asians like in metro area's like Phoenix, Dallas, Tampa, Detroit, and the DC Metro area as well. That is one of the demography problems for the GOP getting the Asian Vote back in Metro Areas with the Asian Vote.

Obama was a very good candidate that the Asian Community took and still takes a heavy  liking too.

I think part of the Asian Vote in that they vote for Dems is they haven't been in this country that long most of their population growth is from immigration not births in the US.

[hopper]

None of the middle class Asians, Hispanics or African Americans I know "get handouts" or support Republicans.

Perhaps suggesting that all minorities are poor and looking for a handout is part of the Republican outreach problem?

Even worse, they transfer that narrative to any group that don't vote for them. Unmarried women (including white women) want "free contraception" (and are therefore sluts). Gays who want to get married or protection from discrimination are "demanding special rights".

One person (Rush Limbaugh) said Sandra Fluke was a slut. Free contraception? Not to get too into it but I don't want to pay for another woman's contraception for a woman that I don't know.

Look Republicans just think gay marriage is morally wrong. It has been an institution forever.

[hopper]

One person (Rush Limbaugh) said Sandra Fluke was a slut.

I could have sworn that the amendment to allow any employer (not just religious institution) to deny their employees birth control was called the "Blunt Amendment" and not the Limbaugh Amendment...and every Republican senator (except Olympia Snowe) voted for it.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Firstly, the debate about contraception was the ACA requirement that it be covered by private insurance, not paid for by taxes.  But you are paying for penis pumps and Viagra through Medicare, I'm sure you are OK with that right?

You must be logged in to read this quote.

So what. The government isn't a tool of religious morality and accusing the gays of wanted to be treated 'special' when what they are actually asking for is equality is what is really immoral.

Banning Employers from offering contraception through their religious beliefs is not calling a woman a slut. Do I think the "Blunt Amendment" was overreach? Yes.

I don't want to pay for Viagra or Penis Pumps(I laughed when I saw this word.)

[hopper]

I am absolutely loving how slowly... ever so slowly... the Democrats are beginning to control the narrative.

Watching Republicans begin to do what the Dems did for the past 35 years is such sweet victory.

Can you go into detail about this statement?

I think the Dems controlling narrative is about them having the liberal media and the demography changes at their back. The other is the Republicans weak messaging and the Republicans totally turning off Hispanics at the polls and also the Republicans not modifying their policies to adapt to the changing demography of the electorate.

If the Republicans were simply a center-right party instead of a semi-fascist party it would be making gains among Hispanic-Americans and Asian-Americans instead of losing them. Barack Obama is neither Hispanic nor Asian, so such is not identity politics. Anti-union policies strike at a traditionally Democratic constituency that showed some R shift when Reagan was President.

The GOP seems to have doubled down on anti-intellectualism... and successful Hispanics and Asians (not to mention blacks) are well educated. Anti-intellectualism is an insult to anyone with a college degree. Even if they are business owners many of their clientele are fellow members of minorities, and clients may drive the political tendencies of small business more than concerns over taxes and wages. 

The Republican Party has gained largely among poor Southern whites -- but that is a limited constituency. 

What do you mean by semi-facist or anti-intellectual? Can you go into more detail?

[hopper]

The optics of this photo are terrible, they better find a much smaller room for the next minority outreach panel.  As for the empty room, the fact the Right does not like or respect minorities isn't new.  On some level I find this sham outreach to us amusing.  It's like those Hollywood starlets doing charity work they hate just because they want good PR.  Too bad their fake interest in us is so transparent that any fool could see through it.

That's hogwash about not caring about minorities. They do but their policies are just missing it and their rhetoric is not right to get their votes.

You may be right about the Hollywood actors doing charity works though in what their reasoning is.

Fake interest? That's actually what Liberal Dems to say they care about minorities when they don't. They want their vote that's basically it. You went there I had to follow up.

[hopper]

The next time they need offer free food and free booze. Oh, wait, pubs hate handouts.

You Dems(some of you guys) should  be ashamed of what you guys write on this thread. I know you guys want to win on elections at all costs and look at winning elections as a sport. Personal rhetoric   directed at Republicans is no different than the racists you guys like to talk about in the GOP. You guys should check your rhetoric.

[hopper]

The next time they need offer free food and free booze. Oh, wait, pubs hate handouts.

You Dems(some of you guys) should  be ashamed of what you guys write on this thread. I know you guys want to win on elections at all costs and look at winning elections as a sport. Personal rhetoric   directed at Republicans is no different than the racists you guys like to talk about in the GOP. You guys should check your rhetoric.

Did you just call Grumps a Democrat? lol.

I'm just sick of liberal dem policies in my face all the time. Alright you guys won in 2012 be happy with the victory and stop throwing it in everybody's face. It just seems like you guys like to do that.

I am also sick of racial rhetoric: code word that code word this. Its like Dems can't win without playing identity politics. You guys won in the 90's on substance. I would vote for a moderate to conservative dem but liberal dems they have no economic plan.

[hopper]

The next time they need offer free food and free booze. Oh, wait, pubs hate handouts.

You Dems(some of you guys) should  be ashamed of what you guys write on this thread. I know you guys want to win on elections at all costs and look at winning elections as a sport. Personal rhetoric   directed at Republicans is no different than the racists you guys like to talk about in the GOP. You guys should check your rhetoric.

Did you just call Grumps a Democrat? lol.

I'm just sick of liberal dem policies in my face all the time. Alright you guys won in 2012 be happy with the victory and stop throwing it in everybody's face. It just seems like you guys like to do that.

"You guys"? I'm a Republican...

No my comment wasn't directed directly at you I was just addressing your point. Sorry if you misunderstood.

Enough is Enough I have seen some of this rhetoric on this thread and I just got fed up with it over the past few days.

[hopper]

It's not just the Blunt Amendment, the House GOP last year also tried to carve contraception requirement out of the ACA and even made it part of their pre-shutdown list of demands. And let's not forget what Mike Huckabee had to say about it....
"If the Democrats want to insult the women of America by making them believe that they are helpless without Uncle Sugar coming in and providing for them a prescription each month for birth control, because they cannot control their libido or their reproductive system without the help of the government, then so be it.”
Which gets back to the point. The GOP have to stop treating everyone who isnt a strait Christian middle/upper-class white male as someone looking for a handout.

So what's the big deal about the contraception. Its like moderately overblown by you Dems. You can get contraception at a local clinic, your doctors office probably or Planned Parenthood. Look I have said this a few times Huckabee's comment was a little on the sloppy side.

No the GOP does not think that everybody that is not a white Christian male wants a hand-out. I don't know where you guys on the other side of the aisle get this theory from.

I have pounded the GOP for their stupid tactics since I have been on this site even on this thread I have questioned their policy choices/rhetoric. Some of the liberal dems rhetoric its to over the top for me. I pounded them(the GOP) for not understanding Latino's and their way of life in terms of family that they fail to understand as a party or most of them don't get. For example Ann Coulter had no idea about Latino's yesterday at CPAC. I was around Latino's for 4.5 years when I was at a job so I understand them.

[hopper]

I did not attend.

But the fact is the "GOP outreach" remains too often condescending and critical rather than offering a viable alternative. I haven't had the time to re-read on Paul Ryan's plan but it might be a step in the right direction, I've heard good things about it.

The GOP's problem is that they have almost regressed in terms of the way they view the poor to a mentality more suited to 19th century England. They view poverty as a purely moral issue: poor people are that way because they are morally reprobate (having children out of wedlock and raising them without both parents present; perhaps using drugs like marijuana even though the poor are no more likely to do so than anyone else), lazy (working sub-$10/hr jobs and not "pulling themselves up by their bootstraps"), and irresponsible (because if they didn't buy frivolities like cell phones and televisions, they'd have enough money to retire at 50!).

I was around Latino's for 4.5 years when I was at a job so I understand them.

Please don't even go there, dude. You sound like a GOP pol trying to walk back some ignorant comment he made about Hispanics by talking about how well he treated his landscaper or how he can't be racist because he supposedly has a black friend.

Dude screw you you want to attack me racally with the black friend and the landscaper rhetoric. I will not take that crap from you. You think I am not up on that rhetoric or that response? I am knowledgeable  about that rhetoric. You can take that rhetoric and take it back right at yourself. Just because I am a leaning Republican doesn't make you throwing your rhetoric at me right.

No you don't go there with me...........

[hopper]

I did not attend.

But the fact is the "GOP outreach" remains too often condescending and critical rather than offering a viable alternative. I haven't had the time to re-read on Paul Ryan's plan but it might be a step in the right direction, I've heard good things about it.

The GOP's problem is that they have almost regressed in terms of the way they view the poor to a mentality more suited to 19th century England. They view poverty as a purely moral issue: poor people are that way because they are morally reprobate (having children out of wedlock and raising them without both parents present; perhaps using drugs like marijuana even though the poor are no more likely to do so than anyone else), lazy (working sub-$10/hr jobs and not "pulling themselves up by their bootstraps"), and irresponsible (because if they didn't buy frivolities like cell phones and televisions, they'd have enough money to retire at 50!).

I was around Latino's for 4.5 years when I was at a job so I understand them.

Please don't even go there, dude. You sound like a GOP pol trying to walk back some ignorant comment he made about Hispanics by talking about how well he treated his landscaper or how he can't be racist because he supposedly has a black friend.

Dude screw you you want to attack me racally with the black friend and the landscaper rhetoric. I will not take that crap from you. You think I am not up on that rhetoric or that response? I am knowledgeable  about that rhetoric. You can take that rhetoric and take it back right at yourself. Just because I am a leaning Republican doesn't make you throwing your rhetoric at me right.

Woah, woah, calm down now.

IndyTexas there's a bit of truth in your response but the fact is that's probably closer to the truth than the "the white man wants to keep you down!" rhetoric peddled by charlatans like Al Sharpton, and which many people actually believe. It's a cultural matter, and it's an endogenous issue that requires community-based solutions rather than government intervention or a massive push against "white racism".

No he attacked me racially man and I don't like that kinda stuff. See I wouldn't do that to him or any Democrat  identity wise or any INDIE. Martin Luther King once said judge the man by the content of his character not by the color of his skin. That's what I do.  

[hopper]

I did not attend.

But the fact is the "GOP outreach" remains too often condescending and critical rather than offering a viable alternative. I haven't had the time to re-read on Paul Ryan's plan but it might be a step in the right direction, I've heard good things about it.

The GOP's problem is that they have almost regressed in terms of the way they view the poor to a mentality more suited to 19th century England. They view poverty as a purely moral issue: poor people are that way because they are morally reprobate (having children out of wedlock and raising them without both parents present; perhaps using drugs like marijuana even though the poor are no more likely to do so than anyone else), lazy (working sub-$10/hr jobs and not "pulling themselves up by their bootstraps"), and irresponsible (because if they didn't buy frivolities like cell phones and televisions, they'd have enough money to retire at 50!).

I was around Latino's for 4.5 years when I was at a job so I understand them.

Please don't even go there, dude. You sound like a GOP pol trying to walk back some ignorant comment he made about Hispanics by talking about how well he treated his landscaper or how he can't be racist because he supposedly has a black friend.

Dude screw you you want to attack me racally with the black friend and the landscaper rhetoric. I will not take that crap from you. You think I am not up on that rhetoric or that response? I am knowledgeable  about that rhetoric. You can take that rhetoric and take it back right at yourself. Just because I am a leaning Republican doesn't make you throwing your rhetoric at me right.

I'm not attacking you. I'm just being frank. You think the fact that there were Hispanic people at your job means you "understand them" and somehow makes up for the serious issues your party has with winning over that group?

I live in a majority-minority state. The county where I spent most of my life is 40% Hispanic and only 33% white. I hear Spanish spoken just about as often as I hear English spoken on any given day. But I don't pretend that I as a white person have any business telling Hispanics what issues should matter to them or making false assumptions about them. I don't support laws that make it harder for them to vote. I don't suggest their relatives in Central America are skulking around the deserts of Arizona and Texas with cantaloupe-sized packages of drugs strapped to their legs, as Steve King (R-Iowa) seems to think is happening, or that they are giving birth to "terror babies" who will undermine our nation, as Louie Gohmert (R-Texas does). I don't think the growth of the Hispanic population in America is going to lead to lower average IQs or undermine our "culture" as people like Pat Buchanan and that research fellow at the Heritage Foundation do.

Listen to what Hispanics are saying. Listen to what your party is saying. That should be enough for you to solve for X.

No man I wasn't saying my views or understanding make up for the gap that the GOP has for empathy/votes with the Hispanic Community. That would be extreme. What I was saying was to be more broad was Latino's don't like to be separated from their family members or friends if some of them are here illegally. Republicans don't get that and what they don't get is some latino's who were brought here illegally by their parents some Republicans don't care about that either wether they get deported or not. You can't have that attitude toward people of Hispanic descent that were brought here by their parents illegally. They might not even speak Spanish to start with and to be deported to a country you don't even know. That's going to far for me.

Dude Steve King is on his own with his comments about Hispanics even Cantor and Boehner questioned his comments.

Louie Gohmert is an old guy and his district is close to Deep South territory. Its generational and geographical with him. Buchanan I hold in higher regard than King or Gohmert what he was saying is America as a whole was gonna be like California politically if the minority population keeps on growing like it is currently. I don't know about the IQ comments by him though.

[hopper]

Hopper, how exactly did I "racially attack" you? That to me implies attacking someone based on their race. And to my knowledge, we are both white and I didn't even discuss being white.

To be honest racially I thought you were latino. But still the black friend thing is kinda old lingo from the late 80's/early 90's. Never heard of the landscaper saying till you said it but still your statement went to far racially for me. I have listened to Hip-Hop and followed the NBA and NFL for over 20 years so I am very familiar with racial rhetoric like that.

[hopper]

I did not attend.

But the fact is the "GOP outreach" remains too often condescending and critical rather than offering a viable alternative. I haven't had the time to re-read on Paul Ryan's plan but it might be a step in the right direction, I've heard good things about it.

The GOP's problem is that they have almost regressed in terms of the way they view the poor to a mentality more suited to 19th century England. They view poverty as a purely moral issue: poor people are that way because they are morally reprobate (having children out of wedlock and raising them without both parents present; perhaps using drugs like marijuana even though the poor are no more likely to do so than anyone else), lazy (working sub-$10/hr jobs and not "pulling themselves up by their bootstraps"), and irresponsible (because if they didn't buy frivolities like cell phones and televisions, they'd have enough money to retire at 50!).

I was around Latino's for 4.5 years when I was at a job so I understand them.

Please don't even go there, dude. You sound like a GOP pol trying to walk back some ignorant comment he made about Hispanics by talking about how well he treated his landscaper or how he can't be racist because he supposedly has a black friend.

Dude screw you you want to attack me racally with the black friend and the landscaper rhetoric. I will not take that crap from you. You think I am not up on that rhetoric or that response? I am knowledgeable  about that rhetoric. You can take that rhetoric and take it back right at yourself. Just because I am a leaning Republican doesn't make you throwing your rhetoric at me right.

Woah, woah, calm down now.

IndyTexas, there's a bit of truth in your response but the fact is that's probably closer to the truth than the "the white man wants to keep you down!" rhetoric peddled by charlatans like Al Sharpton, and which many people actually believe. It's a cultural matter, and it's an endogenous issue that requires community-based solutions rather than government intervention or a massive push against "white racism".

Is the GOP more interested in demonising the dehumanised "other" for white votes than actually helping end systemic economic and cultural poverty amongst blacks and Hispanics? Sadly, probably so. But do the Democrats offer much more? Not really.

See, you just proved my point. What "cultural poverty" are you talking about? How is black or Hispanic culture somehow inferior to white culture?

And if neither party is going to solve their economic problems, don't you think they're at least going to vote for the party that doesn't hold them in contempt to the extent that your party does? At least the Democrats don't act as if being anything other than a white, straight Christian in a suburb or rural area makes you less American or prevents you from being part of the "real America" that Republicans love to point to.

Sarah Palin said that. You act as if all Republicans think like that.

[hopper]

I did not attend.

But the fact is the "GOP outreach" remains too often condescending and critical rather than offering a viable alternative. I haven't had the time to re-read on Paul Ryan's plan but it might be a step in the right direction, I've heard good things about it.

The GOP's problem is that they have almost regressed in terms of the way they view the poor to a mentality more suited to 19th century England. They view poverty as a purely moral issue: poor people are that way because they are morally reprobate (having children out of wedlock and raising them without both parents present; perhaps using drugs like marijuana even though the poor are no more likely to do so than anyone else), lazy (working sub-$10/hr jobs and not "pulling themselves up by their bootstraps"), and irresponsible (because if they didn't buy frivolities like cell phones and televisions, they'd have enough money to retire at 50!).

I was around Latino's for 4.5 years when I was at a job so I understand them.

Please don't even go there, dude. You sound like a GOP pol trying to walk back some ignorant comment he made about Hispanics by talking about how well he treated his landscaper or how he can't be racist because he supposedly has a black friend.

Dude screw you you want to attack me racally with the black friend and the landscaper rhetoric. I will not take that crap from you. You think I am not up on that rhetoric or that response? I am knowledgeable  about that rhetoric. You can take that rhetoric and take it back right at yourself. Just because I am a leaning Republican doesn't make you throwing your rhetoric at me right.

I'm not attacking you. I'm just being frank. You think the fact that there were Hispanic people at your job means you "understand them" and somehow makes up for the serious issues your party has with winning over that group?

I live in a majority-minority state. The county where I spent most of my life is 40% Hispanic and only 33% white. I hear Spanish spoken just about as often as I hear English spoken on any given day. But I don't pretend that I as a white person have any business telling Hispanics what issues should matter to them or making false assumptions about them. I don't support laws that make it harder for them to vote. I don't suggest their relatives in Central America are skulking around the deserts of Arizona and Texas with cantaloupe-sized packages of drugs strapped to their legs, as Steve King (R-Iowa) seems to think is happening, or that they are giving birth to "terror babies" who will undermine our nation, as Louie Gohmert (R-Texas does). I don't think the growth of the Hispanic population in America is going to lead to lower average IQs or undermine our "culture" as people like Pat Buchanan and that research fellow at the Heritage Foundation do.

Listen to what Hispanics are saying. Listen to what your party is saying. That should be enough for you to solve for X.

No man I wasn't saying my views or understanding make up for the gap that the GOP has for empathy/votes with the Hispanic Community. That would be extreme. What I was saying was to be more broad was Latino's don't like to be separated from their family members or friends if some of them are here illegally. Republicans don't get that and what they don't get is some latino's who were brought here illegally by their parents some Republicans don't care about that either wether they get deported or not. You can't have that attitude toward people of Hispanic descent that were brought here by their parents illegally. They might not even speak Spanish to start with and to be deported to a country you don't even know. That's going to far for me.

Dude Steve King is on his own with his comments about Hispanics even Cantor and Boehner questioned his comments.

Louie Gohmert is an old guy and his district is close to Deep South territory. Its generational and geographical with him. Buchanan I hold in higher regard than King or Gohmert what he was saying is America as a whole was gonna be like California politically if the minority population keeps on growing like it is currently. I don't know about the IQ comments by him though.

This wasn't Buchanan's first dance with making racist comments, he has decades of making them.  As far as Gomhert goes, he is 60.  Age shouldn't be used as an excuse anyway on why some comments aren't horrible (oh it's just an old guy), but Louie isn't even old.  He is insane, but he isn't old.

Fact off the matter is, even putting ideology aside (which is another major problem for the GOP), they aren't going to make any headway among minorities until they stop saying stupid s***.   

I thought Gohmert was older than 60 myself. He just looks older than that.

You guys on the Dem side keep on saying stop saying stupid comments but there are always gonna be people on each side of the aisle that say stupid stuff.

[hopper]

Hopper, how exactly did I "racially attack" you? That to me implies attacking someone based on their race. And to my knowledge, we are both white and I didn't even discuss being white.

I have listened to Hip-Hop and followed the NBA and NFL for over 20 years so I am very familiar with racial rhetoric like that.

Wow, just, just, wow, fail at defending your argument.

No I didn't fail.

[hopper]

Hopper, how exactly did I "racially attack" you? That to me implies attacking someone based on their race. And to my knowledge, we are both white and I didn't even discuss being white.

I have listened to Hip-Hop and followed the NBA and NFL for over 20 years so I am very familiar with racial rhetoric like that.

Wow, just, just, wow, fail at defending your argument.

No I didn't fail.

Hopper, ITT, you have compared yourself getting criticized by others on this Forum to the struggles of Martin Luther King and black people to overcome racism, Jim Crow and slavery; and you have claimed that listening to Hip-Hop and watching professional sports give you credence to talk about these things, as does the presence of Hispanic people at your former job.

But please, please, keep on digging.

No I didn't compare myself to Martin Luther King in entirety. What I said was I don't t judge by their color of their skin like Martin King Luther King did. Heck he did far more than I will ever do. No I didn't compare myself to black people overcoming racism. Never said any word about slavery or Jim Crow in my posts.

That's true about the profressional sports and hip-hop that's fair game.

Indy, if you looked at my post about Hispanics I had said that I knew how they are about the family. That's all I said. I did narrow it down. You could have looked at my post about that.

[hopper]

The next time they need offer free food and free booze. Oh, wait, pubs hate handouts.

You Dems(some of you guys) should  be ashamed of what you guys write on this thread. I know you guys want to win on elections at all costs and look at winning elections as a sport. Personal rhetoric   directed at Republicans is no different than the racists you guys like to talk about in the GOP. You guys should check your rhetoric.

Did you just call Grumps a Democrat? lol.

I'm just sick of liberal dem policies in my face all the time. Alright you guys won in 2012 be happy with the victory and stop throwing it in everybody's face. It just seems like you guys like to do that.

"You guys"? I'm a Republican...

Yes, but you're a reasonable one.  Loons like hooper are why I don't affiliate with the pubs anymore and stay strictly Indy.

hooper, try valium, 5mg.  Available at your local Rite Aid.

I'm not a loon I just get upset when I hear the same rhetoric by the left over and over again on this thread. I mean how often can you post the same thing over and over that the GOP doesn't care about poor people?

I am actually not a registered Republican but I vote that way in state elections. I am actually not happy the way the national party has shifted too hard to the right over the last few years.

[hopper]

Voters have interests, and most of the time they are self-interests.  If you're going to say right off the bat that their interests aren't worth serving, then you're opting out of competing for their votes and they'll go to someone else.  George W. Bush got lots of Hispanic votes, but that wasn't merely because of his conservative stances on some social issues and threw out some Spanish sentences now and then, but he also backed, and tried to deliver on, comprehensive immigration reform.  If after handsomely endowing the military and doling out tax cuts for business, the GOP has no more "goodies" to give to anyone else, so be it, but they're opting out of getting votes, and in this case, that means opting out of the electoral votes of a bunch of places in the southwest.  If the party has made that decision already, then there is no point holding panels or pretending to do "outreach" or complaining that those voters are going on masse to the other party, or demonizing them for doing so.  It's like refusing to play a game and then blaming someone else for competing or winning it.

I agree with most of your post but you act as if George W. Bush increased the military budget a ton. Defense spending has gone down as a % of the federal budget since the 1950's. As for the tax cuts those should have rescinded because of the wars. There is nothing wrong with cutting taxes but make sure you some spendingcuts/revenue offsets  to do that.

[hopper]

The Republican Party doesn't care about poor people, attacking welfare, food stamps, unions and whatever remains of programs that help the poor. Worse is the "if your poor it's your fault" line of thinking in the Republican Party.

See you repeat the same thing....

But to get into the meat of the issues of your post:

Welfare Reform-Has anything changed since 1996 since the Welfare Reform Act? Not that I know of.

Food Stamps-The usage of them has gone up 270% in the last dozen years or so and you are making an issue out of it? A 1% cut in Food Stamp Usage in the last budget negotiation is a big deal to you?

Unions-your right about that but the Unions and The Dems have always been tied together.

[hopper]

It was already mentioned, but it bears repeating:

The GOP doesn't need "outreach" to minorities when the GOP can simply exclude them from participation through gerrymandered districts, voter suppression, and targeted ICE raids.

Obama's DHS is helping the GOP deport illegal immigrants so they won't be able to vote?

Yes, the GOP enforces immigration laws (that their legislators clamor for) selectively.

The GOP business classes have a great desire for Hispanic illegal migration, as long as the immigrants themselves do not become politically active through unionization/collective bargaining efforts, public demonstrations, voter registration drives, and the like.

I don't know of a single state where illegal immigrants can legally vote.  Indeed, most, if not all, don't allow legal immigrants to vote until they become citizens.  Low rates of voter registration and thus of voting itself in Hispanic communities can be explained by high rates of ineligible adults because of their status as non-citizens.  Now perhaps one can argue that the ICE enforcement has an indirect chilling effect on the political activity of Hispanic citizens, but frankly I don't buy it.  There's no logical connection there.  Of course, voters aren't always logical, but I would expect that if anything Hispanic citizens who feel their community is being unfairly targeted for ICE enforcement would become more politically active, not less.

Many of the Hispanics in states with markedly low Hispanic voter participation rates have been American citizens for generations.

New Mexico and California probably.