CO-Latino Decisions/NCLRAF: Udall wallops Gardner among Latinos

[Ljube]

I think we can trust Latino Decisions to capture the mood of Latino voters accurately.
The question now arising: Why is Udall so heavily favored compared to Gardner?

[Ljube]

I think we can trust Latino Decisions to capture the mood of Latino voters accurately.
The question now arising: Why is Udall so heavily favored compared to Gardner?

74% support raising the minimum wage, 75% are against loosening EPA restrictions, 84% support Medicaid expansion.

The issues Gardner has moderated himself on aren't issues the Hispanics of Colorado care about.

Raising minimum wage is in direct contradiction to keeping EPA restrictions. By the way, why do the Latinos care about the EPA?

[Ljube]

LOL! As if the EPA cleans it.

[Ljube]

LOL! As if the EPA cleans it.

Also Hispanics don't listen to Fox News and other right-wing nonsense, so they don't have goddamn stupid views like you do.

Which views of mine are stupid? Actually, what do you think are my views?

[Ljube]

But let's come back to the point of discussion.

I fully understand the support that the Latinos have for raising the minimum wage. After all, the majority of Latinos have minimum wage jobs. I further understand their support for expanding Medicaid. However, I don't understand their support for the EPA. In fact, their support for the EPA, if real, is a sign that they are misinformed. Because, if the EPA were restrained a bit, there would be more jobs and better paying jobs for Latinos and others.

[Ljube]

Fine. But then, it will cost them. Them and others.

What I'm saying here is - their two priorities are conflicting. So, they need to decide which is more of a priority - higher wages, or better environment.

[Ljube]

Not everyone shares the conservative view that if the EPA was eliminated that jobs would skyrocket. Colorado is a state that has a lot to protect environmentally, so it's not rocket science to understand why Hispanics there are supportive of the environment.

It is not possible to eliminate the EPA. It could be made to be more restrained and more to the point, though. Less activist.

[Ljube]

But let's come back to the point of discussion.

I fully understand the support that the Latinos have for raising the minimum wage. After all, the majority of Latinos have minimum wage jobs. I further understand their support for expanding Medicaid. However, I don't understand their support for the EPA. In fact, their support for the EPA, if real, is a sign that they are misinformed. Because, if the EPA were restrained a bit, there would be more jobs and better paying jobs for Latinos and others.

Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans have an intimate understanding of environmental degradation. Mexico has a rich biosphere, which attracts many ecotourists, and the average Mexican immigrant is well aware of this. Mexico has also experienced ecological disasters ranging from acute deforestation to continual drought to the ineffective disposal of waste. The outskirts of rapidly expanding cities are littered with trash and fetid water. They're also largely inhabited by migrants from rural communities, many of whom hail from communities nearby relatively pristine ecosystems in the mountains. Green politics is a secondary concern for Mexicans in this social strata but they're certainly supportive of efforts to conserve fragile ecosystems, which have an important place in Mexico's popular consciousness.

Thanks for this explanation.

[Ljube]

So, judging by these numbers, is it at all possible for a Republican to improve his/her standing with the Latinos?

[Ljube]

Yes, by supporting Medicaid, the EPA, and the minimum wage.

Well, a minimum wage and expanded Medicaid is a possibility, but a candidate supporting the EPA in its current form would face problems in the primary.