Kos: Republicans must do everything Hispanics want or we won't vote for them (Sotomayor)

The great Kos speaks (dailykos.com/story/2009/8/7/763043/-It-WAS-an-incredible-day-for-Latinos):

We have a wise Latina on the Supreme Court... Pat Buchanan pines for the America of the '50s, but the country has changed, and for the better... And while we Latinos celebrate Associate Justice Sotomayor's accomplishments, we have also take note of who tried to stand in her way... Nine Republicans voted to confirm... [aside from those retiring and the "Maine twins"] That leaves Alexander, Graham, and Lugar as the only other Republicans unwilling to alienate the nation's fastest growing ethnic demographic by casting a symbolic and doomed vote against the Supreme Court nominee with the most judicial experience in our nation's history. Props to them, but it didn't work. Latinos know the score.

He's basically saying Republicans have to do anything that Hispanics want. It's unfortunate that many Republicans buy into the same thing he's selling. (On the plus side, one of those who didn't vote for her is John McCain.)

After the excerpt above, he points out that a DailyKos poll (dailykos.com/weeklypoll/2009/7/30) shows that, when asked how they view the Republican Party, 11% of Latinos are unsure (just 4% are favorable and 85% are unfavorable). He obviously thinks the 11% is too high, and that's despite the fact that several Republicans did vote to (supposedly) give Hispanics what they want by voting for Sotomayor. The implication is that no matter how strongly Republicans pander, unless every single one of them does everything Latinos want, they won't get their votes. The downside of Kos' argument is that some might decide that pandering to those who won't respond isn't worth the effort.

Sat, 08/08/2009 - 23:48 · · Importance: 4