Another Foot Wound

Well, it looks like the republicans may have shot themselves in the foot again. CNN is reporting that as many as 150,000 people are demonstrating in downtown Dallas today against the immigration bill introduced by the republicans. Anyone who has ever tried to organize a demonstration in the Dallas-Fort Worth area can tell you this is a remarkable feat. This area is not a hotbed of activism. After all, we are the reddest of red states. If you get together a few hundred people to demonstrate in this area, you are doing well.

But this is more than a few hundred people. This is 150,000 people! And for every demonstrater, we know there are several more people not there who have the same beliefs. Could the republicans have awakened a sleeping giant?

The hispanic demographic is one that republicans believe they are capable of getting significant support from. In fact, during the 2004 election the republicans invested a significant amount of money in appealing to hispanics with spanish-language ads on television, radio and in the newspapers. I believe they have just thrown away any gains they made in the past.

This is a large demographic in Texas and it's growing larger every day. If this 150,000 people [many of them new to politics] take their enthusiasm back to their own neighborhoods, and get involved in voter registration and GOTV campaigns, then the republicans could be in trouble. Hispanics could start voting against republicans in as high a percentages as other minority groups, and this would spell the end of their majority.

We will see how this ends in November, but it looks like the republicans have a lot of making-up to do if they want hispanic votes. Continuing to push for a punitive immigration bill will not help. The self-inflicted foot wound may prove to be fatal.