Latino Links: Political trends

While Time Magazine’s latest cover story has received positive reviews for its assertion that Latinos will “Pick the next President,” not everyone is agreeing with the writer who said during a recent news program that Latino vote for the upcoming presidential election is still undecided.

On MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Richard Stengel, editor of Time, reasserted the common misconception that the Latino vote is “up in the air,” Alicia Menendez wrote in Politics365 this week.

“According to Stengel, Latinos are ‘independent,'” Menendez wrote. “That’s just not true. Latinos have consistently voted for Democrats. Even Republican strategists will readily admit that the goal isn’t to win a majority of Hispanic voters, it’s simply to peal enough support away from Obama to contribute to a larger electoral calculus. George W. Bush, who was incredibly popular with Hispanics, hit a high water mark at 44%. For Republicans, those numbers, not a majority, are the baseline winning formula.”

But given the recently tough talk on immigration (code word for Latinos) during the recent rounds of Republican presidential debates, it’s no surprise that Latinos have been turned off by statements like electrifying our southern border, along with consistent opposition to the Dream education act.

“…Recent polling shows Latinos decisively breaking for Democrats. In the latest Univision/Latino Decisions poll, President Obama enjoys a 72% favorability rating among all Hispanics. Romney and Gingrich’s favorability ratings are at 28% and 24% respectively. In a head to head match-up, Obama beats Romney 65-25, Gingrich 70-22…Up in the air? Really?”

Menendez and others also took Time Magazine to task for its cover photo montage which included a non-Latino in the conversation. Oops.

Click here for the full story by Alicia Menendez in Politics365.

Click here for the story behind the Time Magazine cover article by Bossip.

Click here for another story by The Venture on the cover mixup.

— Latino Links provides a periodic update of trends in digital media, education, lifestyle, marketing and politics impacting the Latino community. Compiled by Amigos805.com