In 2008, John McCain won 55% of white non Hispanic votes.

In 2004, George W. Bush won 58% of white non Hispanic votes.

The common wisdom seems to be that the Republicans must court Hispanic voters in order to remain politically viable.

Why?

Although whites will one day be in the minority in the U.S. (though far and away the largest minority) that isn't slated to happen until the 2040--2050 time frame.

There are a lot of elections between now and then. If the Republicans can increase their percentage of the white vote to 70% or more, then they can win the next four or five presidential elections with very little support from minorities.

After gaining power, the Republicans can then pursue some kind of outreach to minorities.

But why do the Republicans want to waste time and effort getting a point or two of Hispanic and black votes when they could start a determined pursuit of white voters from a position of strength.?

They had a determined approach to court white voters this last election, and they turned a lot of them off, particularly white women, who don't think crusty old white men should be legislating what to do with their bodies.

The GOP platform is so narrow now, that it's even turning away it's strongest base of support.

If the GOP were to surprisingly give up their anti-woman and anti-gay stance, it would accumulate not only more white voters, but more voters across all minorities.

Fat chance we'll see that anytime soon though, particularly with all the white people in that party who feel threatened somehow by diversity, not only of race, but of opinion.

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“The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s ‘death panel’ so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their ‘level of productivity in society,’ whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil."-Sarah Palin, not having a clue once again about what she is talking about.

I think the 0 will take care of driving white voters right.

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Socialism doesn't create a rising tide that lifts all boats. It drains the lake and teaches the boat riders not to help themselves by rowing.

Jesus loves you, allah wants you dead

"Every government interference in the economy consists of giving an unearned benefit, extorted by force, to some men at the expense of others."

Ayn Rand

I'm curious as why being anti abortion is considered "anti woman".

And I must have missed the effort to court white voters in 2008.

iyou didn't miss anything, just lefties trying to make race THE issue in the last election. as tot he women thing, lefties are trying to con women into this to try and hold onto vanishing support for abortion.

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Socialism doesn't create a rising tide that lifts all boats. It drains the lake and teaches the boat riders not to help themselves by rowing.

Jesus loves you, allah wants you dead

"Every government interference in the economy consists of giving an unearned benefit, extorted by force, to some men at the expense of others."

Ayn Rand

No, you're projecting.

Conservatives made race the issue, and the more they suggested Obama was foreign or different or "the other", the more it went that rational and sensible people decided that he was not so outrageous.

Conservatives framed the debate, not by saying they had the best ideas and the best candidate, but by saying that voting for that other guy would be the end of the world.

People stopped buying that horseshit, including whites.

As long as the GOP weirdos who have overrun that party don't take responsibility for their own shit, they'll continue to bleed support from all segments of American society, who are sick and tired of the far-right shooting their mouths off, getting elected, then blowing everything up without actually thinking things through first.

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“The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s ‘death panel’ so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their ‘level of productivity in society,’ whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil."-Sarah Palin, not having a clue once again about what she is talking about.

[QUOTE=Jason Marcel;1465592]



People stopped buying that horseshit, including whites.

QUOTE]

Fifty five percent of them seemed to buy it.

Only three percent fewer than in 2004.

And there is nothing morally or politically wrong about claiming the opposing candidate is a danger to American security or the economy.

Making overt moves to court white voters would have the backlash of being considered racist. Keep in mind, I'm not saying that courting white voters is racist, any more than courting voters of any other demographic - I'm just pointing out the realpolitik implications.

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"Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have... The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases."

-Thomas Jefferson

Why are even conservatives so opposed to this idea?

I want to win elections.

All the values and principles in the world will not help a political party that is never in power.

What people seem to forget is that conservative, small govt. principles are basically "white voter" principles.

White voters are the ones most likely to benefit from conservative small govt.

Minorities and recent immigrants benefit more heavily from federal govt. programs.

most immigrints came here to escape oppressive govt, the ones who come to work do not wish heavy taxation and regulation.

only those looking for a teet to suck on want the lib model.

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Socialism doesn't create a rising tide that lifts all boats. It drains the lake and teaches the boat riders not to help themselves by rowing.

Jesus loves you, allah wants you dead

"Every government interference in the economy consists of giving an unearned benefit, extorted by force, to some men at the expense of others."

Ayn Rand

What exactly is the platform that will unify 70% of white Americans?

You're talking about not only getting the independent middlish swath, but voters who've voted Democratic their whole lives... I suspect that there's a core of people in each party who will vote for their side the rest of their lives. Reagan didn't win 70% of the white vote in his landslide victory.

[QUOTE=Dayton3;1465596]Yes, there is something morally and politically wrong by claiming an opposing candidate is a danger to the American economy or to security: When it's a bogus charge leveed by paranoid sentimentalists who give a voice and a platform to the extremists among us.

That's when I have a problem with it.

I thought George Bush was a danger to America on several fronts, and that's why like millions of others, I thought it was important to get the word out about it and beat him at the ballot box using ideas about would be better.

The far left goes over-the-top and panders, but the far-right in America takes it a few steps further by giving a platform to crazy idiots who are simply uncomfortable with a black president. They think the world is ending, and they sincerely believe Beck and Limbaugh and Jon Voigt, and all the other sentimental douchebags on the right.

As long as they keep giving aid and comfort to the most ignorant among us, it'll drive away anyone with an ounce of rationality left in them.

The white voting base, IMHO, will continue to whittle away for the GOP as long as the party remains exclusive to it's currently rigid ideology of the past. George Bush was supposed to actually be a change of pace that way, and he never delivered on that promise.

The GOP is going to have to really abandon the old ways quick if they want to be viable, but I think we'll have to see them actually go to war with each other first in order for the progressives in that party to take the reigns once more.

But it'll be hard since it's been decades now that the GOP counted a greater majority of thinkers over rash sentimentalists.

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“The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s ‘death panel’ so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their ‘level of productivity in society,’ whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil."-Sarah Palin, not having a clue once again about what she is talking about.

First, I don't think American women are, generally speaking, as race and gender discriminatory as you make out. Secondly, according to the most recent Gallup poll on the issue, 49% of American women describe themselves as pro-life versus 44% who describe themselves as pro-choice. More Americans ?Pro-Life? Than ?Pro-Choice? for First Time

I don't think the dichotomy you suggest really holds up.

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Exactly. They need to recognize that fear and hate aren't a policy.

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most immigrants come here looking for work. the reason for this is the economic turmoil in countries where the United States' and European influence has made everyone poor (see Central/South America)

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"My country is the world, and my religion is to do good." --Thomas Paine