The current presidential election has highlighted everything that is currently wrong with the Republican party. Instead of focusing on political issues and policy proposals, the candidates for the Republican presidential nomination have been pandering to the most racist and anti-intellectual people within their party. Currently, many Republicans spend all of their energy blaming minority groups for problems in the nation, instead of trying to come up with actual solutions to issues.
Though many Republican candidates have fallen to this level, Donald Trump has been particularly ridiculous. According to Trump, the decrease of the middle class is due to a massive influx of Mexican immigrants who are stealing jobs, committing crimes, and taking advantage of government welfare. Not only are these claims easily disproved for being completely false, but they ignore Trump’s role in the rise of a few billionaires at the expense of the middle class. Thanks to Trump’s accusations towards Mexican people, the Republican party has basically lost all support from Latinos.
Immigration activists are planning to help a million immigrants register to vote. Their plan will take place in battleground states where the Republicans are barely hanging on to a lead. States such as Florida that are historically known to be swing states could become states the support the Democrats if the large Hispanic population is registered to vote. It is hoped that this will punish the Republican party and make them realize that they can no longer ignore all other Americans in favor of rich, white, Christian men.
Joshua Hoyt, the executive director of the National Partnership for New Americans applauds this plan for putting “a huge amount of latent power” into the hands of the very people that Trump routinely insults. Roughly nine million immigrants could potentially become citizens, and two million Latino-Americans have become 18 since the last presidential election. George Soros, the philanthropic billionaire who works to champion equal rights has been working to rally people against conservatives who rant for mass deportation and giant walls along borders. If the plan to register a million immigrants succeeds, it may be the end of the Republican party as we know it.
In the past, their conservative religious views have caused many Latinos to join the party, even though Republicans tend to try to make it as difficult as possible for any non-European people to come to the United States and gain citizenship. However, Trump’s outspoken xenophobia and racism may be a blessing in disguise that allows Democrats to take control of several states.
Even if Trump does not become the Republican candidate, Hispanics still will not vote for a party that has been rapidly supporting his hateful and idiotic views. The Democrat policies of inclusion and tolerance stay true to the founding values of the United States and fight against racism, hatred, and fear.