Latino Republicans win primaries; media says they don't
Someone please explain to me how it is possible to write an article about how "Hispanic candidates struggle to win statewide [Texas] Republican primaries" after Ted Cruz.
It's like writing an article about how African-Americans with funny names can't be elected president of the US, and at the end just glossing over some guy named Barack Obama. It's prima facie absurd. For the rest of this post, the blockquotes are from that article.
Fighting the perception that Hispanic candidates struggle to win statewide Republican primaries, many party officials have pointed to the 2014 land commissioner's race, which features George P. Bush, the odds-on favorite, whose mother was born in Mexico.
What perception? I've heard of the myth that Democrats repeat because they believe their own spin. Victor Carrillo's poor campaign (to the extent that you can even call it a campaign) for Railroad Commissioner aside, there is no evidence.
But many political observers in Texas say that Mr. Bush, the grandson of former President George H. W. Bush and son of former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida, should not be seen as the start of a trend. After all, Mr. Bush has a famous -- and non-Hispanic -- name. Candidates with Hispanic surnames are still expected to face challenges in Republican primaries in Texas.
Boy, what a stroke of luck for George P. Bush that his last name doesn't end in an s or even worse a z, because then he'd never have a chance with those crazy Texas Republicans. Right?
Must've been my imagination.
Mike Baselice, a longtime pollster for Republicans in Texas, said that Mr. Bush would probably poll 5 to 10 points lower than his opponent if he had a Hispanic surname...
Baselice....me suena, me suena. Claro, ya me acuerdo, he was the pollster for David Dewhurst...ˇy que encuestas! He's been consistently wrong about Latino Republicans in Texas. Baselice's polls consistently put Ted Cruz at least 5-10 points under Dewhurst. Remember how Baselice said Dewhurst was ahead by 5 points right before the runoff when the Dew was behind by 10? Remember when Baselice said Dewhurst was up 8 a few weeks before the runoff?
To put it bluntly, Baselice's polls lack credibility. He already screwed up on this exact question once before.
And now, 6 paragraphs and 337 words into the article, we get to the elephant in the room:
Steve Munisteri, the chairman of the Republican Party of Texas, dismissed the idea that Hispanic candidates were handicapped in the primaries by their surnames, citing Ted Cruz's victory in the 2012 race for the United States Senate and recent legislative wins by other Hispanic Republicans. In fact, Mr. Munisteri said, Hispanic candidates could "have a slight advantage, given the party’s awareness of the need to attract Hispanics."
6 paragraphs and 337 words before an article on Latino Republicans running for office mentioned Ted Cruz's victory. Hyperbole fails me. You. Can't. Make. This. Stuff. Up.
To even begin to think that Hispanic candidates "struggle" in Republican primaries, you'd have to be convinced that Texas Republicans are prejudiced. Otherwise, it doesn't make sense. The evidence says that Latinos do quite well in Texas Republican primaries.
Posted by Evan @ 12/30/13 04:28 PM
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