The Old Eighteen

A blue panhandle?

Over at jobsanger, there's an excellent post up about the changing demographic makeup of the Texas Panhandle and South Plains, which could cause the areas to shift from red to blue in the near future.  Jobsanger sees this happening as the result of two demographic trends: as many young whites have left the area to seek greener pastures elsewhere, this has resulted in a declining population in many rural counties; at the same time, many Latino familes have chosen to stay in the area.  As a result of this, Latinos represent a growing percentage of the population in West Texas and have achieved a majority in several counties.  As jobsanger observes, the area's demographic makeup is becoming more like that of South Texas, and could result in similar voting patterns.  The only two areas in the region not suffering population decline are Amarillo and Lubbock, but both of these cities have sizeable minority populations, and with the increased emphasis on grassroots organizing as part of Howard Dean's 50-state strategy and Barack Obama's presidential campaign, these cities too could swing blue in the near future.

This is happening within the context of a statewide trend that shows Texas with an aging white population and a growing Latino population.  And with young voters trending Democratic, all the makings are there for the emergence of Texas as a swing state, and possibly even a state that leans Democratic once again.  We could see the beginnings of this in November, but regardless of what happens this year, the next decade presents a golden opportunity for Democrats that could pay huge dividends if they act on it.

Census report: Texas has added nearly 2 million new Latino residents since 2000

Here's some news that will probably make Tom Tancredo's head explode: the US Census is releasing population estimates showing that the percentage of Latino residents in Texas grew to 36 percent of the state's population in 2007, up from 32 percent in 2000 when the last census was taken.  According to the estimates, Texas has added 1.9 million Latino residents since the 2000 census, and the trend looks to continue for the foreseeable future, as the median age of Latino residents in Texas is only 27, compared to 40 for non-Hispanic whites.  Latinos are also a growing part of the national population: they made up 15.1 percent of the US population in 2007, compared to 12.5 percent at the beginning of the decade, and the rate of Latino births and migration to the US is three times higher than that of non-Hispanic whites.

These numbers offer increasing evidence that the demographic makeup of Texas is changing in ways that will undoubtedly be reflected in the state's political culture.  We may already be seeing this in increased Democratic registration numbers in the state, and early polls for the presidential election this November (1, 2) indicate that Texas will be a crucial battleground state, not the blowout Republican victory that it's been in past election cycles.  The Senate campaign of Rick Noriega this year could also offer an interesting test case for the growth of Latino political power in Texas.  Latino voters, combined with a emerging generation of young voters of all races who appear to heavily favor the Democratic party, could be the catalyst for a dramatic shift in the state's political leanings, which would have a dramatic effect on the balance of power at the national level.

Why do Republicans hate Hispanics?

Snark aside, it's not Hispanics they hate, just people who stand up for their rights:

Last week, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was forced to spend a couple of days offering tortured and nonsensical explanations for his once-strident opposition to holidays honoring Dr. Martin Luther King.

Ironically, Senate Republicans were, at the same time, blocking a resolution honoring another pioneering hero, civil rights leader César Chávez.

In fact, the Senate effort was the second consecutive year in which Republicans had blocked unanimous consent on a resolution that inoffensively “recognizes the accomplishments and example of a great American hero, César Estrada Chávez; pledges to promote the legacy of César Estrada Chávez; and encourages the people of the United States to commemorate the legacy of César Estrada Chávez, and to always remember his great rallying cry, ‘Sí, se puede!’ ”

Of course, like Martin Luther King before him, Chávez stood for principles vigorously opposed by the Republican Party. It’s no surprise that the GOP would stand in the way of honoring a man who demanded immigrants be treated fairly and with dignity, fought for worker rights and co-founded the United Farm Workers labor union, and who stood for better healthcare, education, and livable housing for all Americans.