Latest News from the TLC

Latino Republicans Push Back on Party's Immigration Agenda

Now that the Republican Party has assumed control of the U.S. House of Representatives, the issue of immigration reform is finally back on the table as Democrats have been looking the other way for the last several years.  As Americans know by now, Democrats have positioned subconsciously,  if not consciously, to be for "open borders", whereas Republicans contradict this position with restrictive policies that purport to create a more orderly and updated system of entry. Both sides of the issue seem intractable.

There are various theories of how to negotiate a reform or political compromise with an endgame that enables both sides to win some, if not all,  proportion of the debate.  The great German philosopher, Frederick Hegel, in the 19th century, created a systematic approach for uses in political compromises and the positive progression of History. He postulated that the history of civilization only moves forward based upon one side advocating a "Thesis" or strong point of view which is always contradicted the by an Anti-Thesis",  based upon perceived imperfections and design flaws. Hegel says that you have to use "Reason" or rational thought rather than emotionality or perceptions to finally arrive at a "Synthesis" or compromise that both sides can win, at least, somewhat each can win.  In other words, civilization advances in a positive manner only when both sides agree to advancing the  quality of life, which he calls a "Synthesis".  The key here is: how do you arrive at a successful mid-point to both points of view in which history can advance?

South Texas & South Florida: New Red Wave Twin Sisters?

The following article with excerpts appeared recently in The New Yorker magazine (Jan 25, 2023) on how the Democrats are losing the Latino vote in South Florida.  There is a parallel here in geopolitical terms with South Texas.  There has been so much success in South Florida that we, in Texas, might pick up some valuable tips and inside operational knowledge.  It is obvious that the  South Florida GOP:

  1. Outworked the Florida state Democrats year around 
  2. Invested more money in their canvassing efforts
  3. Had better messaging
  4. Had more networking sessions year around
  5. AND, basically, forced the Democrats to campaign from behind.

--V. Lance Tarrance, Jr.

Republicans’ sustained and successful courting of Latino voters in South Florida could be a road map for the G.O.P. in 2024.

by Stephania Taladrid, Jan 25, 2003.  The New Yorker

"...
When Trump ran for President in 2016, his resort was seen as a Republican island in Miami-Dade County, an area that has been a Democratic stronghold for decades. That year, Hillary Clinton beat Trump by thirty points there. In the midterms of 2018, Governor Ron DeSantis lost Miami-Dade by twenty points. Democrats’ hopes of flipping Florida long rested in the southeast of the state. But the Democratic Party’s dominance in Florida’s most populous county has been slowly eroding. In 2020, Trump cut the Party’s lead, losing to Biden by a mere seven points in Miami-Dade."


Why Climate Catastrophism May be Helping the Working/Middle Class Shift Away from Democrats

There has recently been published a three (3) part analysis of WHY the Democratic Party is losing the working and middle classes of America: their new political themes of "climate catastrophism" (for example, see Al Gore at Davos ). Since the Democratic Party has shifted away from practical considerations of dealing with the environment, more sensitive in Texas, it explains a big part of the generational realignment to the Republican Party.

Most political observers believe the realignment problem for the Democrats is because they have moved so far to the Left, particularly on the new cultural issues, but these articles say "not so fast '.  The Hispanic vote is shifting today because of the lack of economic freedom by the new Democratic climate philosophy and, because of their New Left climate policies, has allowed working class Hispanics to check out the more conservative party.