LatinaLista — Herman Cain, the only black Republican contender for the GOP presidential nomination, is worried that he can’t count on the support of his fellow blacks to win the presidency. In a CNN interview that aired last night, Cain said “black voters have been “brainwashed” into voting for liberals…”
The same argument can be made by Latino conservatives regarding Latino voters as well. The only thing is it wouldn’t be true for Latino voters, as I’m pretty sure it’s not true for black voters.
It’s not brainwashing that has turned many people of color off from the Republican Party. Rather, it’s been the practice of exclusion.
For the last several years, low and middle-income Latinos and blacks have had their stories of hardship ignored and dismissed from members of the GOP. Stories of not having a job or health insurance, or young students being deported for simply making the best of a life they had no say in have not found empathetic ears among the GOP.
It has not mattered if that GOP member is white, black, Latino, Asian, etc. The lack of empathy and the extreme viewpoint that people get what they deserve, even if they did everything by the book, is what “brainwashes” people into understanding that a political party that can’t see past its own ideology can’t see them either.
It’s especially troubling when successful people of color, like Cain or FL. Sen. Marco Rubio, are so entrenched in their successful lives and careers that they have lost the ability to put themselves into the shoes of those less fortunate and with less opportunities than they enjoyed and still enjoy.
This wasn’t always the case.
There was a time when many Latinos identified with the Republican values that were believed to be the heart of the political party. Unfortunately, nowadays, the narrative has been so hijacked that it’s unrecognizable as the party it once was.
It’s surprising that Cain can’t see this and it begs the question — who’s the one that’s really been brainwashed?
