RUBEN NAVARRETTE JR.: Latino voters are turning to the GOP

“Why would any Latino vote for a Republican?”

That’s what a liberal reader wanted to know. Angry at me about something I wrote, he aired his grievances publicly in a letter to the editor.

“Why would any Latino vote for a Republican?”

Maybe that is an honest inquiry fueled by real curiosity. Or maybe it’s a condescending criticism that implies a group of voters is acting irrationally.

In this case, given the tone of the rest of the letter — rude, presumptuous and offensive — I’m going with option No. 2.

What triggered the reader was a column I wrote about the 2024 election, headlined: “Why Liberals Have a Latino Problem.”

For some, the real problem is Latinos who think for themselves.

The offending column suggested that — with Donald Trump leading President Joe Biden with Latinos in some polls — Democrats need to work harder and stop taking Latino voters for granted. It’s not enough to tell Latinos that Republicans are awful.

Most people probably don’t think that is controversial. But liberals are not “most people.” Some take umbrage at being criticized by a member of a group that they believe owes them a debt of gratitude.

“You don’t have to be a student of political history to know that it has been almost exclusively the Democratic Party that has fought for and gained voting rights, public assistance and fairness in the private sector for Hispanic and Black commercial entrepreneurship,” the reader wrote.

Revisionist history, anyone? It was Southern Democrats who opposed the 1965 Voting Rights Act. And attempts by Democrats to grow the welfare state in the 1970s and 1980s arguably undermined the financial stability of Latinos and African Americans, making them dependent on a government-run bureaucracy.

The reader went on to say, “The Republicans have a history of resisting these measures based on their perception that these discriminate against our white population.”

The reader is right. But it’s not just Republicans who have pandered to white grievances. With affirmative action in college admissions, to cite one example, there are plenty of white Democrats who feel uneasy about the practice of race-based preferences. And so there have always been moderate Democrats who were willing to reform affirmative action and — to borrow a phrase from President Bill Clinton — “mend it, don’t end it.”

Then the reader shifted to immigration and continued to spin a narrative favorable to Democrats.

“And which party has pushed for draconian attempts to stifle legal immigration on our southern border?” the reader asked.

With Senate Democrats ready to make a deal with Republicans to increase border security, and Biden having borrowed many of Trump’s “draconian” enforcement tactics at the border, such as building sections of border wall and reopening detention facilities, I would say it’s a tie.

Finally, the reader — who apparently thinks they know my community better than I do — accused me of doing Latinos a “disservice” by asserting that Democrats have not done right by them.

I would be doing a greater disservice if I let Latino voters continue to be manipulated by Democrats — who, in truth, owe Latino voters as much as Latino voters owe them.

The question of why Latinos might vote Republican is certainly timely.

The CNBC All-America Economic Survey, which was released this week, found that in a hypothetical rematch between Biden and Trump, the former president had a 5-point lead over Biden with Latinos. In October, the same poll found that Biden held a 7-point lead over Trump among Latinos.

It’s no wonder some liberals lash out at Latinos who ask Democrats to do more. For the left, which needs a united front to battle Trump and the MAGA brigade, these are dangerous times to be rocking the boat.

But if the boat doesn’t get rocked, and Latinos don’t start getting some respect instead of feeling neglected, they might continue to drift toward Trump or stay home altogether. Neither would benefit Biden. So if you think the political outlook is bleak now, just wait until next year.

Here’s a lesson that liberals never learn: Condescension is a more effective repellent than bug spray. Democrats think Latinos vote for Republicans because they favor tax cuts or oppose abortion. But Democrats won’t acknowledge the donkey in the room: Many Latinos turn to Republicans when they’re fed up with Democrats talking down to them.

That is why some Latinos might vote for a Republican.

Thank you for asking.

Ruben Navarrette’s email address is crimscribe@icloud.com. His podcast, “Ruben in the Center,” is available through every podcast app.