The Patriot Post® · The Looming Demographic Cliff

Recently, the Pew Research Center released a report: six in 10 Latinos are 33-years-old and under. “For the nation’s Hispanic population, youth is a defining characteristic,” Pew wrote. Compared to other races and ethnic groups, Hispanics have the largest number of youths, meaning as the Millennial generation and the generation after that grow up and become politically involved, the Hispanic vote will become a kingmaker.

This presents a looming problem for the Republican Party, one that could cause it to lose national election after national election. The GOP depends on aging whites to get its candidates elected to office, a demographic that’s, frankly, passing on. Indeed, Republican leadership recognized this problem after the 2012 election, and they made efforts to reach out to minority demographics in order to broaden the base.

But then Donald Trump happened. And the inclusionary strategy seemed to have been tossed out the window. Republican strategist Ford O'Connell told NPR last month, “There is a way to win the presidential election by goosing the white vote. The sky is not yet falling. We are on the brink, but we are not there yet.”

If the principle of Liberty is to continue, conservatives must reach more of their neighbors. As we wrote before, the Hispanic demographic in this nation is large and diverse. It’s a mistake to think every single one of them toes the Democrat Party line when it comes to immigration. Instead, as Ed Morrissey points out, conservatives can make inroads talking about “the economy, education, energy, and the environment” — part of the core of the conservative platform. After all, according to Pew, the majority of the young Latinos in America are proficient in English and furthermore U.S. citizens. Memo to young Hispanics: Your ancestors likely fled to the U.S. from a crime-ridden and economically blighted country dominated by leftists; unless you want this great nation to follow in those same awful footsteps, don’t vote for Democrats.

(Revised.)