First, my apologies. Once again, I need to write about an issue that I have covered over and over here at GetReligion.
I mean, like this: “Why are Latinos veering into GOP? It's all about money, money, money (and zero faith).”
Then there was: “Concerning Hispanic evangelicals, secret Trump voters and white evangelical women in Georgia.”
And also this: “New York Times listens to Latino evangelicals: 'Politically homeless' voters pushed toward Trump.”
Now, that third post did get to point readers to a passage in a New York Times story in which it appears that the reporter did pay attention to what a circle of Latino evangelicals had to say. For a brief moment, a window opened into a world that is larger than mere partisan politics:
When Pastor [Jose] Rivera looks at his congregation of 200 families he sees a microcosm of the Latino vote in the United States: how complex it is, and how each party’s attempt to solidify crucial support can fall short. There are not clear ideological lines here between liberals and conservatives. People care about immigration, but are equally concerned about religious liberty and abortion. …
To explain his own partisan affiliation, Mr. Rivera says he is “politically homeless.”
In that post, I noted that this sounded like words I have heard before, spoken by many frustrated Democrats in pews. To go further, I added:
That sounds just like the laments I have heard from all kinds of reluctant Trump voters — Catholic, Orthodox, evangelicals, etc. — who define themselves in terms of their religious convictions, more than loyalty to a political party. They feel stuck, but shoved toward the GOP because of an overwhelming sense of fear caused by Democrats (and mass media professionals) who now put “religious liberty” inside scare quotes.
So this brings me to a new headline at The New York Times: “Latino Voters Moved Toward Republicans. Now Biden Wants Them Back.” Yes, here we go again.
