Democrats: Republicans Would ‘Turn Back Clock’ on Minorities

The highest-ranking black and Hispanic Democrats in the House said Wednesday that a Republican majority will “turn the clock back” with an agenda that hurts minorities.

House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn of South Carolina and Democratic Caucus Vice Chairman Xavier Becerra of California told reporters Wednesday that minorities will lose ground on health care and education, and Republicans will prevent any progress on immigration if the GOP takes control of Congress Nov. 2.

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Clyburn promised that Democrats will aggressively push for minorities on issues like health care reform.

“Next year, we may even get the public option,” he said. “It is important for future generations that we do everything we can to energize the vote.”

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“The Senate, because of the Republican filibuster, became a graveyard for good ideas, including immigration reform, including further reforms to the health care system,” Becerra said.

Just a third of Latino registered voters said they have given the November election “quite a lot” of thought, according to a Pew Hispanic Center poll released yesterday. But half of registered voters overall expressed the same sentiment. The numbers are bad for Democrats, since Hispanics overwhelmingly vote for them.

Lack of progress on comprehensive immigration reform has left some Latino voters disenchanted with Democrats, but the poll also found that Latinos are more worried about jobs and the economy.

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