TIME Magazine Cover Asserts Latinos Will Decide the Next President

TIME Magazine is making a bold claim: The Latino vote will decide the 2012 elections.

Their cover story, written by Michael Sherer, argues that the Latino vote has grown in certain parts of the country that may determine our President in 2012.

Sherer says that new voters in the Southwest are largely Latino, and that if Obama is able to win “heavily-Latino Western states like Nevada, Colorado and Arizona,” he would be able to afford losing industrial Midwestern states like Ohio and Wisconsin.

The author calls it an “awkward coincidence” that the last of the Republican debates is occurring in Arizona — a state known for its controversial immigration laws. Many believe the GOP’s harsh rhetoric surrounding undocumented immigrants has alienated Latinos from the Republican party, and may in turn cost the party the election in 2012. {snip}

{snip}

During recent campaign stops and debates, some Republican candidates have ratcheted up their anti-immigrant talk, pledging aggressive measures to discourage illegal immigration. Romney suggested making life so difficult for undocumented immigrants that they “self-deport,” Gingrich called for a “double fence,” and Ron Paul pledged to “attack their benefits,” such as “free education” and “birth right citizenship”.

{snip}