The Hill is getting a lot of flack for tweeting that Republicans want to “steal” Hispanic votes from Democrats. This implies that the Democrats are their property.
The tweet shared an article by the publication that explored how Republican outreach has helped Hispanic voters. The article stated:
Republicans are actively courting Hispanic voters in key competitive House districts, hoping to peel away voters from Democrats repeating their historical pattern of investing little and late in reaching out to Latinos.
“Hispanic votes are expected to play a major role in at most a dozen districts during the November midterm election .”
While the article dealt with the topic in a way that was not controversial, the tweet that promoted the article caused a stir.
“GOP has the chance to seize Hispanic votes from Democrats,” reads the tweet.
GOP sees chance to steal Hispanic voters from Democrats https://t.co/exjZNLuLCc pic.twitter.com/k5Dk3XE3QV
— The Hill (@thehill) July 14, 2022
The tweet was criticized by Critics who said that the “steal” word implied Hispanic voters are the property of Democrats and should be used for political purposes, not people to serve.
“Steal” as if you’re entitled to anyone’s vote.
— Accuracy In Media (@AccuracyInMedia) July 14, 2022
All the remaining Latinas/Latinos candidates should do a 2022 TACO TOUR together. https://t.co/THk8OD5ZXk
— Shukri Abdirahman (@ShuForCongress) July 15, 2022
. @TheHill spewing racist garbage, plain and simple. https://t.co/h9hym7Mwor
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) July 14, 2022
Wasn’t aware the Dems owned people. https://t.co/A17pAquSpu
— Leighton Woodhouse (@lwoodhouse) July 14, 2022
Notice the presumption here https://t.co/hiVjtwwPd6
— jimtreacher.substack.com (@jtLOL) July 14, 2022
Democrats don’t own Hispanic voters!
Recent polling by FreedomWorks Hispanic Grassroots Alliance, conducted by The Bullfinch Group, revealed that a pro-liberty platform is strongly embraced by Hispanic voters. #ampFW https://t.co/A427IHgM3r
— FreedomWorks (@FreedomWorks) July 14, 2022
The underlying assumption in this headline is that Hispanics belong to Democrats. Only if Hispanics are owned by Democrats does it make sense to talk about the GOP “stealing” them https://t.co/YTqQ5bvSYC
— Dinesh D’Souza (@DineshDSouza) July 14, 2022
The tweet was sent after Jill Biden, first lady of the Democratic-Hispanic Relations Commission on Monday, compared Latinx IncluXion Luncheon attendees to “tacos”, and torpedoed Democrat/Hispanic relations.
Biden said, speaking about UnidosUS founder Raul Yzaguirre:
Raul helped build this organization with the understanding that the diversity of this community – as distinct as the bodegas of the Bronx, as beautiful as the blossoms of Miami, and as unique as the breakfast tacos here in San Antonio – is your strength. Biden said, speaking about UnidosUS founder Raul Yzaguirre.
Jill Biden said that the Hispanic community was as unique as tacos at a “Latinx IncluXion” conference. pic.twitter.com/Vb5wJyYGWB
— RNC Latinos (@RNCLatinos) July 11, 2022
The backlash against Biden’s comments was swift and strong, with the National Association of Hispanic Journalists strongly condemning her racist statement.
“NAHJ urges Dr. Biden to continue to work with her speech-writing team and to learn more about the complex issues facing our communities and people,” stated the group.
“We are not tacos,” NAHJ continued. Our heritage as Latinos has been shaped over time by many cultures, food traditions and diasporas. It should not be taken to mean that we are latinos.
A spokesman for the first lady later said that Jill Biden “apologizes that her words conveyed anything but pure admiration and love for the Latino community.”
