One big problem the Republican Party, the party of Lincoln has, is that they have created a negative image among Latinos, Muslims, minorities, and women. In the City of Brotherly Love there has been no love for Republicans for more than 6 decades, since 1953–that is 66 years. The dominance of the Democratic Party is not so much due to their efficiency in governing, but rather to the fact that the GOP fled to the suburbs leaving the city to the minorities. Having control of the government for so many years the Democratic Party, the party of the War on Poverty and the great Society, should have created a strong middle class, decent schools, sound policies to attract businesses, a fair tax system to promote wealth creation and more.
But as we look at the landscape of one of the poorest urban centers in the country we can justly blame those who have ruled our destiny in the last decades. And the Hispanic neighborhood is the poorest in the city. Every time a new election comes around there is talk about the increasing importance of the Latino vote and about how politicians should be paying heed, because we will have more to say about who runs this city. And each time we are disappointed at the number of Latinos who vote. But the Democrats are not the only ones to blame. Latinos, have given the Democratic Party their allegiance without expecting anything in return. Let’s wake up to the reality that if we don’t vote, there is no reason to expect better results in the future. Unless we cast a vote with full knowledge of what it means, and unless we vote to put our people in government, we are condemned to live in poverty and with bad schools. Think about that.