JUST LIKE US:

Hispanics' varying views yield surprises: A poll commissioned by The Herald shows that Hispanic Americans differ widely on views and values and are not a monolithic target for political parties. (OSCAR CORRAL, 04/05/04, Miami Herald)

"It has always intrigued me that Hispanics agree with Democrats on issues, but with Republicans on values,'' said John Zogby, who polled 1,000 likely Hispanic voters last week.

For example, Hispanic voters overwhelmingly support the death penalty, prayer in schools and privatization of Social Security. About half of those polled are also pro-choice on the abortion issue, despite their Roman Catholic background, and support the idea of prohibiting undocumented immigrants from receiving government aid such as food stamps and Medicaid.

Despite some major hurdles to overcome, such as language and discrimination, Hispanic voters are also well educated, well paid and politically moderate. Of those polled, 67 percent earned more than $35,000 a year, 75 percent had at least some college credits, and 64 percent described themselves as moderate to very conservative, with only 30 percent calling themselves liberal or progressive.

Of those polled, 58 percent are Mexican American, 10 percent Puerto Rican and 3.4 percent Cuban American. The margin of error for the entire poll is 3.2 percentage points.

What here is surprising?

Posted by Orrin Judd at April 7, 2004 2:04 PM