Antoinette, a married mother with two young children in New Mexico, says that “we need a government that supports job growth” and businesses.
We spoke to her in September when she was volunteering at Operation Freedom’s Albuquerque headquarters, a grassroots center to promote economic freedom that is sponsored by The Libre Initiative, Americans for Prosperity – New Mexico, and American Commitment.
“The reason I came in today is because I think that organizations like this need a lot of support. And right now we’re in an economic crisis, to be honest,” she said. “And we need a lot more freedom from government. We need…a government that supports job growth, business. I have two small children. I’m an Hispanic mother.”
Like several of the volunteers we met, Antoinette offered a candid assessment of the state of the economy. As we’ve noted previously, lingering unemployment, growing poverty, higher prices for food and gas, increased taxes and regulatory burdens are making the American Dream more and more elusive.
In a 2011 study by George Washington University’s Mercatus Center, New Mexico ranked 45th in economic freedom. By contrast neighboring states fared significantly better: Colorado (10), Texas (15) and Arizona (22). Researchers examined fiscal and regulatory policies, and conducted surveys to calculate each state’s index of freedom.
Despite the harsh economic realities, a number of pundits prefer to perpetuate a view that a majority of Hispanics will reliably vote Democratic.
Antoinette’s perspective challenges that…
“I have grown up in a Democratic family – where in the Hispanic culture if your mom’s mom’s mom’s mom and dad’s dad’s dad voted Democrat – you just voted Democrat and…that was just a given. And, it’s time now to start researching and start vetting your candidates. Seeing what you really stand for, what is important to you, for your children’s future, for the economy of the country.”
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“I talk to as many people as I possibly can. They look at me like I’m a little bit crazy sometimes because I’m a young Hispanic women. But, let’s just say my eyes have been opened and I really think that we need to have less government and more freedom.”
