A new progressive era --- seriously...

Mother Jones features an article on the potential of a new progressive era that is worth the time to read. I found the most interesting portion to be the section on the demographic change occuring in America along geographical and ethnic lines. These changes are, in and of themselves, interesting, but when viewed through the lens of an increasing population of Latino voters they become the focal point of any electoral calculus over the next twenty to fifty years. The Latino vote showed a significant change from 2004 to 2006, with the gap between Democratic and Republican votes growing by 24%. The article points out that the Immigration debate may end up being the death of the conservative surge since 1980. We shall see. My biggest fear is that neither side will actually work to address this issue and our xenophobia will continue until we have 25% of the population very disenchanted and disenfranchised by these policies.