The dilemma that Latino voters face is not about either skin color or gender, it is about immigration which has been a hot button topic in the race for the US Republican nomination that leads into the race for US President in the general election.
Senator John McCain of Arizona has been seen as a moderate Republican for the longest time when it came to immigration and immigration reform. But the dilemma comes of supporting McCain is the GOP’s strong and overbearing approach on the hot topic.
On February 7, Mitt Romney had announced that he would suspend his campaign in front of the Conservative Political Action Committee conference which was set in Washington DC. Many were surprised at Romney’s announcement. John McCain had also spoken at the conference when he was welcomed from a cold reception.
McCain has attempted to woo the conservative base of the Republican Party. But, it has yet to happen. When McCain talked about immigration, he was welcomed with boos from the crowd.
“Sure, I have held other positions that have not met with widespread agreement from conservatives. I won’t pretend otherwise nor would you permit me to forget it,” McCain fired at the crowd when he had spoken at the conference.
At the conference, he said that he would secure the borders first before he would offer options in dealing with the flow of illegal immigration. This is a sharp turn from McCain’s original proposal that also included a roadmap to US citizenship.
Texas is holding its GOP primary on March 4. It is one of the states that borders with Mexico. Also, Texas has a large population of Latinos statewide. If McCain takes Texas, he could get the needed number of delegates to grab the GOP nomination.
GOP hopeful Mike Huckabee remains in the race and reminded McCain that he needs to win that number to win the nomination. Huckabee had made it clear that he does not intend for McCain to receive an easy victory.
As a result, McCain is not able to focus on the general election and must continue to keep his sights on the primaries and caucuses. Immigration could be one of the things Huckabee can point out against McCain.
The GOP’s conservative bloc has taken a hard-line stance in terms of immigration.
Reverend Samuel Rodriguez said that it is not McCain the Latino community dislikes, it is the party he represents.
“Will Latinos be able to look at John McCain and say we’re gonna support the party because of you and in spite of your party? That’s the question that will be answered November 4,” said Reverend Samuel Rodriguez, who is the president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference.
Rodriguez has many times to the Latino Evangelical churches. He has expressed his disapproval of the hard-line stance taken by the conservatives within the GOP.
“Who’s responsible? The Republican National Party. Who will pay in the 2008 elections? The Republican National Party,” Rodriguez added.
“In John McCain we have someone who can expand our base. President Bush the father, President Bush the son, did it,” said Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Cuban-American from Miami who is a Florida Representative. She added: “They got a good chuck. President Reagan did as well, a good chuck of the Hispanic vote. But we’ve lost that now because of that nasty rhetoric.”
She admits that many Latino voters especially in Miami are turned off by the GOP at the moment.
“I think that it’s more than the immigration situation. Right now our community is desperate with the economy,” said Martza Sanz, who is Puerto Rican-born, a Democrat, and the founder of the Latino Leadership located in Orlando, Florida. That group is focused on registering Latinos to vote and get out the vote.
One side of the coin is about immigration. But the other side of the does reveal that Latino voters are too concerned about the economy like most other voters regardless of ethnicity. Recent polls revealed that the economy is the most important concern.
It shows that the number 1 issue amongst Latino voters is necessarily immigration.
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