"Immigration key in Romney drive for Hispanic votes" by Matt Viser | Globe Staff, June 09, 2012
WASHINGTON - Hispanic advisers to Mitt Romney have told him that it is vital that he soften the sharp rhetoric on immigration that he adopted during the Republican primary race and that he work to make inroads with one of the fastest-growing segments of the electorate.
Several advisers said it is evident that Romney is getting the
message, and there are plans underway to make a push among Hispanic
voters, who currently support President Obama by more than a 2-to-1
margin. The Romney campaign recently hired a full-time Hispanic outreach
coordinator and has held several strategy meetings in Boston with
Hispanic leaders.
With a bit of irony, the campaign is also reaching out to a group that combines two constituencies that Romney has fared poorly with in the past: Hispanic evangelicals....
Romney is preparing a speech on June 21 before a group of Latino officials in Orlando, an address that some of his Hispanic advisers are pointing to as a potential major turning point. Romney will address that group, the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, one day before President Obama does, so it will provide a stark contrast between the two candidates on dealing with the nation’s persistent immigration problems.
Romney advisers don’t envision him backing away from his overarching position - that illegal immigrants should not be given any special pathway to citizenship - but his emphasis and rhetoric will probably shift.
How do you say Mitt will be shoveling the old bullshit in Spanish?
It is still unclear how detailed a policy Romney will outline in that address, with one potential variable being a bill that is being drafted by Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican and top Hispanic leader. Romney has said only that he is examining Rubio’s plan, which would grant non-immigrant visas to young people here illegally if they go to college or serve in the military.
Anything to get you into debt or the de facto draft.
The plan is a modified version of the so-called DREAM Act, which Democrats have been pushing for several years....
Good thing this came after the primari.... !!
A reform proposal by Rubio, a potential vice presidential pick, could provide a way for Romney to recast his position on immigration.
Don't we call that a FLIP-FLOP?
Romney has significant ground to make up. During the Republican primary, he was among the most adamant in his party about cracking down on illegal immigration. He said those in the country illegally should go through “self-deportation.’’
Gee, when Helen Thomas suggests that about a certain group of people hackles are raised.
He criticized one-time rivals Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich for policies that were seen as friendly to Latinos....
But so far, since the general election campaign began in earnest, Romney has rarely brought up immigration.
See: AmeriKan Media Shifts Into General Election Overdrive
When he spoke to the Latino Coalition last month, he used the occasion to outline his policies on education.
See: Romney Gets Schooled By Ghetto Kids
Romney advisers and supporters don’t think he needs to drastically alter his campaign message - polls, after all, show that the top issue for Hispanics is the economy - but they do acknowledge he needs to discuss immigration in a more prominent way.
“There’s a window of opportunity that Romney has to talk about this issue and define what he would do,’’ said Jennifer Korn, who was the national Hispanic director for President Bush’s 2004 campaign and is now the executive director of the Hispanic Leadership Network. “Hispanics are still shopping, they’re open to hearing what Romney has to say.’’
Romney’s efforts to reach out to Hispanic evangelicals also appears to be an attempt to find common ground with a group that largely shares his views on social issues....
Overall, polls show that Hispanics are more socially conservative than other voters on some issues, such as abortion, but are more liberal on others, such as homosexuality. Hispanics are also more likely than the general public to describe their views as liberal, according to a Pew Research poll conducted in April.
They look confused -- or not as monolithic as the press makes every wedge group appear.
Romney has rarely had to reach out to Spanish-speaking voters during his political career. Hispanics are a small percentage of the Massachusetts population, and during Romney’s 2008 race, he didn’t get far enough into the campaign to make Hispanic outreach a major push. That makes his challenges more acute than they were for previous Republicans - including George W. Bush, from Texas, and John McCain, from Arizona - who had to build coalitions for statewide elections that included Hispanics.
Romney advisers think it is important that he does better than the 32 percent of the Hispanic vote that McCain won in 2008, particularly given the growing Hispanic population in key states like Florida, Colorado, and Nevada. Their current goal is about 40 percent of the vote, which means there is a lot of work left to be done.
Let the vote-rigging begin!
A poll released last week showed Obama with 61 percent among Latinos, compared with 27 percent for Romney. The NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Telemundo poll also showed that Obama had a 61 percent approval rating among Latinos, compared with 48 percent among all Americans.
Romney only recently started running Spanish-language ads, and so far they are the same ads that are running in English, only translated. But Romney’s campaign has also been in talks with San Antonio-based MAS Consulting Group, which specializes in Spanish advertising and consulting....
--more--"
I can't understand a word they are saying.
Next Day Update: Hispanic leaders worry over slow voter registration
