Mitt Romney's polling numbers with Hispanic voters are abysmal. The media has attributed this to his extreme statements on immigration. This is only part of the story. Romney's campaign outreach to Hispanics faces deep structural and policy deficits. His campaign does not have the necessary tools to present his best case to Hispanic voters. From a policy standpoint, his stance on the DREAM Act is complicated at best and his embrace of the Ryan Budget puts him at odds with Hispanic voters on education and Medicare.
Romney's sagging numbers in Florida and Obama's considerable lead among Hispanics in Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona shrinks his electoral map path to victory. This electoral map reality makes Romney's lack of outreach to Hispanic voters all the more baffling.
Buzz Feed puts it best: "A full year after Romney launched his presidential bid, the campaign doesn't have a Spanish version of its website, nor has it hired a Spanish-speaking spokesperson. Romney boycotted a primary debate on Univision, leading to the event's collapse, and, to date, he has only done one sit-down interview on a national Spanish network."
The Republican National Committee (RNC) has constructed a Spanish language tumblr which mostly trashes the Obama Administration in Spanish. It is fine to disagree with the President's policy decisions, but to present no policy recommendations of your own is a bit hypocritical. Although you can't really blame the RNC for not presenting any policy recommendations for Hispanic voters, as Romney's campaign has not done so itself. Romney's campaign does not have a policy page yet because they have not worked out where they are on issues important to Hispanics. A perfect example of this is the DREAM Act.
Speaking at the White House's Cinco de Mayo reception, President Barack Obama called on Congress to pass the Dream Act --a measure deeply popular with Hispanic voters. The Romney campaign has repeatedly stated that he would veto the DREAM Act if it came to his desk as President. Florida Senator Marco Rubio, a possible vice president pick for Romney, is currently advancing his own version of the legislation. Romney has declined to endorse the legislation and as of this writing was "studying" the legislation.
While immigration is important to Hispanics it is by no means the only issue they vote on, Medicare and education are deeply cherished institutions to this voting bloc. Romney is far to the right of where Hispanic voters are on both issues. Romney has publicly stated that Congressman Paul Ryan's budget plan was "Marvelous." His campaign has indicated that he would be running on a plan similar to Ryan's in the general election. The Ryan Plan certainly is marvelous, as long as you are fabulously wealthy. However for those in the country who rely on a good public education or Medicare it is disastrous.
On education, the Ryan/Romney Plan would eliminate money for 200,000 children in 2014, according to an analysis by the National Education Association. On Medicare, the Ryan/Romney Plan would cut spending on the poorest by about $5 trillion over 10 years from Medicaid and other programs that Hispanics and the rest of working class Americans use. On the other hand, the Ryan/Romney plan balances the budget on the back of the working middle class while giving $4 trillion in tax cuts to the most-wealthy Americans.
While some may disagree with this analysis, even a casual observer can see that the Romney campaign has put zero thought into their Hispanic outreach. The worst thing about Romney's presidential campaign is not their Tumblr page (which is actually an RNC production), nor their lack of Spanish language content/spokesmen, but rather there has been no new ideas about how a Romney Presidency would help Hispanics. Romney's team has indicated that the Hispanic vote is important, but when will he ever actually reach out to them? At this point is it even possible for Romney to reach out without flip flopping completely on past stances? It is perfectly O.K. if Romney wants to engage on other issues with the Hispanic community, he may have a great energy plan.... at this point he just needs to engage.
Follow Kristian Ramos on Twitter: www.twitter.com/kramos1841
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 |
 |
|
| Obama | Romney | |
|---|---|---|
| Electoral Votes (270 to win) |
332 | 206 |
| Obama | Romney | |
|---|---|---|
| Total | 65,899,660 | 60,932,152 |
| Percent | 51.1% | 47.2% |
| Democrats* | Republicans | |
|---|---|---|
| Current Senate | 53 | 47 |
| Seats gained or lost | +2 | -2 |
| New Total | 55 | 45 |
| Democrats | Republicans | |
|---|---|---|
| Seats won | 201 | 234 |
Out of major issues allegedly important to Hispanics, the author misses THE ECONOMY as even a suggestion. The author wrote this...
"While immigration is important to Hispanics it is by no means the only issue they vote on, Medicare and education are deeply cherished institutions to this voting bloc. Romney is far to the right of where Hispanic voters are on both issues."
The author also took the bait (as many Latinos do) by a mere mention of the Dream Act. Hey Kristian, did you know there is an election going on ? Did you know Obama needs votes ?
Think about it mijo. Obama had ALL 3 HOUSES to pass his health care law, yet did NOTHING with it to pass amnesty.
You have been lied to, again, again, and yet again, and you STILL vote to the guy who deported more people than any president in history.
Dear Kristian, I am not affiliated with any party, and I am also a legal immigrant who waited to come legally, keep in mind that legal immigrants consider it a slap in the face to any form of amnesty, because anything other than our current system IS amnesty.
Carry on.
You answered your own question. Romney is a captive of the extreme elements on the far right of the GOP. He can't even stand up and defend himself and his chosen staff, much less advocate on behalf of Hispanics.
Hispanics have a choice. Either they can vote for Obama in mass providing him with the majorities in Congress Obama will need to push through the Dream Act or they can sit this one out and accept whatever brutality the haters in the GOP want to give them after the election. Without the moderating influence of the election to contend with, its hard to know just how radical and abusive the haters will become.
And, allow me to say Mr. Ramos gets to the crucial POLICIES that impact the lives and economic well-being of not only Hispanics....but also other Americans not born with a silver spoon in their mouth.
His analysis of the impact on most America, including Hispanics, of the Ryan budget is spot-on.
But getting back to being brutally honest, Romney cannot do that much of an outreach to Hispanics even if he wanted to(which he doesn't), primarily because his rightwing GOP base will not allow it.
GOP base is not happy about the changing color of our nation....scratch that...my mistake!!...the changing "demographic mix" of our nation.
And that includes changes in our sexual mores and acceptance.
Remember the hissy fit Fischer at the American Family Association threw when Romney had the gall to not object when an openly gay man was selected to be his spokesman on affairs?
Fischer declared He, Fischer, guaranteed Romney would NEVER make that mistake again.
Pretty well tells you how much latitude Romney has.
He is a captive of the nutcases.
The majority of people support SB 1070. The majority of people want more enforcement.
Obama won't go near the Dream Act (not with a serious heartbeat) because he knows the votes are not there, nor is the political will.
Do you think Obama is going to risk his reelection just to pander to some illegal alien kids ? That's funny.
Mr. Ramos the right is not blind to the changing demographic. They are a party that caters to the rich and white America. They're a white supremest party really. They will never embrace ethnicity or diversity. Instead they've chosen radical immigration policies and voter suppression. They haven't realized yet that this will not stem the tide. They haven't figured out yet that their base is shrinking not growing and it will be too late for them to continue to be relevant nationally. This is why the corporate plutocrats are scrambling to seize power from the masses.
Yes, keep up that Democratic mantra, it's doing wonders for Broke-ifornia.