If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
The Blog
There is a bill called the "Dream Act." Unfortunately, it is cobbled together, fraught with loopholes and has never garnered enough support on either side to pass for over 12 years
Are there real problems associated with mass immigration and the border? Perhaps. But they cannot be solved by the same militarized law enforcement methods that have been such a failure in the drug war and other crusades.
While Jindal may help the Republican Party among Asian American voters (Jindal's parents emigrated from India), I think he would also help with gaining support among highly-educated voters, which is another group that the GOP has been having problems with.
I believe both Senator Rubio and Elizabeth Warren when they talk about their family histories. I believe both of them heard those stories for years in their families and just repeated them. Big deal. No one died. Let's move on to more substantive issues.
I think that it would be a mistake for Mitt Romney to pick him as his running mate in this election cycle. There are three reasons for this: first, the fit is bad, second, it's won't help Romney win; finally, Rubio isn't ready to be president.
The 2012 Republican "Veep-Stakes" are barely underway, and already two schools of thought are emerging on the wisdom of nominating Florida Sen. Marco Rubio as Mitt Romney's running mate.
The only reason Romney's taken a breath since 1994 is to get elected. Now, once again, Romney is trying to stand for something to see if Hispanics and Republicans will fall for anything.
The immigration system is broken, and the Dream Act is an important part of the solution. Given the proven contributions of the Cuban-American community to this country, it would be unwise and unfair to deny non-Cuban undocumented youth the same advantages and opportunities.
In "coming out" as undocumented, DREAMers - undocumented students who support the DREAM Act -- took a page from the LGBT rights movement.
Slowly the tide seems to be changing. More and more informed souls are speaking up and challenging ill-informed talking heads. In particular, the Latino and Latina community, and others, are challenging the immigration narrative.
Rubio is popular with Republicans because the party recognizes that it needs to do something to attract a bigger share of the Hispanic vote. But Rubio's ultra-conservative views are out of step with the Hispanic mainstream.
The latest polling coming out of key swing states shows the president with a commanding lead, but with the right strategy and by concentrating on some key areas it is still possible for Romney to win in November.
But the Dream Act is supported by 90% of Latinos, even Republican Latinos. A good reason for Marco Rubio to find a way to make the Dream Act palatable to more people in his party.
The only DREAM Act worth passing is the one that would actually give students the chance to dream.
Anti-immigration policies and anti-immigrant rhetoric adopted by some leaders in Senator Rubio's party aren't just liabilities with Latino voters, they are liabilities will all voters.
Whether it's to prepare Senator Marco Rubio for the national spotlight as Mitt Romney's vice presidential nominee, or for a potential future run for president himself, Republicans know they have a big problem courting Latinos--a voting bloc Time Magazine recently predicted could decide the next presidential election.
