Monday, May 23, 2011

Are Latinos turning on Obama?


Are President Obama's public pledges and desire to pass immigration reform and/or the Dream Act enough for Latinos to vote for him in 2012?

It was interesting watching Obama ride the wave of support after a successful Bin Laden mission to El Paso, Texas this month to push again for immigration reform – a measure even some of the most staunchest advocates feel is not going to happen before the election.

Several pundits and editorials accused Obama of pandering to Latinos as he starts his campaign on what is expected to be a very highly contested election

The Latinos who count immigration reform as their most important issue are not likely going to switch over and vote for a Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney or any other Republican candidate. However, those Latinos could certainly stay home on election day, which could prove costly.

The Latino vote was critical in the 2008 presidential election, Hispanics voted for Obama over Republican John McCain by a margin of more than two-to-one, 67 percent versus 31 percent, according to an analysis of exit polls by the Pew Hispanic Center. The Center’s analysis also found that 9 percent of the electorate was Latino, as indicated by the national exit poll.

And think about the prized 29 electoral votes in Florida, which many see as a potential game changer.

In 2008, Obama won 57 percent of the Latino vote in Florida, a state where Latinos have historically supported Republican presidential candidates. President Bush carried 56 percent of the Latino vote in Florida in 2004.

And many Latinos are disappointed in the president for failing to follow through with campaign promises on immigration reform.

“What I can guarantee is that we will have in the first year an immigration bill that I strongly support and that I’m promoting,” Obama said in an interview with the Spanish-language broadcaster Univision in 2008.

No doubt Obama’s handlers are thinking of these statistics as they scheduled speaking engagements advocating for immigration reform. But will they resonate with Latino voters?

Many advocates, including U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, have been urging Obama to use his authority to act independently and stop deportations of some groups of illegal immigrants, including undocumented students and the parents of children who are U.S. citizens.

"When the president of the United States decided there was possibly going to be an act of genocide in Libya, he bombed Gadhafi's forces," Gutierrez told the Observer on a visit to Charlotte earlier this month. "He didn't call anyone in Charlotte or Chicago. He didn't call the Congress of the United States. ... He used his discretion."

So Obama caught the ire of some Latino advocates when he launched a new campaign ad pushing the Dream Act. The ad asks his supporters to give their email address and zip code. When they click on the button “I’m in” it takes them to Obama’s campaign website.

“Obama, END Our Pain before you start your campaign!,” the headline read on United We Dream.

The authors go on to write:

"We are tired of politicians either bashing us or praising us without ending our pain. After the president's speech we knew he was on campaign mode, but these ads just brought insult to our ever-growing pain of achieving the American Dream. Until Congress passes the DREAM Act, the President has the full authority to enable us to temporarily come out of the shadows, work and contribute to our country."

13 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  2. The Latinos who can actually vote (i.e. citizens who followed the law) were never Obama's to lose; he just got some of their votes by default because McCain was just as bad in rewarding criminals.

    Latino citizens are honest and don't want their criminal brethren to be rewarded for bypassing the immigration process that they followed.

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  3. hispanic land here we come

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  4. Hey, great news for Barry "O", not only does he have 30 million illegals to vote for him, California is releasing 40000 felons out of prison in the next few days, the scumbags voter roles are going up!

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  5. The stupidity of this argument continues unabated.

    I believe virtually everyone wants "immigration reform".

    I certainly do but we cannot have reform without first securing our borders. That means no one else comes in unless they do so through the front door AFTER we reform the process.

    This issue has three major parts -

    1) Control the borders

    2) Update immigration laws

    3) Decide what to do with the estimated 12 million who are currently here illegally.

    So all this garabege about Obama and the Latino vote is pathtic and nothing more than pandering.

    Watch out Latinos. You'll be corralled and stuck under the thumb of the Democratic party before you even know what hits you.

    Ask African Americans. They can attest to that fact.

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  6. "We are tired of politicians either bashing us or praising us without ending our pain. After the president's speech we knew he was on campaign mode, but these ads just brought insult to our ever-growing pain of achieving the American Dream. Until Congress passes the DREAM Act, the President has the full authority to enable us to temporarily come out of the shadows, work and contribute to our country."

    Consider for a second that we Americans want our Elected Officials including the President to do the job we elected them to do and to force you from the shadows and end this farce of the Dream Act.

    You need to do what the other law abiding naturalized brothers and sisters have done forever and go back and come into this country legally and become a legal citizen.

    For some reason you feel you have some rights other than you should have.

    We are sorry the economy has taken it toll and has messed up your dreams but we can no longer afford to pay for them.

    So all the best and we look forward to you coming back as legal citizens and as you say contributing once again.

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  7. just a thought...
    Latinos are republican by nature. Prolife (thats why they have so many kids), family,work and church oriented. Not one on the republican side has noticed the potential for that group.
    Obama just did , and now is trying to get them to his side.
    How many latinos have you seen driving cadillacs with rims and living out from wellfare???
    Think about it..

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  8. Franco, I'd like you to ask some of the "Latino leaders" this question.... "What happens to Latinos who arrive illegally the day after the amnesty deadline set by "immigration reform?"

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  10. He'll dangle just enough carrots (taco's) to get their votes.

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  11. Where are they going to go? Into the warm embrace of the Republicans? The ones that vilify and demean Hispanics (including the ones that pick their produce, mow their lawns, clean their hotel rooms, and take care of their children), want to deport or jail them, and have been busily building a wall on our southern border to try and keep them out? Do they really think Latinos and Hispanics are that stupid?

    I think not. But Republicans can keep on dreamin'.

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  12. Archiguy, you are confused with illegals and mixing them in with our hard working American Brother and Sister who just happen to be Hispanic and vote for the best of their children and future, not the free stuff and keeping illegal activity going.

    These are the same American Brothers and Sisters who see that the Democrats are doing just what you accuse the Republicans of doing and are tired of being ping pong balls in a political war. They are going to vote for people who have a long term plan for the people and the country. Be they Democrat or Republican.

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  13. Obama lied about closing Gitmo. He lied about ending 2 wars, and then started another one. He lied about keeping unemployment below 8%. He lied about keeping lobbyists out of his administration. He lied about posting bills online for 5 days so people could read them. He lied about having the most transparent administration in history.

    He lied about attending church for 20 years , yet never heard his pastor. He lied about Bill Ayers being an acquaintance.

    Now the Hispanics are waking up to his lie to them.

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