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Friday, August 31, 2012

The Republican Party, Immigration and the Hispanic Vote

As the Republican National Convention winds down to a close it is interesting to note that many of the speakers spoke of their immigrant roots, yet none took a position on immigration policy as noted by Victoria DeFrancesco Soto of NBC Latino: Opinion: The RNC's Immigrant Tease and Alex Seitz-Wald in Salon: Don't say "immigration"

Even Mitt Romney's son spoke in Spanish and got choked up when speaking of his immigrant grandfathers, "Craig Romney's heartfelt story of his family's immigrant roots was among more than half a dozen convention speakers who highlighted their immigrant backgrounds, but it has created what one expert describes as an "awkward dance" because of the GOP's reputation for being hostile to immigration." http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/craig-romney-convention-speakers-cite-immigrant-history/story?id=17117920

However, as pointed out in a Miami Herald article, the GOP has done a better job at recruiting top level Hispanics who outnumber Democrats in the Senate and Governor's mansions: Balancing the GOP Tripwire on Immigration

The GOP Platform takes a tough line on immigration, and calls for "self-deportation" http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/23/republican-immigration-platform-backs-self-deportation/

However, speakers like Jeb Bush http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2012/08/30/jeb-bush-and-the-politics-of-immigration/ and Marco Rubio are pushing the GOP to take a pro-legal immigration stance rather than being the anti-immigration party http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/08/marco-rubio-gop-has-immigration-challenge/

It remains to be seen how Mitt Romney will approach the issue as he tries to attract more Hispanic voters and moves more to the center to attract independent voters after the convention.


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