I just watched an interview on CBS between Charlie Rose and the guy who will probably start working on voice-overs calling himself “Meat” (that’s Mitt with a Spanish accent) stating he will be seeking the Hispanic vote, since he received over 1/2 of the Latino vote in the Florida Primary. There’s just one problem with that logic–the rest of American Latinos are not right-wing Cubanos.
Now, nothing against Cubanos. Those who have received automatic amnesty upon arrival give other Latino immigrants something for which to hope. But they tend to vote Republican, anyway. The reality is that, even with some growth in activity, Hispanics made up 15% of the Republican Primary in La Florida, according to some exit polling. Chalk it up to their continued self-loathing love affair with Marco Rubio, perhaps millions spent on TV ads, and “Meat’s” sudden change of heart with his “blood for papers” DREAM Act revelation.
Romney seems to have come out of Florida with some cockiness, senselessly attacking President Obama, yet already calling out the Obama Campaign for “vitriol” that hasn’t even been scripted, much less made it to the the video editor. I guess that’s his strategy to become the “nice guy” by default.
But as Newt told us last night, there are 46 states to go. The media will play Romney (or is that overplay?) as the guy to beat, and Mitt will get himself a lot of free advertising. Let’s not even state the obvious–that Mitt could not even manage 50% last night among “conservatives.” He may become the chosen among GOPers, but surely not by default.
By the end of February, the GOPers will have gone through Nevada, Colorado, and Arizona, where Republicans aren’t Latino-friendly and where there are plenty of Latinos. And, no Cuban GOPers–or, at least, not as many. Either the GOPers will move on toward Super Tuesday badly damaged in the eyes of Hispanic voters, or quite flawed in the eyes of their own GOP voters for pandering to Hispanics in one way or another.
So, let Romney talk. Let him think that his anti-immigrant, anti-opportunity agenda is well-loved by Latinos. Either way, what comes out of his mouth will make for good ads and YouTubes.
Let’s just make sure progressives have a strong response.
