Tag Archives: Rubio

Pro-Migrant Poll on Latino Support for GOP Unrealistic

Posted on July 3, 2013 | Comments Off on Pro-Migrant Poll on Latino Support for GOP Unrealistic

When it comes to polling anyone, it’s all in the question. Republican pollsters ask questions one way, Democratic pollsters ask another way, usually. Well, Latino Decisions’ recent poll on Latino support for Rubio, Bush, and Paul Ryan is quite disingenuous. 

While the 2016 presidential election is a full three years away many of the high profile Republican contenders are enmeshed in the immigration reform debate, and if Republicans demonstrate strong leadership on passing comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship possible candidates such as Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush and Paul Ryan could get strong support from Latino voters.  However if Rubio, Bush or Ryan distance themselves from the immigration bill and House Republicans defeat the measure none of the GOP candidates stands to improve on the historic Romney 2012 defeat among Latinos. [Full poll results here]

Latino Decisions and others have done other polling in the recent past about how Latinos feel about various issues, and when it comes right down to it, Latinos fall in line with Democratic Party-promoted policies on education, health care, and jobs/economy. So, why weren’t these polled voters reminded of the Rubio, Bush, and especially Ryan positions on those policies. Ryan (and Romney) was defeated in 2012 because of those positions.

It is obvious to me that the poll was created to put a scare into Republicans, but assuming that Latinos are solely single issue voters taints the poll. We are not.

On top of that, the current Latino political conversation has included the addition of the “border surge” to the bill which Rubio very loudly insisted be included or he would not play the game anymore. I won’t even go into Bush’s “fertile” remark. And, Ryan, well, he still wants to cut off our viejitos and viejitas from Social Security.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been a fan of Latino Decisions. Recently, they even wrote up a defense of the Voting Rights Act backed up by science and numbers. So, I know they are capable of good work. But  this last poll goes against what we should be doing–educating and empowering Latino voters with facts. And especially about candidates.

Besides, we are seeing everyday that the GOP is not going to budge on immigration reform, and moreover, that the GOP has all but given up on the Latino vote. At least, that’s how it looks today.

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Posted in 2013 Categories, Elections, History, Republinuttiness, Sensible Immigration Reform

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Little Doubt Remains That GOP Is Killing Immigration Reform

Posted on June 13, 2013 | Comments Off on Little Doubt Remains That GOP Is Killing Immigration Reform

Whether it is Cornyn’s “poison pill,” or what might be Marco Rubio’s half-a-poison pill which will enact virtually unreachable triggers before green cards are even given, little doubt is left that Republicans are doing everything they can to kill immigration reform.

There is grumbling among some Democrats that they’re in this bind because Rubio — a key Gang member — made border security an issue by saying it needed to be tightened in order to get 60 Senate votes. Then, the Florida Republican embraced the Cornyn plan when it was announced last week. And on Sean Hannity’s radio show Wednesday, Rubio described it as “an excellent place to start in terms of having that conversation.”

Frankly, I think Reid should call for the vote and put the entire Senate on notice. But then this happened.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) wanted to put the Cornyn plan up for a vote Wednesday hoping to kill it quickly and show undecided Republicans that it’s going nowhere. But Reid held back at the GOP’s request, according to two Senate Democratic leadership aides. A Cornyn spokesman said that wasn’t the case.

So much dissonance, and little action.

Meanwhile, more GOPers are signing up with Cornyn’s amendment, including some “moderates” who seem to be thinking more about re-election than getting the job done (Kirk, R-Illinois). The more time wasted, the more chances this bill will be worsened, or ultimately, killed.

The Senate and the rest of Congress, still, are not paying attention to the people.

But at this point, in states represented by key advocates of immigration reform, both the Gang of Eight proposal and a pathway to citizenship earn robust support, as described.

In Florida, where GOP Sen. Marco Rubio has been one of the staunchest supporters of reform legislation, 72 percent of voters said they support the legislation (including 45 percent who strongly support it) and 71 percent backed the pathway to citizenship.

In South Carolina, home to reform-boosting Republican Lindsey Graham, those numbers were only a bit lower: 62 percent who support the Gang of Eight bill and 60 percent who backed the pathway to citizenship.

And in Texas, the rapidly changing but still-conservative state with two senators who have resisted reform – Ted Cruz and John Cornyn – 67 percent said they could support the reform bill as described, with 72 percent backing a pathway to citizenship.

The average support for the “Gang of Eight” legislation was just under 68 percent, according to the pollsters.

Let’s just call the damn question, or else, this blogger will start campaigning against any bill that includes, or that looks like, Cornyn’s poison pill.

As Schumer told Cornyn while he berated his amendment, “go back to the drawing boards.”

UPDATE:  And now Ted Poe and his buddies are copycatting Cornyn.

Indeed, the SMART Act is nearly identical to Cornyn’s RESULTS amendment, which would require the Department of Homeland Security to achieve full operational control of the country’s Southwest border with a 90 percent apprehension rate of undocumented migrants and enforce a biometric entry/exit system that prevents visa overstays.

And, get this, Congress gets a say, in what 90% actually means.

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Posted in 2013 Categories, Sensible Immigration Reform

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DC Response to SOTU

Posted on February 13, 2013 | Comments Off on DC Response to SOTU

After all is said, done, and drunk…a couple of post-SOTU thoughts.

I’ve mentioned before the amount of political capital the President seems to want to spend on a couple of issues that go beyond the usual talk of jobs, economy, deficits, education, health care, wars, etc. Obviously, I speak of comprehensive immigration reform and gun control.

It was difficult not to notice that he gave only 212 words to immigration and 626 words to gun control. And while he gave an impassioned plea to control the guns based on the various victims, he spoke not one word of the realities faced by families split apart by his record deportation policies. Instead, he boasted of the “progress” made by the administration on the “southern border and the ever-popular “learn English” and “back of the line” phrases that have become quite tiresome tired. And quite frustrating, too.

The rest of the speech had great ideas on job creation and how to responsibly decrease the deficits. With the vast majority of his proposals I agree–even some of the gun control stuff if it didn’t appear to be a bigger priority than immigration reform.

And although the drink of water seen around the world provided comic relief, nothing was more disturbing than Marco Rubio’s response.

Without apology, I will say his family’s “immigration” experience is much different than the vast majority of others’ experiences, particularly what the sons and daughters of immigrants experience today. And while he has enjoyed various government benefits, he seems to want to cut off everyone else, as if he has some air of superiority.

He seems to conveniently forget that the reason we spend more on federal financial aid is because we have more students enrolling in college than when he and I were in school, especially Latinos. Although he mentioned higher tuition, he didn’t offer an idea about how to make college affordable–no, he stated we don’t need to spend more on federal financial aid. In other words, he offered nothing in regards to expanding opportunities, especially for kids who come from working class parents, as was his and my experience, apparently. Simply put, he is out of touch, embracing a right-wing political ideology after enjoying benefits abhorred by that ideology. He is the poster-child of hypocrisy.

Ultimately, both sides need to work together to enact policies that even President Obama states we will not get 100% of what we really want. I’ve accepted that much, but for those of us who think beyond the political (or nonprofit) paycheck that others strive for in this game, it has become a lot more difficult to stomach the politics, the policies, and the rhetoric.

Obviously, it was difficult for those protesting the Senate hearing today.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano was interrupted at today’s Senate Immigration Hearing as she boasted that U.S. borders have “never been stronger.” The protesters who interrupted the hearing on multiple occasions demanded that the administration cut deportations and focus on the human rights of undocumented immigrants.

I rest my case.

 

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Posted in 2013 Categories, U.S. Capitol

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Rubio Will Deliver Response to the 29%

Posted on February 7, 2013 | Comments Off on Rubio Will Deliver Response to the 29%

The media is making a lot of pedo about Marco Rubio delivering the right-wing response to President Obama’s State of the Union. Oh, but the media goes crazy over Rubio’s Español response.

If all he intends to do is read a direct translation of the English version, then, all he’s doing is talking to the 29% of Latinos who voted for the Republicans in 2012. And chances are that is exactly what will happen given his lack of support for a path to citizenship without the enforcement trigger.

No, instead of a legislative speech, chances are that in  his Español speech he will deliver the same old right-wing talking points, “Latinos are just like the Republicans” and “Latinos are conservative.”

Yeah, tell that to the 71% who voted for President Obama. When it comes to most, if not all, issues (education, jobs/economy, health care, immigration), Latinos side with Democrats. On the hottest–abortion and marriage equality–Latinos are on the progressive side of 50/50, and that’s getting better, too.

Frankly, he has another option of telling some truths about Republicans and their racist vitriol on immigration in Spanish. Or how Republicans want to put our abuelitos and abuelitas on the street by threatening Social Security and Medicare and other benefits they have invested in as taxpayers. But does he have the cojones? Of course, without supporting policies that Latinos support, Rubio is left serving as what we all know he is for the Republicans–window dressing, lipstick on an elephant, etc.

No, Latinos will not be fooled.

Not that President Obama is doing a great job of keeping us happy. It seems he is putting more political capital into the gun debate than into CIR, and he is continuing his deportation scheme, thus, separating families and wasting local law enforcement resources. Still, Rubio and his ilk will only say something like, “Obama didn’t do anything in his first term.” And Rubio will conveniently leave out that 100% of Republicans voted against the DREAM Act in 2010.

Ultimately, Latinos will side with the ones that are barely hanging on and giving the image that they are doing something, and in this case, it is not Marco Rubio and the GOP. It won’t matter what Rubio says.

I’m looking forward to the talking heads this weekend to see how they over-analyze Marco Rubio and the Latino Republican effort. I bet they leave out facts and issues and instead promote the window dressing that votes against Latino interests.

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Posted in Sensible Immigration Reform

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