Marco Rubio’s “Dream Act” and the GOP Vice Presidential Sweepstakes
The GOP Senator is working on a version of the bill supported by Latinos and long-championed by Democrats. Could it win Rubio the nod as Mitt Romney’s running mate?
Tag: Hispanic voters and the GOP
De Leon: Democrats Should Not Capitulate on the ARMS Act
By granting a path to citizenship only to those who sign up for the military, the bill precludes many undocumented youth who can contribute much to our economy and national well-being.
De Leon: The ARMS Act Does Not Make Sense
The Adjusted Residency for Military Service Act – the ARMS Act – is a pruned version of the DREAM Act. It gives undocumented youth a chance to legalize their status if they join the military, but there are no benefits for pursuing higher education.
Carl Paladino on Undocumented Immigrants “You gotta go back to where you came from.”
The Republican nominee for governor in New York says “we’re not going to allow undocumented aliens or illegal immigrants to take part in our social welfare and our Medicaid systems in the state of New York.”
Arizona Senate Race Could Be First Test of Republicans’ New Approach to Latinos
The Arizona Senatorial primary pitting incumbent John McCain and right-wing challenger J.D. Hayworth could become a test for the Republican Party’s future relationship with Latino voters.
Conservatives Try to Woo Latinos to GOP and Republicans to Immigration Reform Camp
CPAC 2010 illustrated the conundrum the immigration issue presents Republicans on the face of a growing Hispanic electorate.
Mel Martinez's Decision To Leave Senate May Add to Growing Gulf Between Latinos and GOP
By Diego Graglia, FI2W web editor
Sen. Mel Martinez - Photo: The New York Times
Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) announced Tuesday he will not be seeking reelection to a second term in 2010.
Coming after dismal results for his party among Hispanic voters both in Florida and nationwide, his decision bolsters the sense of a growing gulf between Latinos and the Republican Party.
Martinez “was seen as vulnerable in a state that has been tilting Democratic, particularly among Latinos,” The New York Times said. After decades of staunch Hispanic support for Republicans in Florida, this year 57 percent of them chose Democrat Barack Obama over John McCain.
“The GOP should find the Hispanic defection in Florida particularly troubling,” wrote Sun Sentinel columnist Kingsley Guy. “Historically, Republican presidential candidates have carried the Hispanic electorate, for years dominated by Cuban-Americans who supported the GOP’s tough-on-Castro policies. Attitudes are changing, however.” The main reason for the low level of Hispanic support, he added, was the virulent debate on immigration reform, which “soured Hispanic voters on the GOP.”
Paradoxically, despite having supported comprehensive reform of immigration laws, Martinez — a Cuban who arrived in the U.S. at age fifteen — appears to have been at least partly a victim of that souring.