Obama and McCain Go After the Hispanic Vote
Published in El Universal
(Mexico) on June 29, 2008
by J. Jaime Hernández (link to original)
(Mexico) on June 29, 2008
by J. Jaime Hernández (link to original)
Translated from
by Dorian de Wind.
Edited by .
WASHINGTON. – In the struggle for the vote of just over nine million Latino voters, the Democrat and Republican presidential candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain, respectively, spared no punches.
Both contenders were yesterday at the convention of the Education Fund of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO), to see to what extent they will honor their campaign promises to the Latino community.
The Democrat accused his Republican rival of turning his back on immigration reform under pressure from his party; McCain promised that a change to the immigration laws was, is, and will be his priority. Meanwhile, Brian Rogers, one of the Republican spokesmen, launched against Obama, whom he accused of “having worked to ‘kill’" the bipartisan compromise for immigration reform last year.
“What are you going to do to resolve the situation of the 12 million undocumented? When will we have equal opportunity? When will you recognize our contribution to the Armed Forces? Such were some of the questions raised by members of the Latino community, and that both candidates had to deal with before an audience of about 700 attendees.
So, while the Republican had to maintain his calm as an attendee rebuked him backstage for his support of the war in Iraq, the Democrat appeared with a wide smile and some in the auditorium gave him an ovation in Spanish: ”Presidente! Presidente! Presidente.”
“We are all Americans,” Obama replied in perfect Spanish, and then immediately continued in English: “The United States need not fear immigration.” The Senator from Illinois pledged to push, during his eventual mandate, for immigration reform that would include the path to citizenship.
“Yes, we need immigration reform that keeps our borders secure and penalizes the employers who exploit immigrants. But we also need to bring out of the shadows the 12 million who are here illegally,” he said to assure that immigration reform will be one of his government’s priorities.
Obama did not waste the opportunity to, in his speech, attack McCain’s position regarding immigration: “Senator McCain had been a champion for extensive immigration reform, and for that he won my admiration. But once he launched into his fight for the nomination, he moved away from his commitments and even went t so far as to say that he would not support the initiative that he himself had pushed for.”
Shortly before Obama’s speech, the Republican candidate promised that he would make immigration reform one of his priorities during his first 100 days in office: “I want to assure you that we will tackle the issue in a humane and compassionate manner.” In addition, he acknowledged that the immigration reform initiative of which he was a sponsor, is far from popular within his party.
Both contenders were yesterday at the convention of the Education Fund of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO), to see to what extent they will honor their campaign promises to the Latino community.
The Democrat accused his Republican rival of turning his back on immigration reform under pressure from his party; McCain promised that a change to the immigration laws was, is, and will be his priority. Meanwhile, Brian Rogers, one of the Republican spokesmen, launched against Obama, whom he accused of “having worked to ‘kill’" the bipartisan compromise for immigration reform last year.
“What are you going to do to resolve the situation of the 12 million undocumented? When will we have equal opportunity? When will you recognize our contribution to the Armed Forces? Such were some of the questions raised by members of the Latino community, and that both candidates had to deal with before an audience of about 700 attendees.
So, while the Republican had to maintain his calm as an attendee rebuked him backstage for his support of the war in Iraq, the Democrat appeared with a wide smile and some in the auditorium gave him an ovation in Spanish: ”Presidente! Presidente! Presidente.”
“We are all Americans,” Obama replied in perfect Spanish, and then immediately continued in English: “The United States need not fear immigration.” The Senator from Illinois pledged to push, during his eventual mandate, for immigration reform that would include the path to citizenship.
“Yes, we need immigration reform that keeps our borders secure and penalizes the employers who exploit immigrants. But we also need to bring out of the shadows the 12 million who are here illegally,” he said to assure that immigration reform will be one of his government’s priorities.
Obama did not waste the opportunity to, in his speech, attack McCain’s position regarding immigration: “Senator McCain had been a champion for extensive immigration reform, and for that he won my admiration. But once he launched into his fight for the nomination, he moved away from his commitments and even went t so far as to say that he would not support the initiative that he himself had pushed for.”
Shortly before Obama’s speech, the Republican candidate promised that he would make immigration reform one of his priorities during his first 100 days in office: “I want to assure you that we will tackle the issue in a humane and compassionate manner.” In addition, he acknowledged that the immigration reform initiative of which he was a sponsor, is far from popular within his party.
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