Mitt Romney acknowledged he's at odds with many Hispanics
on immigration and other issues, but he argued yesterday that Latinos have seen
their economic situation worsen and their votes taken for granted under
President Obama.
"Is the America of 11 percent Hispanic unemployment the America of our
dreams? We can do better," the presumptive Republican presidential nominee
told an audience of about 1,000 at the National Association of Latino Elected
and Appointed Officials at Walt Disney World.
Obama speaks to the same conference on Friday. Obama carried the Hispanic
vote by roughly a 2-to-1 margin in 2008, and many Latinos have applauded the
president's directive last week to lift the threat of deportation for an
estimated 800,000 younger illegal immigrants who were brought to the U.S. by
their parents.
Romney criticized the president for announcing a "stop-gap measure" in an
election year after not delivering comprehensive immigration reform in his
first three and a half years in office, which included two years when
Democrats controlled both houses of Congress.
But Romney offered only a few specifics on his own immigration plans.
Those include a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who serve in
the military, encouraging highly educated immigrants to remain in the country
and streamlining immigration procedures to keep families together.
"Some people have asked if I will let stand the President's executive
order. The answer is that I will put in place my own long-term solution that
will replace and supersede the President's temporary measure," Romney said.
"As President I won't settle for stop-gap measures. I will work with
Republicans and Democrats to build a long-term solution. I will prioritize
measures that strengthen legal immigration and make it more transparent and
easier. And I'm going to address the problem of illegal immigration in a civil
but resolute manner. We may not always agree, but when I make a promise to
you, I will keep it."
The Democrat-leaning audience received Romney politely. The crowd was
noticeably more enthusiastic about an hour later when another Republican,
former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, spoke on education.
Bush, who gave portions of his remarks in Spanish, mentioned that he
appeared with Obama at an event at a Miami high school last year.
"I don't know about you, but when we find common ground, we shouldn't
fight any more. We should move on and build on that success," Bush said to
loud applause. "Apparently one can get in trouble when they say these kinds of
things but I happen to believe it's the American way."
Hispanics are a key segment of the electorate in Florida and other
competitive states such as Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico.
A Quinnipiac University poll of Florida voters released today shows Obama
leading Romney by a 46-42 percent margin in the Sunshine State, with Hispanic
voters favoring Obama by a 49-39 percent margin. The survey of Hispanic voters
carried a margin of error of plus- or minus-9 percent, however, because of the
relatively small number of Hispanics sampled.
Hispanic voters nationally favor Obama by a 66-23 percent margin,
according to a poll this month by Latino Decisions. The firm's co-founder,
Matt Barreto, called Romney's speech a first step toward repairing his image
with Hispanics after taking a hard line against illegal immigration during the
Republican primaries.
Noting that an estimated 40 percent of Hispanics voted for former
President George W. Bush's reelection in 2004, Barreto said Romney has a
chance to win over some Latino voters.
"Because of the perceived harsh rhetoric on immigration, those people
having been moving away from the Republican camp. I think what this speech
does is allow (Romney) to start very slowly repairing that image and perhaps
getting some folks back on board," Barreto said.
But Barreto said Romney missed an opportunity by not responding more
specifically to Obama's directive.
Trey Martinez Fischer, a Democratic state lawmaker who heads the Mexican
American Legislative Caucus in Texas, blasted Romney for saying he'd work with
Congress on immigration when Republicans have resisted any reform that
includes a path to citizenship for those now in the country illegally.
"What makes us believe that Gov. Romney all of a sudden will change the
frame in a Congress that's controlled by leaders who would rather electrify a
fence and put immigrants in harm's way?" said Fischer, who said Obama was
justified in bypassing Congress with his immigration directive.
While Romney devoted much of his remarks to immigration, he made it clear
that he wants the economy to be the top issue for Hispanics and other voters.
Unemployment has consistently been higher among Hispanics than the
general population. Hispanic unemployment was 10 percent in January 2009, when
Obama took office, and reached 13.1 percent in November 2010. It got as low as
10.3 percent in March this year, but climbed to 11 percent in May, according
to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The overall unemployment rate was 7.8 percent when Obama took office. It
has been above 8 percent for 40 consecutive months, including a high of 10
percent in October 2009. The jobless rate stood at 8.2 percent last month.
"Hispanics have been hit disproportionately hard," Romney said in his
speech. He said Obama had inherited a bad economy, but faulted the president
for not taking steps to spur a more robust recovery.
"I believe that he's taking your vote for granted," Romney said of Obama.
"I come here today with a very simple message: You do have an alternative and
your vote should be respected and your voice is more important now than ever
before."
The growing importance of the Hispanic vote was emphasized by several
speakers at the conference.
"As a whole we now approach the first election that marks a time in
history in our census that we have hit 50 million Latinos in this country,"
said NALEO President Sylvia Harris, a commissioner from Harris County, Texas.
"And with those numbers, campaigns, candidates and political parties know that
the way to the White House, the way to the capitol house, the way to city hall
is not doable and will not succeed without the Latino vote."
