Don't Waffle On Me Now
When I tune in to watch the Univision Republican debate en español tonight, I will be watching, and hoping, for one main thing:
I want the candidates to look the camera right in the eye and in no uncertain terms state their opposition to illegal immigration. Any waffling will draw my ire, you can bet on it.
They'll get the occasional testy question from the moderators, Univision news anchors Jorge Ramos and Maria Elena Salinas (who actively support leniency for illegals), and likely elicit boos from a large portion of the audience at the BankUnited Center on the UM campus.
A side note: Just as those on the far-right (Tom "Miami is Third World" Tancredo and the likes) who denounce everything immigrant-related are clueless and out of line with rational thought, so are those who want to label all proponents of tougher immigration laws as "anti-immigrant". Check out Maria Elena Salinas' web site, and in her columns, notice how many times she makes that reference towards Republicans who want secure borders and immigration laws enforced. I personally like Salinas (her compañero Jorge Ramos is another story). Her rags-to-riches immigrant story is quintessentially American and one that I can relate to. I commend her for reaching her lofty goals. She is smart and responsible, except she falls into the same rhetorical trap regarding the immigration issue.
That's why my main desire for this evening is that the candidates clearly express, as they've done many times, that they are not anti-immigrant, but anti-illegal immigration. Is that so hard to understand? Or is it just a matter of people ignoring a logical argument just because it hurts fellow Hispanics?
All this talk about losing the Hispanic vote is overblown because, let's face it, Hispanics, except for Cuban-Americans...God Bless Us! ;)...vote overwhelmingly Democrat. The 40% that voted for Bush in 2004 appeared to be an anomaly. Give us straight talk and straight, honest answers, and let those who don't want to believe it walk away. That's what the majority of Americans want.
I want the candidates to look the camera right in the eye and in no uncertain terms state their opposition to illegal immigration. Any waffling will draw my ire, you can bet on it.
They'll get the occasional testy question from the moderators, Univision news anchors Jorge Ramos and Maria Elena Salinas (who actively support leniency for illegals), and likely elicit boos from a large portion of the audience at the BankUnited Center on the UM campus.
A side note: Just as those on the far-right (Tom "Miami is Third World" Tancredo and the likes) who denounce everything immigrant-related are clueless and out of line with rational thought, so are those who want to label all proponents of tougher immigration laws as "anti-immigrant". Check out Maria Elena Salinas' web site, and in her columns, notice how many times she makes that reference towards Republicans who want secure borders and immigration laws enforced. I personally like Salinas (her compañero Jorge Ramos is another story). Her rags-to-riches immigrant story is quintessentially American and one that I can relate to. I commend her for reaching her lofty goals. She is smart and responsible, except she falls into the same rhetorical trap regarding the immigration issue.
That's why my main desire for this evening is that the candidates clearly express, as they've done many times, that they are not anti-immigrant, but anti-illegal immigration. Is that so hard to understand? Or is it just a matter of people ignoring a logical argument just because it hurts fellow Hispanics?
All this talk about losing the Hispanic vote is overblown because, let's face it, Hispanics, except for Cuban-Americans...God Bless Us! ;)...vote overwhelmingly Democrat. The 40% that voted for Bush in 2004 appeared to be an anomaly. Give us straight talk and straight, honest answers, and let those who don't want to believe it walk away. That's what the majority of Americans want.
Labels: Republican Debate
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