Would a Latino running mate help Romney and Republicans? - Polidicks

[QUOTE]Washington (CNN) -- At the Council on Foreign relations this week, Sen. Marco Rubio talked tough on the international hotspot of the day, Syria. "It's time to act now. I don't want to score political points on this issue, I want to see it resolved," Rubio told Time Magazine's Rick Stengel, the event's moderator. Rubio says he doesn't want to score political points, but like it or not -- every move he makes these days is viewed through one prism: a potential vice presidential pick for Mitt Romney. For many Republicans, Rubio is prime running mate material -- a fresh-faced, telegenic tea party favorite from Florida, a key battleground state. And he is, of course, Hispanic -- a fast-growing ethnic group in the United States, a group Democrats dominated in presidential elections over the past four decades. [B]In 2008, only 31% of Latinos voted for Sen. John McCain. Nearly 7 in 10 voted for then-Sen. Barack Obama.[/B] The best a GOP presidential candidate has ever done with Hispanics was George W. Bush in 2004, and he got just 44% of the group's vote. A fair number of Republican strategists say that if Romney were to pick a Latino running mate, it could bridge the huge gap. "Republicans need about 40% of the Hispanic vote to be competitive nationally," said GOP strategist Leslie Sanchez. [B]"To add a candidate who happens to be of Hispanic descent is incredibly important, not only because it shows the party can be inclusive, but open-minded Latino independent voters will really see this is a reason to take a second look at the Republican party."[/B] Two other Hispanic Republicans who are generating VP buzz are New Mexico Gov. Susanna Martinez and Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval. Martinez is a gun-toting conservative and the first Latina governor in U.S. history, but she has actually clashed with fellow Hispanics in New Mexico because she wants to reverse a state law allowing illegal immigrants to get drivers licenses. [B]"Giving licenses to people who are here illegally is wrong and overwhelmingly unpopular," Martinez has argued.[/B] Sandoval is a budget-cutting, government-shrinking Republican, but he favors abortion rights, which could be a drawback as a GOP running mate. And though he's Latino, he doesn't speak Spanish. Alberto Gonzales, the first Latino U.S. attorney general, says a Hispanic at the top of the ticket may help lure Latino voters, but not a No.2. "I don't think it would make that much of a difference," Gonzales told CNN. [B]Experience is key, Gonzales said. Rubio, Martinez and Sandoval all were elected to their posts a little more than 18 months ago.[/B] "I think Governor Romney is better suited looking for someone to join him on the ticket who could be president on Day One," Gonzales said. Still, a Romney source points out to CNN that some states may be so close on Election Day that a Latino running mate could make the difference. It's not just states with well-known Latino populations like New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada that matter. Battleground states such as North Carolina and Virginia, where the Latino populations doubled in the past 10 years, could decide the next president. One enormous challenge in picking a Latino running mate is that Hispanic-Americans are very diverse. Rubio is Cuban-American. Martinez is Mexican-American. In the Latino community -- each poses risks for potential culture clashes. Two-thirds of Hispanics in the United States are of Mexican descent, and a much smaller percentage, about 4%, are Cuban. [B]"It's very different. It's coming from different countries, different languages. It doesn't mean we're going to be monolithic or vote together," said Sanchez, the GOP strategist.[/B] Some Latino politicians and strategists argue that Hispanics are a natural constituency for the GOP -- not the Democratic party. Many Latino voters tend to be fiscally and socially conservative, they say. Sanchez, like other Republican strategists, said the source of the decades-old GOP problem among Hispanic voters is that the party historically did little to no outreach. That has changed in recent years, but the fight has hampered efforts over immigration reform, which many Hispanic voters perceive as anti-Latino. Romney's stance on illegal immigration during the GOP primary battle turned particularly strident, which Republican Latino strategists worry won't exactly pull voters to the GOP. [B]While GOP Hispanics such as Gonzales and Sanchez disagree over whether a Latino running mate would really help Romney with Latino voters, they do agree it would be, when it comes to inclusiveness, an extremely important gesture. And it may help Republicans with Latinos in the long run.[/B] "If Governor Romney makes a decision that one of the people you mentioned should be with him on the ticket, and if Governor Romney were to win in November, I mean there would be a great deal of pride in the Hispanic community in having that person being in that position," said Gonzales.[/QUOTE] Source: [url]http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/01/politics/latino-vp-candidates-romney/index.html[/url]

No. Though the fact that he supports abortion rights might help, him being Latino means nothing.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOJreyDEqqY[/media] As long as it's this guy, he should be fine.

The Romney logo looks so stupid.

[quote]"Republicans need about 40% of the Hispanic vote to be competitive nationally," said GOP strategist Leslie Sanchez. "To add a candidate who happens to be of Hispanic descent is incredibly important, not only because it shows the party can be inclusive, but open-minded Latino independent voters will really see this is a reason to take a second look at the Republican party."[/quote] So, let me get this straight. You want them to vote for the GOP only because the vice is hispanic, and they happen to be hispanic as well? And, honestly, I volunteer at a low/no-income child education place, and I can't see any of the hispanic or the latino families voting for someone that wants to make their childrens' lives hell just because his running mate has the same skin color as them.

[QUOTE=Penultimate;36171261]So, let me get this straight. You want them to vote for the GOP only because the vice is hispanic, and they happen to be hispanic as well? And, honestly, I volunteer at a low/no-income child education place, and I can't see any of the hispanic or the latino families voting for someone that wants to make their childrens' lives hell just because his running mate has the same skin color as them.[/QUOTE] I think they're acknowledging the fact that many voters can be dumb enough to vote for person X simply because he's thing Y.

Pftt. The Republicans, if anything would step on the Hispanics because they will go ultra-conservative especially with the border situation and citizenship

As a latino I would not vote for Romney or even think better of the republican party if romney had a latino running mate

[QUOTE=yawmwen;36171181][media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOJreyDEqqY[/media] As long as it's this guy, he should be fine.[/QUOTE] The sad thing is that some Romney supporters out there would think this to be a very good video.

In the same way that a female running mate helped McCain, yes

[QUOTE=sHiBaN;36171328]Pftt. The Republicans, if anything would step on the Hispanics because they will go ultra-conservative especially with the border situation and citizenship[/QUOTE] Because cracking down on illegal immigration from Mexico is solely because they're Hispanic. If Mexico were full of Irishmen and thousands of Irishmen were crossing the border illegally, it would be the same case.

[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;36171365]Because cracking down on illegal immigration from Mexico is solely because they're Hispanic. If Mexico were full of Irishmen and thousands of Irishmen were crossing the border illegally, it would be the same case.[/QUOTE] It's more xenophobia than racism.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raRqgKqIM3M[/media] I say yes.

[QUOTE=yawmwen;36171391]It's more xenophobia than racism.[/QUOTE] I think it's more to the fact that illegal immigration is, well, illegal.

no please Marco you've fucked up enough stuff here in Florida please don't do this

[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;36171493]I think it's more to the fact that illegal immigration is, well, illegal.[/QUOTE] The reason for those laws tends to be xenophobic.

[QUOTE=yawmwen;36171522]The reason for those laws tends to be xenophobic.[/QUOTE] Is there any proof of this?

[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;36171564]Is there any proof of this?[/QUOTE] I could pull up countless blogs and writings from people who make this claim. However, this would be as reliable for objective truth as you pulling up the opposite writings, of which there are countless as well. This is more of a subjective assertion, because I don't see any good reason for limiting the number of legal immigrants so heavily, that can't also be logically traced back to xenophobia.

Restricting immigration is xenophobic, yes, but acting against undocumented immigrants is not. Immigration reform is needed, but allowing everyone who wants to come through in without any kind of documentation isn't a good solution

Very sad if people base their votes on ethnicity, which does appear to happen anyways.

[QUOTE=yawmwen;36171181][media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOJreyDEqqY[/media] As long as it's this guy, he should be fine.[/QUOTE] They spelled Amercia wrong.

the best chance romney has at winning this election imo is not being republican

I just got home from spending one of the many weeks that I've spent at my wife's house is an almost entirely Hispanic Southern California neighborhood and every single one of her neighbors (everyone lives close and talks to each other) that I've talked to about this have said that it's extremely insulting to their intelligence. All of her neighbors who are interested in politics seem to hate his guts.

what would help them is exercising their brains

[QUOTE=DOG-GY;36178066]what would help them is exercising their brains[/QUOTE] They would break something