CAN MCCAIN HOLD THE HISPANIC VOTE?

CQ Politics has an interesting article that notes that some experts believe John McCain's past immigration positions are helping him hold some of the Hispanic vote that President Bush won in the past two presidential elections. The question is whether he can retain that support as the Obama campaign works to redefine McCain in the eyes of Hispanic voters. The Obama folks will have a lot to work with given McCain's very public backing off of the immigration reform bill he once sponsored. And they will have a massive spending advantage to get that message out. With McCain having a fraction of the money Obama is expected to have available, will he choose to spend it trying to match the efforts of the Obama campaign in the Hispanic community or will he focus on other communities? That remain to be seen.

Comments

[Lou]

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/303eesko.asp

[Another voice]

Hispanics live in America just like the rest of us and do care about the rest of the issues besides immigration. However this is the one issue that most of them have in common because most of them are either first or second generation immigrants therefore more families in this community are touched by the issue one way or another, it will be key for either candidate. It will be hardest for McCain given the fact that he has changed his stance to calm the racist in his party.

[George Chell]

McCain faces a daunting task stuck between the racist white GOP base which unseated Chris Cannon and the Hispanic voters who dont see eye to eye on issues. GOP straddling on skilled immigration (although the Hispanic lobby also played a role) is not going to help either particularly the Labor Department still living in the dark ages of the pre-global economy (not exactly Labor Department itself, but the US Congress with its pre-historic laws that still believes that a job denied a foreigner is a job for an American with higher wages.