Republican – THE HISPANIC BLOG

WILL SENATOR MARCO RUBIO BE THE NEXT VICE PRESIDENT: HE SAYS HE CAN’T DELIVER, “YOU’VE GOT TO EARN THE HISPANIC VOTE”

April 14, 2012 by Jessica Marie Gutierrez 1 Comment

THE HISPANIC BLOG IS THE LATEST HISPANIC NEWS BY JESSICA MARIE GUTIERREZ

Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, widely speculated to be a top pick for the Republican presidential running mate, once again firmly denied he would join the GOP ticket.

“I’m not going to be the vice president,” Rubio said Friday in an interview with CNN en Español‘s Ismael Cala. “I’m not.”

photo source AP

“I’ll tell you, the Hispanic vote has to be earned,” he said. “You can’t just put somebody on there and say, ‘This is gonna deliver it.’ You’ve got to earn it, and primarily I think you earn it through economic policies.”

Last month, Rubio rolled out a big endorsement for Mitt Romney, adding fuel to the fire in talks over whether Rubio, whose parents emigrated from Cuba, would possibly be tapped for the Republican veep spot. Rubio, however, has repeatedly shot down the notion. With Latino-Americans becoming a more influential voting bloc, politicians are increasingly growing more aggressive in their efforts to court their votes. But the junior senator argued Friday that choosing him as a running mate would not do the trick.

In Florida, Republican Marco Rubio won the senate seat convincingly, with a strong turnout from Latino voters. Photograph: Gary Rothstein/EPA

“I think a better approach is the one I’ve talked about, and that is providing these kids some sort of non-immigrant visa status so they can continue to study and then work in the U.S.,” Rubio said. “Then at some point in the future they would be able to get in line, same line as everybody else in the world.”

Elected in 2010, Rubio was dubbed early on a rising star in GOP. He’s known for bucking popular policies within the Latino community, such as the DREAM Act, a proposal that would grant a path to citizenship for minors in the country illegally, providing they served in the armed forces or attended college. Instead, he sides with positions more inline with the Republican platform on immigration.

Asked if he was setting aside a vice presidential spot in hopes of aiming for higher office in the future, Rubio said:

Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, of Florida, works in his Washington office. (EFE)

“Well I haven’t thought about that in that way. I don’t know what the future holds. I want to do a good job as a U.S. senator. “I think if I do that, I’ll have opportunities to do different things in future.”

DID OBAMA DECLARE HE WILL PUSH IMMIGRATION THE FIRST YEAR OF HIS NEXT TERM?

April 14, 2012 by Jessica Marie Gutierrez Leave a Comment

THE HISPANIC BLOG IS THE LATEST HISPANIC NEWS BY JESSICA MARIE GUTIERREZ

Univision interviewed Obama in connection with this weekend’s Summit of the Americas

Topics included democracy promotion, drug trafficking, and race relations.

A protester in Los Angeles, May 1, 2011. photo source Eric Thayer/Getty Images

President Obama says he will push for major immigration legislation if he is re-elected. Obama told Univision he would like to do immigration this year, but Republican opposition is too intense.

“I can promise that I will try to do it in the first year of my second term,” Obama said. “I want to try this year,” he added. “The challenge we’ve got on immigration reform is very simple. I’ve got a majority of Democrats who are prepared to vote for it, and I’ve got no Republicans who are prepared to vote for it.”

By SAUL LOEB, AFP/Getty Images

Obama supports what he calls a “comprehensive” immigration bill. It involves both tougher border security as well as a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants who are already in the U.S. Republicans say the emphasis should be on border protection, and liken citizenship plans to amnesty for lawbreakers. In the Univision interview, Obama took a swipe at one of those Republicans, likely election opponent Mitt Romney.

Said Obama: “We now have a Republican nominee who said that the Arizona laws are a model for the country … these are laws that potentially would allow someone to be stopped and picked up and asked where their citizenship papers are based on an assumption.”

President Barack Obama gestures during an interview with Mario “Don Francisco” Kreutzberger for Univision’s Sabado Gigante in the Rose Garden of the White House, Sept. 21, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Republican Party spokesperson Kirsten Kukowski said Obama “promised to tackle immigration reform in his first year and failed.””From immigration to creating jobs and cutting the deficit, President Obama has failed to follow through on his promises to the American people showing his words are more about winning elections than anything else,” she said.

ARE LATINOS THE CONSUMER POWERHOUSE RESHAPING AMERICA?

April 12, 2012 by Jessica Marie Gutierrez 9 Comments

THE HISPANIC BLOG IS THE LATEST HISPANIC NEWS BY JESSICA MARIE GUTIERREZ

Studio Gang Architects + Joseph Lekas Photography

This Easter weekend I went to an exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York called “Foreclosure: Rehousing The American Dream,” a fascinating view into what the future of urban and suburban housing in America could look like. For this exhibit, five architectural teams proposed how they would re-invest the TARP money of 2008 to revitalize foreclosure-ravaged suburbs near five major cities in the United States.

I came away feeling most impressed about the transformational impact that Latinos are already having on this country and wondering if most companies are really prepared for what is around the corner. I was most impressed with how clearly they understood the demographic impact of both the rise of Hispanics as a mega buying force in the home-buyer market.

Photographs by Don Pollard.

While Hispanics were certainly not the focus of this exhibit, their impact on four of the five places featured could not be denied. From Rialto, Calif., to Cicero, Ill., where 88% of the population is Hispanic, Latino attitudes about homeownership were not only prominently featured and discussed by architects, but also helped frame the developing of what the exhibit calls the “national conversation on issues of housing, transportation, and public space.”

When I got home, I remembered that I had recently downloaded the latest report on the State of Hispanic Homeownership, published in March by The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals and found that, in spite of also being hit by the housing crisis between 2007 and 2010, they too were predicting a new Latino housing mega trend.

“Over the next 10 years, Hispanics are expected to account for 40 percent of the estimated 12 million net new households, with minorities comprising 70 percent of total growth,” says Alejandro Becerra, author of the report. Unlike other groups, Latinos have not been big on saving for retirement. This is partly due to a cultural legacy that, hopefully, should change over the next few decades. Our American Dream has always mainly revolved around buying a home and depending on family to take care of us.

“An unrelenting drive to succeed combined with strong family values and larger family sizes fuel their yearning for a place to call home,” says Becerra. “This strong work ethic, often combined with a vibrant entrepreneurial spirit, adds up to major consumerism. The Hispanic market made up over 50 percent of real growth in the U.S. consumer economy from 2005 to 2008, with $52 billion in new spending.”

According to the Census, Hispanics are already a significant segment of the workforce. “The role of Latinos in the nation’s labor force in the manufacturing, construction, real estate and service industries is both monumental and crucial. For well over a decade, Hispanics have also had the highest labor force participation in the nation. Currently, 66.7% of all working-age Latinos are employed, nearly three percentage points higher than the rest of the U.S. population,” adds Becerra.

And while many Baby Boomers are expected to age in place, the NAHREP report says that “current mobility rates suggest that 3.8 million baby boomers could downsize over the coming decade, adding further to the demand for compact, lower-cost homes.” As a result, smart start-ups like Boomerator,Southeast Discovery and GetawayStyle are all setting up to cater to the needs of this huge demographic shift.

But I don’t see the same kind of focus and innovation reaching and catering to Hispanics. In spite of the Hispanic demographic tsunami that everyone agrees is upon us, many companies still dedicate only 3% to 5% of their budgets to marketing to Latinos. If that’s your strategy to win in this economy.

WHY ARE LATINO DEMOCRATS CALLING ROMNEY “RADICAL?”

April 5, 2012 by Jessica Marie Gutierrez 2 Comments

THE HISPANIC BLOG IS THE LATEST HISPANIC NEWS BY JESSICA MARIE GUTIERREZ

Democratic state legislators from the Southwest followed President Obama’s example on Wednesday by putting the “radical” label on GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney’s agenda as they blasted the candidate’s immigration stance.

State Reps. Trey Martinez Fischer of Texas, Crisanta Duran of Colorado and Ruben Gallego of Arizona condemned Romney during a conference call organized by the Democratic National Committee for aligning himself with some of the most anti-immigrant voices in his party.

Photo credit: Tim Gaynor

“If Mitt Romney intends to go after President Obama on immigration, he has a problem: Latinos have been following Romney’s extreme policies, and he has zero credibility with our community,” Duran said.

photo source: Cafferty File

The state legislators at the same time described President Obama as an “ally” and “friend” of the Hispanic community, which has traditionally been at the center of the immigration debate.

The “radical” characterization of Romney appeared on the state legislators’ par langue only a day after Obama used it to denounce the current Republican vision on the country, which the president said “is antithetical to our entire history as a land of opportunity.”

Martinez Fischer attacked Romney specifically for the candidate’s promise to veto the DREAM Act – a bill that would provide lawful status to undocumented immigrants who graduate from college or enroll in the military – should Congress pass it.

photo source: AP

“Let’s just make it very clear. Ninety one percent of Latinos support the DREAM Act,” Martinez Fischer said. “Translation: Romney is out of step with 91 percent of Latinos in this country.”

The representative from San Antonio acknowledged that Obama has been “tough” on illegal immigration, but he amended the president’s record breaking number of deportations estimated at more than 1 million since taking office, by arguing that Obama has tried to obtain immigration reform.

photo source: AP

“We need to recognize that when Latinos say ‘Who is our advocate?’ At least Obama’s name is in the conversation,” Martinez Fischer said. “You will not find (Republican Sen.) John McCain anymore.”

THE EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH SENATOR MARCO RUBIO

March 30, 2012 by Jessica Marie Gutierrez Leave a Comment

THE HISPANIC BLOG IS THE LATEST HISPANIC NEWS BY JESSICA MARIE GUTIERREZ

In a Fox News Latino Exclusive interview, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio says he agrees with the 90 percent of Latinos who support the Dream Act -which allows young people who grew up in the U.S. and are in school or the military to become citizens.

In the interview the son of Cuban immigrants told me the proposed law, written by Democrats, would have allowed for “chain migration” of 3 to 4 million of the young people’s relatives. He is reportedly considering proposing a version of the Dream Act that blocks deportation of those young people but does not give them citizenship.

The senator’s uneasy straddle on the Dream Act is similar to his attempt to ride the fence on immigration reform. He supports tough new laws passed by Republicans in Arizona, Alabama and South Carolina to allow police to demand proof of citizenship – arguably exposing all Latinos to harassment based on racial and ethnic profiling. In that case, the senator said he stands with the Republicans who put the laws in place because local officials are reflecting their constituents’ frustration at the lack of federal action on immigration reform. But he wants the federal government to take the lead. The young senator’s difficult tap dance with the Dream Act and immigration reform is more than one politician’s problem.

Sen. Rubio, the son of Cuban American immigrants, is every Republican’s first choice to be the vice presidential nominee in 2012. His presence on the Republican ticket is potentially a game-changer with Hispanics now the fastest growing segment of American voters and with a large presence in swing states, such as Florida, Nevada and Colorado.

WATCH MARCO RUBIO’S FOX NEWS INTERVIEW

http://video.foxnews.com/v/video-embed.html?video_id=1539051691001&w=466&h=263

Rubio could also help Romney with conservatives because of his ties to the far-right Tea Party. Rubio is also working with republicans in congress, including Senators in states with large immigrant populations, to write an immigration reform proposal that could win support of a majority of Republicans. The pressure for a Romney-Rubio ticket grew in recent days after former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush endorsed Mitt Romney, the likely Republican nominee, and also went public with his preference for Rubio to be on the GOP ticket. Rubio contributed to political buzz when he quickly followed Bush’s lead with his own endorsement of Romney. “Marco Rubio is living proof that the American dream is still very much alive,” Romney said in a release thanking Rubio for the endorsement.

In February, a national Fox News Latino poll found that 24 percent of likely Latino voters said they are more likely to vote Republican if Senator Rubio is on the ticket.

But Rubio, on the night he endorsed Romney, insisted to me he will not accept an invitation to run with Romney. I asked him if he might change his mind if Romney and other GOP power brokers tell him that his potential power to attract Latino voters to the Republican ticket will be the difference between winning and losing the White House.

“First of all, these hypothetical questions are dangerous,” he said. “And it isn’t going to be the choice between winning and losing. You know, you don’t win or lose a presidential race on a VP pick. You win or lose on competing visions for the future of our country. “And I think we Republicans have an opportunity to offer a very clear contrast to the direction that [President] Barack Obama has taken and wants to continue to take the U.S. ,” he concluded.

The Fox News Latino poll shows that President Obama now has a job approval rating of 73 percent among Latino voters. None of the candidates running for the Republican nomination, including Mitt Romney, gets more than 14 percent of the Latino vote when facing President Obama.

“If Mitt Romney puts a Hispanic candidate on the ticket, I don’t think Hispanic voters are going to look at that say ‘Oh, yeah!,’ and ignore his stand against the Dream Act,” said Joel Benenson, President Obama’s campaign pollster. The pollster said Romney’s policies on immigration are hurting him with Hispanics.

In fact, Romney has taken the hardest stand against immigration reform of any of the Republicans, including his famous proposal to have illegal immigrants deport themselves. He also criticized former Sen. Rick Santorum for supporting the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latino justice on the Supreme Court. Romney has also gone after Texas Gov. Rick Perry for signing into law an in-state tuition benefit for illegal immigrants seeking an education.

So, does Sen. Rubio think Romney and the GOP vision for America’s economic future has any chance of getting through to Latino voters?

“Absolutely, [it will get to] all the communities in America,” Rubio said. No other community understands “empowerment, upward mobility, better than the Latino community… [it] is the reason why they are here to begin with. And the best system in the world for upward mobility and economic empowerment is the American free enterprise system. I would argue the Democrat’s agenda is undermining [it].”

WILL SENATOR MARCO RUBIO BE THE NEXT VICE PRESIDENT: HE SAYS HE CAN’T DELIVER, “YOU’VE GOT TO EARN THE HISPANIC VOTE”

Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, widely speculated to be a top pick for the Republican presidential running mate, once again firmly denied he would join the GOP ticket.

“I’m not going to be the vice president,” Rubio said Friday in an interview with CNN en Español‘s Ismael Cala. “I’m not.”

“I’ll tell you, the Hispanic vote has to be earned,” he said. “You can’t just put somebody on there and say, ‘This is gonna deliver it.’ You’ve got to earn it, and primarily I think you earn it through economic policies.”

“Well I haven’t thought about that in that way. I don’t know what the future holds. I want to do a good job as a U.S. senator. “I think if I do that, I’ll have opportunities to do different things in future.”

DID OBAMA DECLARE HE WILL PUSH IMMIGRATION THE FIRST YEAR OF HIS NEXT TERM?

Univision interviewed Obama in connection with this weekend’s Summit of the Americas

Said Obama: “We now have a Republican nominee who said that the Arizona laws are a model for the country … these are laws that potentially would allow someone to be stopped and picked up and asked where their citizenship papers are based on an assumption.”

WHY ARE LATINO DEMOCRATS CALLING ROMNEY “RADICAL?”

State Reps. Trey Martinez Fischer of Texas, Crisanta Duran of Colorado and Ruben Gallego of Arizona condemned Romney during a conference call organized by the Democratic National Committee for aligning himself with some of the most anti-immigrant voices in his party.

“If Mitt Romney intends to go after President Obama on immigration, he has a problem: Latinos have been following Romney’s extreme policies, and he has zero credibility with our community,” Duran said.

Martinez Fischer attacked Romney specifically for the candidate’s promise to veto the DREAM Act – a bill that would provide lawful status to undocumented immigrants who graduate from college or enroll in the military – should Congress pass it.

“Let’s just make it very clear. Ninety one percent of Latinos support the DREAM Act,” Martinez Fischer said. “Translation: Romney is out of step with 91 percent of Latinos in this country.”

“We need to recognize that when Latinos say ‘Who is our advocate?’ At least Obama’s name is in the conversation,” Martinez Fischer said. “You will not find (Republican Sen.) John McCain anymore.”

THE EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH SENATOR MARCO RUBIO

In a Fox News Latino Exclusive interview, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio says he agrees with the 90 percent of Latinos who support the Dream Act -which allows young people who grew up in the U.S. and are in school or the military to become citizens.

WATCH MARCO RUBIO’S FOX NEWS INTERVIEW

http://video.foxnews.com/v/video-embed.html?video_id=1539051691001&w=466&h=263

In February, a national Fox News Latino poll found that 24 percent of likely Latino voters said they are more likely to vote Republican if Senator Rubio is on the ticket.

So, does Sen. Rubio think Romney and the GOP vision for America’s economic future has any chance of getting through to Latino voters?

READ MORE: FOX NEWS LATINO

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WILL SENATOR MARCO RUBIO BE THE NEXT VICE PRESIDENT: HE SAYS HE CAN’T DELIVER, “YOU’VE GOT TO EARN THE HISPANIC VOTE”

Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, widely speculated to be a top pick for the Republican presidential running mate, once again firmly denied he would join the GOP ticket.

“I’m not going to be the vice president,” Rubio said Friday in an interview with CNN en Español‘s Ismael Cala. “I’m not.”

“I’ll tell you, the Hispanic vote has to be earned,” he said. “You can’t just put somebody on there and say, ‘This is gonna deliver it.’ You’ve got to earn it, and primarily I think you earn it through economic policies.”

“Well I haven’t thought about that in that way. I don’t know what the future holds. I want to do a good job as a U.S. senator. “I think if I do that, I’ll have opportunities to do different things in future.”

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DID OBAMA DECLARE HE WILL PUSH IMMIGRATION THE FIRST YEAR OF HIS NEXT TERM?

Univision interviewed Obama in connection with this weekend’s Summit of the Americas

Said Obama: “We now have a Republican nominee who said that the Arizona laws are a model for the country … these are laws that potentially would allow someone to be stopped and picked up and asked where their citizenship papers are based on an assumption.”

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ARE LATINOS THE CONSUMER POWERHOUSE RESHAPING AMERICA?

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WHY ARE LATINO DEMOCRATS CALLING ROMNEY “RADICAL?”

State Reps. Trey Martinez Fischer of Texas, Crisanta Duran of Colorado and Ruben Gallego of Arizona condemned Romney during a conference call organized by the Democratic National Committee for aligning himself with some of the most anti-immigrant voices in his party.

“If Mitt Romney intends to go after President Obama on immigration, he has a problem: Latinos have been following Romney’s extreme policies, and he has zero credibility with our community,” Duran said.

Martinez Fischer attacked Romney specifically for the candidate’s promise to veto the DREAM Act – a bill that would provide lawful status to undocumented immigrants who graduate from college or enroll in the military – should Congress pass it.

“Let’s just make it very clear. Ninety one percent of Latinos support the DREAM Act,” Martinez Fischer said. “Translation: Romney is out of step with 91 percent of Latinos in this country.”

“We need to recognize that when Latinos say ‘Who is our advocate?’ At least Obama’s name is in the conversation,” Martinez Fischer said. “You will not find (Republican Sen.) John McCain anymore.”

Share this:

THE EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH SENATOR MARCO RUBIO

In a Fox News Latino Exclusive interview, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio says he agrees with the 90 percent of Latinos who support the Dream Act -which allows young people who grew up in the U.S. and are in school or the military to become citizens.

WATCH MARCO RUBIO’S FOX NEWS INTERVIEW

http://video.foxnews.com/v/video-embed.html?video_id=1539051691001&w=466&h=263

In February, a national Fox News Latino poll found that 24 percent of likely Latino voters said they are more likely to vote Republican if Senator Rubio is on the ticket.

So, does Sen. Rubio think Romney and the GOP vision for America’s economic future has any chance of getting through to Latino voters?

READ MORE: FOX NEWS LATINO

Share this:

SUBSCRIBE TODAY

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