They have both said the same exact words repeatedly (“I will not be VP”) — sometimes casually, sometimes forcefully. But Marco Rubio and Susana Martinez both realize they would be an ideal counterweight to Romney’s ticket.
As we all know, talk is cheap in the world of politics, and the weight of the upcoming election may just be enough to sway the mind of one of these GOP hopefuls. Why? Because the future of the Republican Party remains heavily at the whim of the Hispanic demographic.
Somehow, I can’t see Romney chanting “Sí, se puede” to crowds of Latino voters, even if he enjoys a chalupa from Taco Bell every now and then on the campaign trail.
The media knows it and has been buzzing about these two candidates for the past few months, probably in hopes that someone will soon dig up trash on them.
Latino candidates can relate to their minority demographic in a way that non-Latino candidates cannot. These two potential contenders would surely give Obama a run for his money (and trust me, the man has a lot of money). It’s not just about ethnicity; it’s about identity. From their backgrounds to their politics, these two potentials clearly identify with the Hispanic demographic.
Let’s start out with Rubio. Rubio is a Tea Party champion who has always stood behind his small-government principles, and yet, has not alienated any of his Hispanic constituents. Why? Because his stance on illegal immigration seems rational to just about everyone on the political spectrum.
While Rubio shot down the DREAM Act in its original form, he showed a willingness to solve this issue by producing his own version of the DREAM Act in April. In his compromise, young illegal immigrants who graduated from high school without a criminal record and are college bound or have military aspirations, would be granted non-immigration visas. With these visas, they’d be able to begin the process of citizenship.
Rubio knows the value of a dollar, and as the son of Cuban immigrants, he believes in an American dream uncorrupted by liberal myths. As he said, “Those of us of Hispanic descent don’t expect special treatment … only the same treatment and same opportunities afforded to all Americans.” I don’t think anyone can argue against that.
At the same time, Rubio is young (20-plus years younger than Romney), and he has more charm than Obama and Biden put together. Like Martinez, he can communicate effectively with Spanish-speaking voters in their own tongue. This connection alone is more profound than most gringos are willing to admit.
Likewise, Susana Martinez would be able to appeal to a widespread conservative base, and at the same time, could garner the votes of her fellow Hispanics.
Like Rubio, she is a practicing Catholic, and her values are in line with the social conservatism of Latino voters. Also, Martinez shares Rubio’s work ethic. She started out in her family’s small business, eventually becoming a prosecutor and district attorney. As governor of New Mexico, she believes in protecting our nation’s safety with secure borders. Politically speaking, she has not really done anything that could isolate her from her own ethnic group.
Both Rubio and Martinez would represent hope for Hispanic voters throughout America. Whereas Congress’ agenda has typically been too extreme to gain the votes of Republicans (and Republican plans would ultimately produce an automatic veto from President Obama), Hispanic influence in the executive branch would get stuff done for them.
Obama really has done nothing to change our flawed illegal immigration policy. And he stood behind a DREAM Act he knew would never pass.
Mis amigos, this is not political courage, nor is it change. Rather, it shows an overall lack of cojones. In fact, the closest connection Obama has to Hispanic voters is that he likes to go to sombrero festivals every now and then. And Biden just epitomizes the Spanish proverb, “En boca cerrada no entran moscas.” (Silence is golden.)
The best hope for Hispanics ultimately lies in the GOP ticket. And with the incentive of a huge demographic advantage, Romney would be foolish to pass over a Hispanic Veep prospect.
These racial categories for votes are useless. People vote for as individuals, not as giant mobs of different racial subgroups.
Unfortunately Jacob that simply isn’t true. Just take a look at Gallup’s presidential approval ratings:
http://www.gallup.com/poll/124922/Presidential-Approval-Center.aspx
(Download the spreadsheet if you really want to dig deep. I think looking at the trends in approval ratings over different age groups, regions, incomes, whatever, is fascinating.)
There is a clear and undeniable difference with the way certain ethnic groups view the president. Just as an example, whites currently approve at 40% while Hispanics give Obama an approval of 63%. Blacks approve at 86%. That’s significant.
You’re right that people literally vote as individuals. The thought process behind an individual’s vote or approval is not as overt as “I’m white, therefore 40% of me wants to approve him”. It’s more that people tend to associate by race/culture and so there are some different and consistent world views. Politicians understand this reality, as unpalatable as it may seem.
I must commend you Mr. Pringle, another beautiful piece without even an ounce of truth. Not only that, you managed to take a classic spanish idiom that you learned in Spanish 103 and poorly translate it into the AMC theater slogan.
a few thoughts:
1)Next time maybe focus on the fact Rubio will garner votes because he is a smart and capable man with great ideas, not that he’s Hispanic (probably too smart for the GOP).
2)We are voting for president in the fall, not VP.
3)Rubio realizes Romney is a quack and doesnt want to jeopardize any future chance of somehow making it in the white house, so he’ll probably stay away.
4)Stick to writing about recycling, please
The Mustang Daily needs to fire this guy. He is just pulling shit out his ass.
And FYI, Mittens wouldn’t have a connection with Hispanic voters even if he selects a Hispanic running mate. Obama by far connects better with the Latino voting block. He doesn’t need a Hispanic to get their vote because they know who is really on their side. Oh and please don’t be so predictable next week. I challenge you to write about something other than Obama supporting same-sex marriage. Seems like you are just a parrot mimicking what the clowns at Fox News spew onto the air.
Couldnt agree with you more. We both know he’s already started writing it too so the second he reads your comment he’s going to have to come up with a whole new article for next week
Obama’s view on same sex marriage has been headline news on every network. The Huffington Post is going gangbusters over this. It would be appropriate for opinion piece writers for the Mustang Daily to discuss this.
Do you bitch and moan about MSNBC just as much as you do about Fox?
You sure sound a lot like pringle.
How bout this pringle, I will bitch and moan about MSNBC all day long if that makes you happy (even though no one actually watches that channel) and In return you write something that doesnt suck total ass.
If a Mexican American such as myself or another Hispanic would have written this article, the perspective from the left would have been a lot kinder and gentler or as I like to call it more patronizing and condescending.
To quote Mr. Pringle, “the future of Republican Party does rely heavily on the Hispanic demographic”. This is a fact and anyone that does not see this reality needs to take their head out of their ass.
We Latinos have the distinction of being the most passionate of peoples, we value family and friends and lets not forget that we are the worlds greatest lovers with no one coming in a close second.
On the flip side however, we rely heavily on collectivism and have allowed the left to give us goodies in exchange for individualism, freedom and self respect.
We have allowed Televisa, Telemundo, and TV Azteca, (all the equivalent to MSNBC), to tell us how to think and who to vote for.
We need to wake up and smell the Nescafe, o nos va a llevar la chingada.