Jeb Leads Hispanic Outreach for GOP
Politico reports:
Alarmed by the GOP’s alienation of Hispanic voters, a group of operatives and former elected officials has launched a bid to wrestle the party’s image back from illegal immigration foes – and it’s led by a Republican named Bush.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has teamed up with former Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, who served in former President George W. Bush’s Cabinet, and former Sen.Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), a one-time supporter of comprehensive immigration reform, to restore the Republican Party’s standing with this fastest-growing segment of the electorate.
The newly formed Hispanic Leadership Network marks the first major outreach effort by the wing of the Republican Party that believes it must change its tone towards Hispanics to stand any shot of winning back the White House in 2012. It’s backed by Republicans connected to the Bushes and Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign, a group whose big-tent philosophy has been usurped in recent years by the tough rhetoric of illegal immigration opponents. (See: McCain looks bad in Bush book)
“When Norm called me to tell me he was doing this, I almost broke into song, I was so happy,” said Ana Navarro, co-chair of McCain’s National Hispanic Advisory Council. “We all know it’s been a problem, but nobody has been leading any real concerted effort to address the problem.”
That problem is a Republican party that — despite the elevation this year of several Hispanic Republicans, including Sen.-elect Marco Rubio in Florida — has all but abandoned its institutional commitment to courting Hispanic voters. That came after the congressional debate on immigration took a sharp right turn in 2006, with congressional Republicans rejecting Bush’s path-to-citizenship approach and sparking massive protests in the Latino community.
And it puts the GOP in a hole as it prepares for a presidential contest likely to come down to a handful of states with sizable Hispanic populations: Florida, Nevada, New Mexico and Colorado. (See: GOP hires fewer Hispanics)
The network — a nonprofit offshoot of the American Action Network, one of the GOP's most active outside-money groups this year — holds its inaugural event in January. It's a two-day conference where the 2012 Republican presidential hopefuls have been invited to speak, providing an early test of how the field will approach Latinos after a divisive midterm campaign. (See: Opinion: Latinos, GOP belong together)
Outgoing Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty confirmed his attendance at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, Fla., and “the interest level is high” among the rest of the field, said Rob Collins, a spokesman for the group.
It won’t be easy for the Republicans. In the 2008 election, Barack Obama won 67 percent of the Hispanic vote nationally compared to 31 percent for McCain, exit polls showed. In 2004, Democrat John Kerry won 53 percent of the Hispanic vote, to 44 percent for Bush – a record in Hispanic support for a GOP presidential contender. (See: Dems roll out DREAM Act No. 5)
Still, there is an inherent tension within the Republican party on how to move forward.
