GOP en espanol: Radio Romney, Tancredo boycott

by Mark Silva

“Mitt Romney -- Republicano para presidente. Por que? Porque es el más calificado y el más confiable.’’

These are the words of a new Spanish-language Romney campaign radio ad: translated as Romney, “the most qualified and reliable candidate.’’

And these are the words of Rep. Tom Tancredo, who will boycott the Spanish-language debate of the Republican presidential candidates that Univision will broadcast from Miami this evening: “It is the law that to become a naturalized citizen of this country you must have knowledge and understanding of English, including a basic ability to read, write, and speak the language. So what may I ask are our presidential candidates doing participating in a Spanish speaking debate? "

What are they doing? Well, they’re competing for more than 5 percent of the vote in the next presidential election, and for a much greater percentage of the vote in the Florida Republican Party primary on Jan. 29.

They are competing for the votes of a constituency that leans Democratic nationally, and is tilting further in that direction lately, according to Pew Center polling. They are competing for a constituency that George W. Bush courted, with some success, only to see his party’s staunch opposition to rights for undocumented immigrants alienate many Latino voters this year.

Yet, these are the same candidates courting a broader voting constituency with their anti-illegal-immigration rhetoric, with Romney accusing Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, of presiding over a “sanctuary city’’ – Giuliani counter-attacked in the last Republican debate, also in Florida, by accusing Romney of running a “sanctuary mansion,’’ the Bay State governor’s mansion, where a work crew had some illegal workers on the job.

Giuliani heads into Sunday night’s debate at the University of Miami – airing for two hours starting at 7 pm EST on Sunday -- with a direct appeal to the Cuban-American community in Miami, a statement critical of the Cuban government’s treatment of dissidents: “"Unfortunately, this shows the true nature of the Castro regime. When churches are tear-gassed and teenagers arrested for wearing wristbands that say ‘cambio’ the world should see clearly that the time for freedom has come for Cuba."

And Tancredo, the most outspoken of his party’s opponents of illegal immigration, heads away from the debate with these words: “Bilingualism is a great asset for any individual, but it has perilous consequences for a nation," Tancredo said. "As such, a Spanish debate has no place in a presidential campaign."

The refusal of the Republican congressman from Colorado to take part in a debate that will be translated for the national, Spanish-speaking audience of Univision speaks volumes about his true intentions in this campaign for president. He is making a statement, not a bid for office.

The radio ad of Romney speaks volumes about his own seriousness: “Mitt Romney – republicano para presidente. ¿Por qué? Porque es el más calificado y el más confiable. El mundo de los negocios ha confiado en Mitt Romney, y muchos lo llaman el mejor empresario de los Estados Unidos Nuestro país confió en Mitt Romney y Mitt Romney salvó las Olimpiadas de corrupción y le presentó al mundo entero un gran espectáculo estadounidense justo después de los ataques del 9/11 El pueblo de Massachusetts confió en Mitt Romney. Lo eligió gobernador para borrar el déficit que heredó y encaminar la economía del estado. Y así lo hizo – dejando un superávit y muchos nuevos empleos. Su familia confía en Mitt Romney también y él ha sido un gran esposo con 38 años de matrimonio, es un gran padre para sus cinco hijos y un gran abuelo para sus 11 nietos. Mitt Romney vive los valores que predica. Todos nosotros podemos confiar en Mitt Romney para presidente. Conócelo mejor –visita MittRomney.com. Soy Mitt Romney y apruebo este mensaje. Pagado por Romney para Presidente"

In Miami today, Romney will appear with Al Cardenas, a Havana-born, Miami-based attorney who served as chairman of the Republican Party of Florida during the heyday of Jeb Bush’s successful campaigns for governor – the younger Bush, whose wife is Mexican-born, is completely fluent and campaigned in Spanish in his own time as governor (1999-2005). They will hold a barbecue and rally at Jose Marti Park in Miami.

“We have a strong grassroots organization in South Florida and I'm pleased to welcome these prominent leaders to our campaign," Romney says. “I look forward to traveling to Miami this weekend and participating in the historic Univision Republican Presidential Forum to substantively address issues important to voters in South Florida and Hispanic-Americans across the country."

With a well-organized Florida campaign built by some of Jeb Bush’s closest advisers, the Romney team includes Cardenas, state Rep., Anitere Flores, a co-chair of the Romney for President Florida Steering Committee, Miami-Dade County Commission Chairman Bruno Barreiro, former Miami-Dade School Board member Frank Bolanos, former Broward County Commissioner Ed Kennedy, Coral Springs Commissioner Ted Mena, former Broward County Property Appraiser Rocky Rodriguez and City of Miramar Commissioner Troy Samuels.

“The addition of this impressive group of Miami-Dade leaders to our team indicates Gov. Romney's vision for building a stronger America with a strong military, strong economy and strong families is resonating with Republicans in South Florida," Cardenas says. "As we prepare for next month's primary, these men and women bring a wealth of experience to Gov. Romney's campaign in the Sunshine State, especially to our outreach efforts in the Hispanic community."