Two National GOP Groups Launch Spanish Ads Targeting Latino Vote

Come this summer Latinos will be getting a lot more conservative messages in Spanish and English.

Two national Republican groups – the RNC and American Crossroads – have launched a summertime Spanish-language advertising blitz to court Hispanic voters in key presidential battleground states.

ABC Reports – “RNC, American Crossroads Target Hispanic Voters in Battleground States” :

“The Republican National Committee and independent pro-Republican group American Crossroads are simultaneously airing ads in New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada, slamming President Obama on the economy.

The RNC ad, which hits the president on unemployment, taxes, federal debt and deficit, will air on Hispanic radio in the three states, according to a committee statement. It’s expected to run concurrently with a small English-language TV buy in select media markets highlighting a similar message.

American Crossroads, a group with ties to GOP strategist Karl Rove, says it will spend more than $158,000 this week to air a Spanish-language TV ad in the same states, as well as Florida, Texas, and Washington, D.C. The ad is part of a $20 million campaign, blasting Obama on the deficit and debt.”

The ads attack President Obama on his biggest vulnerability with Latino voters- the economy. As a post in the Latino Blog, Daily Grito states: ”In the absence of a huge advantage on immigration, Obama’s real vulnerability among Latino voters, as with all Americans, is on economic issues.”

In conjunction with the Spanish radio ad, the RNC launched a television ad in English hitting Obama on his failed economic policies. From a press release from the RNC:

“The Republican National Committee (RNC) released its third television ad today as part of a month-long “Change Direction” economic messaging campaign highlighting President Obama’s failed economic leadership.  The RNC will go on offense in the Southwestern states of New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada with a broadcast television buy. Acknowledging the region’s Hispanic population and 11.6 percent unemployment among Hispanics nationally, the ad will be supplemented with a Hispanic radio spot also hitting on the president’s economy.

Even David Axelrod admits the president must win the Southwest, a region Obama won in 2008 but George W. Bush won in 2004, to win reelection. President Obama will be playing defense in the Southwest and across the country because his failed economic policies, and now his insistence on raising taxes, are making the economy worse for job creators and Americans looking for jobs.

Watch the RNC English television ad here http://bit.ly/p1qK8u. The radio ad in Spanish can be heard here http://bit.ly/oFvEII.

Read Full Post »

Obama Campaign Hires Archuleta as Political Director, First Latina to Hold Post (UPDATE)

With the race to the White House heating up, presidential campaigns continue to make key hires to their staffs. Yesterday, CNN reported that the Obama campaign hired Katherine Archuleta as the campaign’s political director. Archuleta will be the first Latina to be a political director for a presidential campaign. Yesterday, the Daily Caller asked me about the implications of Obama’s choice in the 2012 campaign and specifically the Latino vote in “Obama to announce political director for 2012 reelection campaign“.

“It will help Obama to have someone who not only understands the community, but is from the community,” said Republican political strategist Bettina Inclán, a Latina. “Appointing this woman as his political director just cements the importance of connecting with the Hispanic community for his campaign and should serve as a wake up call to Republican campaigns about the pivotal role of Latino voters in this election.”

Read the full piece and the role of Latinos in swing states here.

While Archuleta’s ethnicity does not secure Latino victory for the Obama campaign, it does ensure that connecting with Latino voters is something being considered in every decision and not a campaign afterthought, as it has been in past cycles for both Republicans and Democrats.

America has changed, and we Republicans can no longer afford to wait to the last push of the election to connect with Latino voters. All American’s are facing the same economic challenges. Latino issues are American issues. Hispanic voters deserve, and need to be getting the same message in English (and Spanish), with a  culturally relevant approach. The Latino vote is a swing vote and will go to the candidate who best connects with those voters.

Just yesterday, the RNC rolled out their electoral road map to victory and it included states with significant Hispanic populations such as New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado and Florida. If a beefed up, long-term Latino outreach program is not part of the RNC’s strategy to win these states, a GOP victory will be difficult. In recent days the RNC has moved in positive direction and hired new staff.

There is no question that President Obama has an uphill battle with Latinos this cycle. Many are disappointed with President Obama for his multiple broken promises, which is clearly demonstrated in his plummeting approval numbers among Latino voters.  Yet, President Obama has always been a better campaigner then President. Archuletta’s hire might be more of a symbolic move for Latinos voters to prove that Hispanics engagement will be important in the 2012 cycle.

Read Full Post »

Obama’s Latino Strategy: Words Over Actions

President Barack Obama and the Latino vote in 2012….My general feeling is that Barack Obama is a better campaigner then a President. His strength has always been the power of his words, not the impact of his actions. In 2012, Obama is banking that he can once again court Hispanics with what he says, not what he does.

I recently spoke with Alexis Simendinger, White House Correspondent for RealClearPolitics for her story, “Wooing Latinos, Obama Banks on Words, Strategy Over Actions.” She writes:

“…Obama has accepted lessons from 2008, chiefly the importance of directly and respectfully reassuring the Hispanic community that its concerns — including jobs, education, immigration and health care — are his concerns. While the GOP presidential field shakes out, the president is making his pitch for four more years…

Latinos are now the largest U.S. minority, making 16 % of the nation’s population. If the GOP wants to win back the White House, they will need to focus on Hispanic voters in 2012 battleground states like — Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, North Carolina and Virginia (all won by Obama 2008) and not forget to connect with growing Latino populations in traditional Republican strongholds such as Texas, Arizona and Georgia.

Read Full Post »

Latino Vote 2012: Barbour Bows Out

It’s Spring 2011 but all eyes are focused on the Fall of 2012.

Today, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour officially announced he will not run for president in 2012. According to Politico, Barbour release a statement saying: “This has been a difficult, personal decision, and I am very grateful to my family for their total support of my going forward, had that been what I decided.”

Barbour’s exit from the field is huge for other Republican hopefuls wishing to snag his mega endorsement, access to his connections and fundraising powerhouse.

The current Republican field is still crowded, with no real front-runner.

• Herman Cain
• Mitch Daniels
• Newt Gingrich
• Mike Huckabee
• Jon Huntsman
• Ron Paul
• Tim Pawlenty
• Mitt Romney
• Rick Santorum
• Donald Trump

As the 2012 campaign moves forward, we will be examining the candidates efforts in truly having a modern campaign and connecting with the large Latino community. It will be interesting to see how they integrate Hispanics in to their campaign structure and in their messaging…

Read Full Post »

Latino Vote 2012: Newt Gingrich Growing Relationship with Hispanics

Many Republican operatives and candidates say the Latino vote is important, but few do anything substantial to win the respect of Latinos. The standard operating procedure for the many in the GOP has been to start paying attention to Hispanics three months out from election day with occasional appearances and badly translated messages from their staffs, usually lacking anyone of Hispanic heritage.

But this is not the case for Newt Gingrich. Over the last few years the former House Speaker has made it a priority to understand, and gain respect, from the Latino community. Gingrich has hosted conference, speaks Spanish, regularly contributes Spanish OpEds on policy issues and launched a multi-media bilingual site for Hispanic called TheAmericano.com.

Politico writes about Newt Gingrich’s efforts in “Newt Gingrich’s 2012 immigration dance.” Politico writes, “Of the top Republican prospects for 2012, Gingrich leads in Latino outreach.” The piece states:

He recently attended a Texas conference on strengthening Latino and Jewish dialogue, and regularly publishes op-eds in Spanish. On a Tax Day conference call with tea party activists earlier this month, Gingrich called on Republicans to fight the “anti-Hispanic” label.

“We need to reach out to everybody who wants to work hard, everybody who wants to earn a living, everybody who believes in the classic traditional values,” he said. “And certainly that’s much of the Hispanic American community.”

Gingrich launched “The Americano,” a bilingual news website for Latino conservatives, and in December hosted a two-day forum featuring prominent Latino politicians, religious figures and business leaders. There he declared, “We are not going to deport 11 million people. There has to be some zone between deportation and amnesty.”…

…“He’s doing something very smart — he’s doing it early,” said Ana Navarro, who served as national co-chair of McCain’s Hispanic Advisory Council. “All of these guys need to understand you can’t show up and ask for the Hispanic vote three months before [the general] election. It’s got to start now.”

Lionel Sosa, who has consulted seven Republican presidential campaigns on Hispanic issues, praised Gingrich for being “upfront” on immigration.

“He is far and away the most attractive Republican candidate for Latinos,” Sosa said. “He is thoughtful. He has looked into the issue. He understands it, and he feels there is a way to solve the problem.”

Gingrich has an interesting road ahead of him, balancing his courtship of Latinos, with his courtship of extreme immigration hard-liners.

Read More: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/53579.html

Read Full Post »

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart Is Not a “Birther”, calls it a “distraction”

In recent weeks, Donald Trump has rekindled the birther issue, questioning the natural-born American citizenship of President Barack Obama, as he tries to gain attention for his presidential bid.  The mainstream media has been quick to question Republicans and their position on the birther issue.

In an editorial interview with the Sun Sentinel (video) Miami Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart called the birther issue a distraction from substantive critiques of the president. He said:

“I have no reason to believe that he was not born here…It’s just not an issue. What is an issue is that he’s been a dismal president. That’s the issue. I actually think that that kind of detracts from the real issues, but you know thank God we live in a free country.”

Many Republicans and Conservatives agree with Rep. Diaz-Balart, the birther issue is a distraction from the real issues. There are a million reasons why President Obama is a lousy President, none of which have to do with his place of birth…. Let’s take for instance Obamacare, the national debt, the economy, lack of jobs, gas prices, government spending, education, high taxes, immigration, to name a few….

Donald Trump’s birther talk is his opportunity to promote himself and dominate a Republican political field that has no front runner for likely Presidential nominee. Trump has garnered millions of dollars in free media, reporters are talking about him as a real presidential contender, and some Republican voters are taking notice, unexcited by their current options.

If Trump does move forward, and the media attention turns to scrutiny, it will be interesting to see how the campaign unfolds. Congressman Diaz-Balart’s analysis:

Read Full Post »

Latino Vote 2012: Hispanic Swing Vote Puts Colorado in Play

Interesting piece from the Daily Caller on how Colorado is in play in 2012 for the GOP, thanks to the Latino vote.

Colorado, a state where Democrats have seen numerous victories in recent years, could be ready for a swing in 2012. CivicForumPAC has moved Colorado to the “toss up states” category for the 2012 presidential election, thanks in large part to the fact that Hispanics are beginning to sour on President Obama. The president’s weakening connection with independents doesn’t bode well for him in Colorado either.

According to recent Gallup survey data (published April 7), Hispanics nationwide approved of Obama’s job performance at a 54 percent clip in March, which ties the president’s lowest approval rating among the group since he entered the Oval Office in 2009. While this statistic might have escaped most casual newsreaders, it is important for the GOP in Colorado, because Hispanics comprise more than 20 percent of the Centennial State’s population…

The authors recognizes that the Colorado GOP has a lot of work ahead of them, and need to outperform previous lackluster election cycles. The opportunity for a Republican to win the Latino vote will fall on their message discipline and if they are serious about implementing a real long-term Hispanic engagement strategy. It’s not just “outreach” it is about understanding the community and delivering a culturally relevant communications and political effort.
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2011/04/12/hispanic-dissatisfaction-with-democrats-puts-colorado-in-play-in-2012/#ixzz1LGYB0hk1

Read Full Post »

The Fate of the GOP in Latino Hands

National Journal’s Josh Kraushaar wrote an interesting piece about the GOP’s need to connect with Hispanic voters in “North by Southwest.” The article states that the only way for the GOP to stay viable in future elections is by finding ways to appeal to Hispanic voters, and highlights potential candidates that could help the Republican Party better connect with Latinos.  Read the full piece here.

Kraushaar closed his column with the following statement:

“The lesson: Republicans have shown they can compete for the Hispanic vote with the right message and the right candidates. But they also have shown they could easily squander their opportunities. The question: Which path will they take in 2012?”

I agree with Kraushaar. I’ve worked with people who have embraced efforts to connect with Latino voters and others who have squandered the opportunity. The results of the 2010 elections, combined with the reality of new Census numbers, provides those of us pushing the GOP to create a long-term Hispanic outreach plan a new tool to make our case. If the Party doesn’t adjust its’ strategy, the future of the GOP maybe in question.

Read Full Post »

The Future of the California GOP?

The biggest story coming out of the Institute of Governmental Studies “The 2010 Governor’s Race: The Inside Story” Conference was the need for the California GOP to connect with non-traditional voters (i.e: Latinos, women, youth, etc).

In 2010 the state bucked the national political trend. The state got bluer during an election in which Republicans were gaining seats throughout the country. Many politicos were left asking what is in store for Republicans?

Here are some articles from the IGS conference:

• San Francisco Chronicle Blog – “Republican brand in Calif is “dead”: Former CA GOP chief” (1/22/11)
• San Jose Mercury News – “Political advisers sift through ashes of 2010 gubernatorial campaign” (1/22/11)
• San Francisco Chronicle – “GOP brand pronounced dead in deep-blue California” (1/23/11)

Read Full Post »

Going Back To Cali

On my way back to California to attend the Institute of Governmental Studies “The 2010 Governor’s Race: The Inside Story” Conference in Berkeley, California.

The event is meant to be a post-mortem on the California Governor’s race. The IGC describes the event as: “We bring together campaign pros, political journalists, pollsters, and others for a candid analysis of California’s most important political contest.”

Several members of Team Poizner will be speaking at the event. I’ll tweet up dates at @BettinaInclan

Read Full Post »