Newsfront
GOP Should Lead Immigration Overhaul
Senate Republicans led by John McCain, Marco Rubio, and Lindsey Graham are pushing for major reform — many conservatives agree.
R BY DAVID A. PATTEN
epublicans opposed to immigration reform will have to explain why the next time Latino voters stream to
the polls they should ignore the plight of 53-year-old Martha Guolotuna of Queens, N.Y. Guolotuna left Ecuador 18 years
ago to start a new life in the United States. It meant so much to her, she left her three young kids back home, and she hasn’t seen them since because without a U.S. visa, she would not be able to return. “If I was granted legal status, the
first thing I would do is hop on a plane and see my children,” Guolotuna, a businesswoman who owns her own body shop, tells the New York Post. Her story is similar to some 11 mil-
lion other undocumented U.S. work- ers, and unless Republicans take notice, the Grand Old Party may
Poll: Just Let Them Stay
I
t’s not just Latinos who want to see some action on immigration. A January CBS poll showed 51
percent of all voters think illegals should be permitted to stay in the country and to apply for citizenship. Another 20 percent say they should be able to stay here as guest workers. CBS reported it was an 8-point
swing in favor of illegals since it asked the same questions in March 2010.
lose the Latino vote for a generation. “If the Republican base, the grass
roots, decides that this is going to be the litmus test for whether one is a Republican or not, or is going to be elected to office, they need to fold their tent, give up, and go home,” conserva-
tive InsiderAdvantage pollster Matt Towery tells Newsmax. “Because there will not be another Republican elected president in our lifetime.” The ballot box math is unforgiving.
As recently as 2004, when then-Pres- ident George W. Bush was promis- ing to make immigration reform a top priority, he won an unprecedented 40 percent of the Latino vote. But when immigration reform tanked in 2007, Latinos began turning to Democrats. And in the 2012 election, Romney’s support among Hispanic voters cra- tered to just 27 percent. In January, Republican Sen. Marco
Rubio was at the forefront of an immi- gration bill that includes a pathway to legal status for more than 12 million illegals currently in the United States. The White House said the plan
would lead to a “productive and bipar- tisan debate” since both Rubio and President Obama basically agree on
GOP Brand Fading Fast With Latinos Historically, the GOP share of the Latino vote has been somewhere in the mid 30s. In 2004, George W. Bush made serious inroads. But ever since the failed 2007 attempt at immigration reform, GOP fortunes with Hispanics have plummeted.
1980 Candidate
GOP’s Share of Latino Vote
Reagan 35%
1984
Reagan 37%
1988
H.W. Bush 30%
1992
H.W. Bush 25%
1996 Dole
21% 2000
G.W. Bush 35%
2004
G.W. Bush 40%
2008
McCain 31%
2012
Romney 27%
SOURCE: Pew Hispanic Center
8 NEWSMAX | MARCH 2013
P. 6,7: AP IMAGES / P. 8: MARIO TAMA/GETTY IMAGES
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