[BretLudwig]

((As I've said before, it's a case of dysphemism overload. Thay're not
Hispanics: Hispanic means "of, or pertaining to, Spain", and they have
never even been to Spain and look nothing like the people living there.
They're not Latinos, unless Caesar was an Aztec and it escaped notice for
2200 years. They're indios and high-indio mestizos, people who fit poorly
in Western society to begin with. Bret.))

Obama, McCain spar over immigration

By John Whitesides and Jeff Mason Sat Jun 28, 3:27 PM ET

"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain
courted Hispanic support on Saturday, and Obama accused his White House
rival of backing away from comprehensive U.S. immigration reform under
pressure from his party.
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In separate appearances before a group of Latino public officials, the two
presidential contenders portrayed themselves as dedicated champions for
Hispanics -- a fast-growing and critical swing voting bloc in November's
election.

Obama took aim at McCain's approach to comprehensive immigration reform
and his change of emphasis on legislation to offer a pathway to
citizenship for the country's 12 million illegal immigrants.

McCain, an Arizona senator, broke with his party and worked for the plan,
which ultimately failed in Congress amid heavy Republican opposition.

But he shifted his approach during the fight for the party's nomination to
emphasize the need to secure U.S. borders before addressing the status of
illegal immigrants.

"One place where Senator McCain used to offer change was on immigration.
He was a champion of comprehensive reform, and I admired him for it,"
Obama, an Illinois senator who supported the proposal, told the National
Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.

"But when he was running for his party's nomination, he walked away from
that commitment. He said he wouldn't even support his own legislation if
it came up for a vote," he said. "If we are going to solve the challenges
we face, we can't vacillate, we can't shift depending on our politics."

McCain, who appeared before the group ahead of Obama, admitted the plan
"wasn't very popular with some in my party" but said he would still work
for a broad-based overhaul of U.S. immigration laws.

"It'll be my top priority yesterday, today and tomorrow," McCain said when
asked if immigration reform would be high on his to-do list in his first
100 days in office.

A McCain spokesman accused Obama of voting for "poison pill" amendments
that doomed the immigration deal.

"It was Obama himself who worked to kill the Senate's bipartisan
immigration reform compromise last year," Brian Rogers said in a
statement.

The Obama campaign shot back that McCain had thanked Obama for his support
on the issue in 2006.

McCain told the Latino officials the proposal failed because Americans
were not confident Congress would protect U.S. borders before dealing with
the question of illegal immigration.

"GOD'S CHILDREN"

"I want to assure you we will address this issue in a humane and
compassionate fashion," he said, calling illegal immigrants "God's
children."

Hispanics are the fastest growing minority group in the United States and
account for about 9 percent of the national electorate. They could be a
critical swing voting bloc in November battleground states like Florida
and in the U.S. Southwest.

In 2004, President George W. Bush won about 40 percent of the Hispanic
vote -- a Republican record -- in defeating Democrat John Kerry. But
opinion polls show Republicans have been hurt with Hispanics by the debate
over immigration reform.

Obama has had his own problem with Hispanics, who heavily supported his
primary rival Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York.

Polls show Obama has rebounded among Hispanics since clinching the
Democratic nomination. Many polls show McCain falling short of Bush's 40
percent of Hispanic support.

Obama, who will be the first black nominee of a major U.S. political
party, stressed the groundbreaking nature of his candidacy to the Hispanic
group.

"I'm hoping that somewhere out in this audience sits the person who will
become the first Latino nominee of a major party," he said.

McCain was interrupted four times during his speech and subsequent
questions by protesters who challenged his staunch backing of the Iraq
war. Officials of the Hispanic group apologized and said they were not
members.

Obama, who has called for a withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq
within 16 months of taking office, said Hispanics had borne a heavy burden
during the war.

Both candidates stressed economic and education proposals they said would
help Hispanics. McCain touted his plans to cut corporate tax rates and
make Bush's income tax cuts permanent, along with his support for free
trade proposals.

"It is a terrible mistake to raise taxes during an economic downturn,"
McCain said. "I reject the false virtues of economic isolationism. Any
confident, competent government should embrace competition -- it makes us
stronger."

Both McCain and Obama will speak next month to another influential
Hispanic group, the National Council of La Raza, at its convention in San
Diego."

((P.S. WTF does "La Raza" mean anyway? You goddamned well already know.
Bret.))


http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080628/...sa_politics_dc

http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=5048

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