Latinos for Reform is a front-organization of the right that is airing ads advising Latinos not to vote. They are not asking Latinos to vote for Republicans (essentially a lost cause), they are asking them not to vote at all. After the few Republicans who supported Bush’s effort at immigration reform decided to reverse course under Obama’s leadership, they want to pin all the blame for inaction on the Democrats’ broken promises. ‘Don’t Vote,’ they say, so that you can make sure your vote isn’t taken for granted.
This is infinite cynicism. John McCain famously cussed out John Cornyn for his obstinacy on immigration reform back when Bush supported it.
At a bipartisan gathering in an ornate meeting room just off the Senate floor, McCain complained that Cornyn was raising petty objections to a compromise plan being worked out between Senate Republicans and Democrats and the White House. He used a curse word associated with chickens and accused Cornyn of raising the issue just to torpedo a deal.
Things got really heated when Cornyn accused McCain of being too busy campaigning for president to take part in the negotiations, which have gone on for months behind closed doors. “Wait a second here,” Cornyn said to McCain. “I’ve been sitting in here for all of these negotiations and you just parachute in here on the last day. You’re out of line.”
McCain, a former Navy pilot, then used language more accustomed to sailors (not to mention the current vice president, who made news a few years back after a verbal encounter with Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont).
“[Expletive] you! I know more about this than anyone else in the room,” shouted McCain at Cornyn. McCain helped craft a bill in 2006 that passed the Senate but couldn’t be compromised with a House bill that was much tougher on illegal immigrants.
Now he wants to build the dang fence. Who broke a promise? Who flip-flopped? Who is using Latinos as piñatas in this election?
