As Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich continue to court Hispanic voters in Florida, former Florida Republican Governor Jeb Bush is advising them on how to do just that.
Mr. Bush, who many Republicans had urged to run for the Republican nomination in 2012, penned an op-ed article in The Washington Post Wednesday explaining how Hispanic voters have “drifted away” from the Republican party.
Although the former Florida governor never mentions either Mr. Romney or Mr. Gingrich by name in the article, the timing and advice given in the article seems to be directly aimed at the two front running Republican presidential candidates.
Mr. Bush’s article was released on the same day that Mr. Gingrich and Mr. Romney participated in Univision’s “Meet The Candidates” forum, where they discussed issues of importance to Hispanic voters.
During Monday night’s NBC News moderated debate in Florida, both Mr. Gingrich and Mr. Romney explained how they would deal with illegal immigration if elected president. Mr. Gingrich favors a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants who have been in the U.S. for long periods of time. In contrast Mr. Romney stated that he would veto the Dream Act in favor of “self deportation.”
Mr. Bush however believes the Republican party should use a more structured “pro growth” approach towards immigration that includes education reform. The former Florida governor is the co-chair of the Hispanic Leadership Network, a conservative advocacy group whose goal is to provide a national voice for Hispanic Americans.
“We need to recognize this is not a monochromatic community but, rather, a deeply diverse one. Hispanics in this country include Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans and many others,” wrote Mr. Bush in the article Wednesday. “They tire of the stereotypes built by the media and some politicians. Like all voters, Hispanics respond to candidates who show respect and understanding for their experiences.”
Mr. Bush also describes how swing states in the upcoming election have a significant Hispanic population, and that Republicans were able to court Hispanic voters in those states when his brother George W. Bush was re-elected in 2004.
A December Pew Research Center poll showed Hispanic voters favoring President Barack Obama over all of the remaining Republican presidential candidates. That is likely a result of several illegal immigration laws passed by Republican governors that many Hispanic Americans feel unfairly targets them.
For example, the immigration law passed by Arizona Republican Governor Jan Brewer sparked protests by Hispanic groups across the country because it was thought of to allow racial profiling against Hispanics in Arizona.
Mr. Romney’s proposal of “self deportation” during Monday’s debate likely was not perceived as a welcoming gesture by the Republican party to Hispanic voters in Florida either. The former Massachusetts governor tried to correct himself in his appearance on Univision Wednesday by saying that he favors “legal immigration.”
The Republican presidential candidates have also stated that they favor making English the official language of the U.S., a notion that Mr. Bush also addressed in his op-ed article Wednesday.
“When we hear foreign languages in the streets of America, that is a validation of the Republican vision to create a place where people want to come and make their lives,” wrote Mr. Bush. “Hispanics here speak or are learning English — not French, Chinese or Hindi. There is a lesson in that, and Republicans should be the ones to champion it.”
A trio of Florida Republican lawmakers endorsed Mr. Romney in November, but his popularity in the Sunshine state declined after Mr. Gingrich’s decisive victory in the South Carolina Republican primary election.
Mr. Romney and Mr. Gingrich along with the other remaining candidates will likely face more questions about illegal immigration and their foreign language policies during Thursday night’s nationally televised debate.
It will be interesting to see if any of them inject the advice given by the former Florida governor into their responses.
