Fiorina campaign seeks to segment the Latino vote

Carly Fiorina is running for Senate in California  against Barbara Boxer. I came across an ad on La Jornada ( a Mexico City left newspaper). It linked to a Latino focused web pages  for Fiorina.

The campaign must recognize the significant new energy and unity  in voting among Latinos is California produced by the Republican bruha  in Arizona over SB 1070, the Arizona equivalent of California’s Proposition 187 of 1994.  Seeking to segment the vote is a good idea if you are a Republican campaign manager.

The campaign page features lots of smiling family members, presumably Latinos.  It is light on responding to key issues.

There is among Latino voters a traditional split, liberal on economic issues but more conservative on social issues. The  polling differences on these issues are cited on the web pages.   The Fiorina web page works this split with skill.  It focuses on  traditional marriage, anti abortion, and is linked to a severe assault on LGTB issues.

Here is the web page: Carly Fiorina campaign video; targeted at Latinos.

http://www.tusvalores.com/

She wants you to vote your values.

Note, it is put up by AmericanPrinciplesinaction.org a very conservative group.  This raises an interesting question. 

Did Americanprinciples coordinate with the Fiorina campaign ? The Tus Valores Campaign is an independent expenditure of American Principles in Action, a 501(c)(4) organization.

The group  is permitted, as a result of the Supreme Court Citizens United  decision, to make independent communications that support the election or defeat of federal candidates, but doing so may trigger FEC reporting obligations. Once certain spending thresholds are met, they  would be required to report both the expenditures to make these communications and the donations

(including the identity of the donors) that were earmarked to support these expenditures.

There certainly are differences within the Latino community over issues of immigration. Most polling show Latinos in favor of a comprehensive approach to immigration including allowing those already here to gain eventual citizenship.  Over 5 million of the estimated 11 million undocumented people here have U.S. citizen children.  Dividing these families is unacceptable in most Latino communities as it is with the Catholic church.

Since this issue is front and center, then what does the Fiorina campaign say about immigration on these pages?  Only, “Carly Fiorina showed her resolve in support of common-sense immigration policies during the Republican Primary and represents a real opportunity to pass a reform bill.”

That is, Fiorina, in a campaign targeted toward Latinos, says she is in favor of immigration reform. Even John Mc Cain, Arizona Governor Brewer, and Pete Wilson say that.  The issue is , which reforms? To favor the Republican routes to reform, including the support for the Arizona law, and now support for amending the U.S. constitution to ban citizenship to certain children born here would offend the very voters she is trying to capture.  So, candidate Fiorina  is silent.

And, she doesn’t say where she stands on the current Republican campaign to extend the Bush tax cuts for the super rich.  Republican Senators have blocked efforts to hire teachers and police, to extend health care, to provide stimulus jobs, but they are in favor of protecting the Bush era tax cuts of the super rich.

Note, the SusValores page is linked to several groups including the National Organization for Marriage, which is promoting this campaign to fire an administrator in the Obama department of education over his writings on the LGBT community.

http://www.expeljennings.org/