Granddaughter of Colombian immigrant is a delegate


Carol Claros of Worcester is seen at the Republican National Convention. (MORGAN TRUE)

By Morgan True CORRESPONDENT

TAMPA, Fla. — Carol Claros of Worcester is young — 30 years old — and the granddaughter of a Colombian immigrant who arrived in this country as a single mother with three children.

She is not a typical delegate to a Republican National Convention — but is nonetheless in Tampa this week as part of the Massachusetts delegation to this year’s GOP gathering.

According to a report by the American Enterprise Institute, only 4 percent of Republican delegates were under 30 at the Republican convention in 2008, while 32 percent were women. The study did not have a breakdown on the percentage of Latino delegates four years ago. RNC officials did not immediately respond to requests for a demographic breakdown of this year’s delegates.

For much of her life, Ms. Claros said she identified as a Democrat or an independent, but said that was a result of being “misinformed.”

“I viewed the Republican Party as a club for rich old white men,” she explained.

Ironically, it was an old white man who helped her realize her values were more closely aligned with the Republican Party: She said in 2007 she heard an interview with Texas Rep. Ron Paul — whose two bids for the party’s nomination, though unsuccessful, nonetheless popularized his views and expanded the party’s appeal. Ms. Claros said she connected with Dr. Paul’s message of small government, personal liberty and family values.

“Those ideas are what brought my grandmother to this country,” she said.

When asked if incoming presidential nominee Mitt Romney and the mainstream of the Republican Party represent those same values, Ms. Claros responded that she isn’t sure if their rhetoric will be backed up by their actions. She said part of the reason she came to Tampa was to engage other Republicans, and work toward an agenda that reflects her conception of Republicanism.

There are issues where she is in step with much of her party; for example, Ms. Claros is anti-abortion, calling abortion an “act of violence.”

“No one asks a pregnant woman, ‘How’s your ball of tissue?’ ” she said, “They ask, ‘How’s your baby?’ It’s a human life.”

When she was training to be a nurse, Ms. Claros said, she worked at Planned Parenthood for a month and a half. At one point, she said, there was a patient who came in for her fifth abortion.

Ms. Claros said she remembers watching the ultrasound of the fetus at eight weeks, already with eyes and webbed fingers. At the time she and her fiancé were trying to conceive but were unable.

However, Ms. Claros does believe women should have access to the so-called “morning after” pill — a position that Jackie Curtiss, a 22-year-old delegate from Alabama and the youngest member of this year’s Platform Committee, tried unsuccessfully to introduce last week.

At the time, Ms. Curtiss told reporters, “I’m a little disappointed that the Republican Party didn’t take into account that, with college-educated women, they support Barack Obama 63 to 32 percent,” adding that, “Some of these issues are the reason for that.”

Recent controversial comments by U.S. Representative Todd Akin, R-Mo., a current Senate candidate, have served to highlight the Republican Party platform’s opposition to abortion in the case of rape. Although she didn’t address Mr. Akin’s comments, Ms. Claros is not in favor of abortion even in the case of rape.

“It’s unfortunate, but why should a child be punished for a father’s crime?” she asked.

When asked about rights of the mother, Ms. Claros acknowledged that she wouldn’t know what exactly to say to a rape victim who became pregnant, adding that it’s something that makes her sad to think about.

Immigration is another issue where Ms. Claros’ views are well reflected by the Republican platform, even as the party’s position has alienated many others in the nation’s Latino community. Ms. Claros is an advocate of strengthening U.S. border security, and supports the efforts of Arizona to enforce more stringent state laws.

She called the recent move by the Obama administration allowing the children of illegal immigrants born in this county to apply for work permits a “slap in the face.”

At the same time, Ms. Claros said she supports reforms aimed at legal immigration, adding that it seems unfair that her family cannot be together because of the current system. She explained that for the past 16 years, her family has tried to get her half-sister into the country legally, with her parents having spent thousands of dollars on lawyers and mailing forms back and forth to Colombia.

One area where she doesn’t agree with the Republican mainstream is U.S. military involvement abroad. She called the prospect of getting the U.S. involved in another war in Syria or possibly Iran, whether under a Romney presidency or a second Obama term, a “very scary situation.”

Ms. Claros, who has a brother serving in Iraq, said the level of spending on U.S. military operations abroad is unconscionable in light of the $15 trillion in national debt.

“And don’t you know, they say the war in Iraq is over,” she added ruefully.

Despite her differences with the Republican Party establishment, she is committed to helping the party expand in traditionally Democratic Massachusetts.

Ms. Claros said that, although she doesn’t agree with him on everything, she campaigned for U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., recently and hopes he can hold off Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren this fall.

Saying that a one-party state is inherently corrupt, she hopes to see the current 11 percent of registered Massachusetts voters identifying themselves as Republican grow.
Granddaughter of Colombian immigrant is a delegate - Worcester Telegram & Gazette - telegram.com