Thread: McCain meets with Hispanic leaders

McCain meets with Hispanic leaders
By MICHAEL TARM – 38 minutes ago

CHICAGO (AP) — Republican presidential John McCain assured Hispanic leaders he would push through Congress legislation to overhaul federal immigration laws if elected, several people who attended a private meeting with the candidate said Thursday.

Democrats questioned why the Arizona senator held the meeting late Wednesday night in Chicago. But supporters who were in the room denied that McCain held the closed-door session out of fear of offending conservatives, many of whom want him to take a harder line on immigration.

Both McCain and Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama support giving legal status to millions of illegal immigrants, but neither has made the issue a centerpiece of the campaign. At one time, McCain's campaign suffered because of his stance on the issue.

"This was not a secret meeting," said Rafael Rivadeneira, a vice chairman of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly of Illinois, who was among more than 150 Chicago-area Hispanic leaders who attended. "There was nothing he said that they wouldn't want people to hear."

Other attendees said they were not so sure.

"He's one John McCain in front of white Republicans. And he's a different John McCain in front of Hispanics," complained Rosanna Pulido, a Hispanic and conservative Republican who attended the meeting.

Pulido, who heads the Illinois Minuteman Project, which advocates for restrictive immigration laws, said she thought McCain was "pandering to the crowd" by emphasizing immigration reform in his 15-minute speech.

"He's having his private meetings to rally Hispanics and to tell them what they want to hear," she said. "I'm outraged that he would reach out to me as a Hispanic but not as a conservative."

After the event, McCain met privately with Martin Sandoval, an Illinois state senator and Democratic convention delegate for former candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton. Sandoval said he left open the possibility of backing McCain, citing his immigration stance and pledge to keep business taxes low.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gHGk ... AD91DH0980

Illinois Hispanics meet with Juan McCain in Downtown Chicago
Self | June 19, 2008 | Rosanna Pulido
Posted on Thursday, June 19, 2008 8:11:02 AM by chicagolady

I was one of the 150 people at the Drake Hotel in Downtown Chicago Wednesaday night who came to hear John MC Cain speak to Illinois Hispanics.

I had e-mail in my request to attend after seeing an article in the news paper announcing this event.

This is what i received..........

We are pleased to confirm your invitation to attend the "Hispanic Voices Reception" with Republican Presidential candidate John McCain. The event will take place on June 18, 2008, at The Drake Hotel, 140 E. Walton Place, Chicago, Illinois, in the Drake Room.

A volunteer will call you in the next couple of days to give you a "unique event ID number." You will need that number along with photo identification at the registration table in order to access the event. Doors open for the event promptly at 7:30 PM. Please come early, though, to get through security.

During the reception, Senator John McCain will be fielding questions from the audience. We ask that you be respectful during the question-and-answer session even if your opinions differ from those being shared. Please dress in business-casual attire.

You may park at The Drake Hotel for $30; valet parking is also provided at the hotel for $45. If you are traveling from the suburbs, limited seating is available on the bus leaving from Aurora. To reserve a seat for the bus, please contact us on our hotline number or by e-mail. For your own directions to the event, please click here.

For questions regarding the event, please call our hotline number at 630-801-0043 or e-mail us at McVolunteers@yahoo.com.

Both Senator John McCain and I look forward to meeting you next Wednesday.

Face to Face with John McCain!

"Hispanic Voices Reception"

Wednesday, June 18, 2008, starting at 7:30 PM

The Drake Room The Drake Hotel 140 E Walton Place Chicago, IL 60611

You are invited to hear John McCain address Illinois Hispanics!

If you have any questions, please contact: Gabriela Wyatt or Julie Brady at McVolunteers@yahoo.com Or call the event hot-line (630) 801-0043 __________________________________________________ _______

.....Personally as an Original Minuteman who attended the Historic Minuteman Border Watch in 2005 on the Arizona/ Mexico border and returnig 2 more times for a tour of duty along our southern Border, I was especially looking forward to what John Mc Cain would say about illegal immigration.

This was a NO MEDIA ALLOWED EVENT! That is why I am reporting back to you, all of you folks who have fought so hard with your phone calls to Washington D.C. last summer, shutting down the Washington DC switch board and defeating the AMNESTY BILL. I am reporting back to you those of you who work tirelessly in your local cities and towns trying to get some public elected official to care and enforce the rule of law.

I was told by my friend and fellow Hispanic Marianne Davies who is on the board of "You Don't Speak for Me" that John Mc Cain has been going across the country having "PRIVATE" meetings with Hispanics.

Although the inviation said we would be able to ask questions, that "question " time with John Mc Cain never happened. That was ok with me, I never had the intention of asking a question, I knew exactly the kind of open borders crowd I was with.

John Mc Cain's favorite words of the evening were Comprehensive Immigration Reform. But he started out first of all saying if he is gonna win the Presidential election he will need the support of the Latino community.

He said " My state has been enriched by the Hispanic culture in Arizona."

Then John MC Cain asked a question "Did you know this? I bet some of you did not know that Spanish was spoken in Arizona before English" ...Loud cheers from the audience. (Ok John Mc Cain What is your AZATLAN POINT?)

Then he said " I want to have some straight talk about our relationship with Mexico,our closest neighbor and dearest friend" He talked about the Mexican President fighting the drug cartels.

Then John Mc Cain aid the exact thing I came to hear, he said "I was proud to work for Comprehensive Immigration Reform and If I am elected President I assure you that in 2009 I will ask Congress to pass Comprehensive Immigration Reform." (The crowd goes wild)"It is a Federal Responsibility" he said and continued " we also need a temporary guest worker program"

He then told a story about a day laborer who got picked up this morning, worked all day and then never got paid...We have no Federal Policy, we cannot allow this to happen, he said, He repeated I assure you that I will work for Comprehensive Immigration Reform.

John McCain talked about a debate he was in about enforcing the law and he says that the "other side had a lot of "Rhetoric" "you know what I am talking about!" he said.

I guess the most telling event of the evening was a certain person who was in the room. From my own account he is the God Father of the massive illegal alien movement in Illinois. He is a Democrat and part of the HDO, Martin Sandoval - serves on a Mexican government advisory council. In fact, you can see his name on this list of their advisors:

www.ime.gob.mx/ccime/directorios/dir_ccime_06_09.htm

Exactly which country is he representing at this rally for John Mc Cain?

Martin Sandoval, Illinois senator, wants to represent Mexicans too Martin Sandoval is a state Senator from Illinois. He's also running for a seat on Mexico's "Institute for Mexicans Abroad" advisory council: Sandoval would be the first elected official in the U.S. to serve on the advisory council. That raises the peculiar prospect of the Cicero Democrat offering policy advice in an official capacity to Mexican Cabinet members while creating laws in Illinois...

As it turns out, no law or rule prohibits it, in Mexico or in Illinois. Mexican officials call it an honorary position...

... "I see no conflict at any point. There are always people who will have questions," [Sandoval] said. "I have looked at the four corners of this. I see upside all over the place."

Sandoval said his participation is especially logical because a large share of his constituents were born in Mexico. More than 42 percent of Sandoval's Senate district is foreign-born, the second-highest rate in the state...

NOW we see what kind of folks are interested in getting John Mc Cain in office.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2033264/posts

Thanks for posting this zeezil.

Just as we thought, McCain hasn't changed one bit.

Inside McCain’s closed-door meeting with Chicago Hispanics

By Michelle Malkin • June 19, 2008 09:02 PM

Last night, John McCain met with a carefully screened group of Chicago-area Latino voters. The town hall was closed to the media. Several readers e-mailed an eyewitness account of the event. Here’s an excerpt:

I was one of the 150 people at the Drake Hotel in Downtown Chicago Wednesday night who came to hear John MC Cain speak to Illinois Hispanics.

I had e-mail in my request to attend after seeing an article in the news paper announcing this event.

This is what i received……….

We are pleased to confirm your invitation to attend the “Hispanic Voices Receptionâ€

John McCain is a sneak and hopefully he will lose the voters on both sides of this issue. With the media pounding Obama, sure looks like a good opportunity for a third party candidate.

[quote]Related: Tipster Edgar M. sends an English translation of an article from Diario Libre touting McCain’s promise to renew his shamnesty push for the “undocumented:â€

[quote="LawEnforcer"][quote]Related: Tipster Edgar M. sends an English translation of an article from Diario Libre touting McCain’s promise to renew his shamnesty push for the “undocumented:â€

They are both just as bad. Did we think he'd do anything different? No!