Thread: GOP Spanish Debate Postponed

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Univision postpones debate after GOP candidates ignore invites
By Ruth Morris

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

September 7, 2007

The debate was to be broadcast from coast to coast, with questions in Spanish and simultaneous translations piped into candidates' ears. Analysts touted the invitation as a landmark opportunity for Republican presidential hopefuls to woo a huge Hispanic audience and collect their contributions.

But prominent Spanish-language network Univision conceded last week that it would postpone a Sept. 16 forum among Republican presidential contenders after only one candidate — Arizona Sen. John McCain — announced he would attend. Now, as a full house of Democratic hopefuls gear up for their Spanish-language debate on Sunday, political observers question whether the GOP is turning a cold shoulder to a crucial voting bloc.

Univision spokeswoman Brook Morganstein said the broadcaster had not canceled the Republican forum and hoped to host the event sometime in the fall.

"We're working with the candidates now to reschedule," she said. "There were scheduling issues."

That most GOP candidates didn't clear their calendars raised eyebrows, particularly in Florida, a swing state where Republicans have strong support from Cuban-Americans and an edge among Puerto Ricans.

Univision will host Sunday's debate among Democrats at the University of Miami, in Coral Gables.

"That's like turning away a gift. It's a bad mistake," said Jorge Mursuli, national director of the Miami-based Democracia USA, a nonpartisan Hispanic civic engagement group, of the Republicans' slow response. "I suspect they have a conflict with the base of the party that has been so vitriolic and anti-immigrant. I'm guessing they feel that taking the step toward reaching out to Hispanics may make some of the folks in the Republican base uncomfortable."

Hispanic voters place a premium on the personal touch, Mursuli said, pointing to Republican candidates who used that to their advantage. President Bush, for example, used the slogan "Nos conocemos" or "We know one another," to win Latino voters in his 2004 campaign for the White House.

Critics suggest Republicans aren't sure how to play to Latino voters after the contentious immigration debate. Many Hispanic voters were disillusioned after conservative lawmakers blocked a bill this summer that would have legalized millions of undocumented workers while bolstering border security.

Political analyst Alvaro Fernandez, regional director for the William C. Velasquez Institute that traces Latino voting trends, said a Univision debate would surely include hard questions on immigration. But the GOP's loss is not necessarily the Democrats' gain, he said. Key democrats may have supported legalization, but they still failed to pass it.

"On appealing to Latino voters, I would give the Republicans an F, and the Democrats I would give a C-," Fernandez said, referring specifically to the immigration bill defeat. "The question of immigration will be tough to answer for either party."

Univision is the largest Spanish-language network in the United States, and has vigorously encouraged eligible viewers to apply for citizenship and vote. Hispanics represent the fastest growing segment of the U.S. electorate, growing by 50 percent over the last decade.

South Florida Republican supporters defended their candidates' sluggish response, saying the GOP was likely to reach out to Hispanics much more aggressively after primary elections, when it counts most. Hispanic voters care about complex issues, said Fabio Andrade, the Republican head of the Americas Community Center in Weston, and a few words translated poorly into Spanish could mean a gross political blunder.

Republicans may also be counting on overlapping sympathies with Latino voters to see them through. Many Hispanic voters oppose abortion and support family values, positions Republican candidates have long embraced.

In the minefield of presidential politics, candidates from both parties have selected venues carefully. Political science researcher Susan MacManus, of the University of South Florida in Tampa, said voters rely on evermore segmented news outlets for their news, and candidates are well tuned to the trend.

In August, the Fox network canceled a Democratic presidential debate co-sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus Political Education and Leadership Institute, after the leading candidates in that field said they would skip it. Like Univision, organizers cited "scheduling challenges."

Still, MacManus said the GOP should not take the Univision debate lightly.

One Republican lawmaker who speaks Spanish fluently, U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Miami, said she hoped other GOP candidates would join McCain and make time for a Univision debate. She dismissed the notion that immigration is the only issue candidates need to address.

"We are not a monolithic community," Ros-Lehtinen said. "The Hispanic family members care about quality schools, crime-free communities, good health care, job opportunities, and all the wonderful quality of life issues that all American families want."


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