McCain Myth Buster: John McCain and Hispanic Voters

John McCain believes he will get support from Hispanic voters because he has a "long record working with Hispanic leadership" and that "[e]verything about our Hispanic voters is tailor made to the Republican message." [CNN.com, 5/5/08]

But the reality is Hispanic voters have made it clear that they don't trust Senator McCain on the issues that Hispanic voters think are important-health care, the economy, and jobs-issues on which Senator McCain has proven he lacks the leadership and vision America needs. As Congressman Silvestre Reyes of Texas pointed out in an op-ed in the Washington Times this morning, it's hard to know where John McCain stands on the issue of immigration reform. [Pew Hispanic Center, 12/6/07; Washington Times, 6/27/08]

Maybe it's his record:

IMMIGRATION REFORM: WHERE DOES MCCAIN REALLY STAND?

2006: McCain Championed The McCain-Kennedy Earned Legalization Immigration Bill. McCain campaigned for the McCain-Kennedy bill which was described as "the most generous of the bills now before Congress." The legislation "would legalize as many as 11 million undocumented immigrants" and "grant temporary work permits to illegal immigrants and then after waiting six years and paying a $2,000 fine, it would enable them to apply for green cards." [Miami Herald, 2/24/06]

2008: McCain Said He Would Oppose the Legislation He Authored With Kennedy. Asked whether he would vote for the immigration legislation he previously sponsored, McCain eventually replied, "No, I would not." [CNN GOP Presidential Debate, 1/30/08]

2006: McCain Said an "Enforcement First" Strategy Focusing Only on Border Security is an "Ineffective And Ill-Advised Approach." "In April [2006], the Senate overwhelmingly passed, in a bipartisan fashion, a comprehensive immigration reform package designed to secure our borders as well as address the economic need for workers in our Nation. In passing this legislation, the Senate rejected the argument for an 'enforcement first' strategy that focuses on border security only, an ineffective and ill-advised approach. Congress cannot take a piecemeal approach to a national security crisis. I believe the only way to truly secure our border and protect our Nation is through the enactment of comprehensive immigration reform. As long as there is a need for workers in the United States and people are willing to cross the desert to make a better life for their families, our border will never be secure." [McCain, Congressional Record, 9/29/06]

2007: Presidential Candidate McCain Touts Securing The Border First. In 2008, McCain said, "And our proposal has got to be securing the borders first. The American people have no trust or confidence in us that we would secure the borders." In November 2007, McCain argued, "I want to assure you that I'll enforce the borders first." [CNN Larry King Live, 2/14/08; CNN/YouTube GOP Presidential Debate, 11/28/07]

Congressman and Former US Border Patrol Agent Asks Where McCain Stands On Immigration. In an op-ed, Congressman Silvestre Reyes, a former sector chief and agent for the U.S. Border Patrol, wrote "If the senator supports comprehensive reform, he should say so. I, for one, would welcome it, and I'm sure many of the good people who worked on the comprehensive bills over the past several years would too. If the opposite is true, and Mr. McCain will pursue an enforcement-first strategy that deals only with border security, he should say so too. I would disagree with him, and to quote Mr. McCain, would make it clear he is 'sadly mistaken' if he thinks a piecemeal approach will deliver 'any real results.' But at least we'll know where he stands." [Washington Times, 6/27/08]

Latino Voters Weary of a Third Bush Term and Identifying As Democrats. According to a Pew Hispanic Center report, a plurality of Hispanic registered voters, 41%, say that "the policies of the Bush administration have been harmful to Latinos, while just 16% say they have been helpful" and "57% of Hispanic registered voters now call themselves Democrats or say they lean to the Democratic Party, while just 23% align with the Republican Party -- meaning there is now a 34-percentage-point gap in partisan affiliation among Latinos." [Pew Hispanic Center, 12/6/07]

Republican Party Losing Support Among Hispanic Voters. "Latino support for Republican candidates dropped from roughly 40% in 2004 to 30% in 2006, while 69% of Latinos voted for Democrats in 2006." According to a survey of under-30 Americans Latinos preferred a Democrat for president in 2008 by a margin of 42 percentage points." [Houston Chronicle, 9/9/07]

A Majority of Hispanic Voters Are Concerned About Health Care, Jobs, the Economy, and Iraq. 91% of Hispanic registered voters consider health care to be an extremely important or very important issue, 91% of Hispanic registered voters consider the economy and jobs to be an extremely important or very important issue, two thirds of Hispanics want an end to war in Iraq, and 70% of Hispanic registered voters consider Iraq very important or extremely important. [Pew Hispanic Center, 12/6/07]

After casting himself as a "Maverick" in 2000, the new John McCain is walking in lockstep with President Bush, pandering to the right wing of the Republican Party, and embracing the ideology he once denounced. On the campaign trail McCain has callously abandoned many of his previously held positions, even contradicted himself, in a blatant attempt to remake himself into a candidate Republicans can accept in 2008. So just who is the real John McCain? The Democratic National Committee will present a daily fact aimed at exposing the man behind the myth.