La Opinion, one of the largest Spanish-language daily newspapers in the U.S., highlighted the issues that Hispanic audiences should take note of during the September 16 Republican presidential debate on CNN.
According to a study by Latino Decisions, the eventual 2016 Republican Party nominee will need more than 40 percent of the Latino vote in swing states to win the White House. As the number of Hispanics in the American electorate continues to grow, courting this demographic has become a political necessity.
Tonight's debate will receive significant media coverage, and in a September 15 article, La Opinion writer Pilar Marrero provided a lens through which this increasingly important Latino audience should view the debate, with an eye toward judging which candidate would best serve the Hispanic community.
Marrero cautioned Latinos against falling for candidates who falsely pander to them by paying lip service to Hispanic Heritage month, despite their records of advocating anti-immigrant policies. She also said she hoped “topics of interest such as education, the economy, [and] healthcare” would be discussed in the debate, rather than treating Hispanics as a single-issue constituency focused solely on immigration.
Translated from La Opinion:
On Wednesday afternoon, 15 Republican presidential-nomination hopefuls will debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, in Simi Valley, California. We are pointing out below what can be expected from the second debate between the candidates, and what details deserve the most attention:
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4. The debate is taking place in the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, and as a given, this will spark comparisons with the late president and conservative leader. Let's see how many times Reagan is mentioned and who claims to be the most like him.
5. Regarding Reagan and the current candidates, a lot has been said about the differences between the ex-president who signed Amnesty into law, and who repudiated both walls and the exploitation of immigrants. We'll have to watch out for candidates daring to contradict the late republican idol by saying “if he were alive today...”
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7. It's California, Hispanic Heritage Month and, on top of that, Mexican Independence Day. We'll see how many bring these up and say how much they appreciate Hispanics while at the same time, advocate to deport many of them. It would take a certain degree of shamelessness...
8. Will topics of interest, such as education, the economy, healthcare, etc. be discussed? So far the race has focused on divisive and ideological topics.