Former U.S. Treasurer Rosario Marin says Latinos "now have a
very clear record of what [Sen. John McCain] would do" on
immigration if elected president.
In a campaign conference call with reporters, Marin praised
McCain's "integrity" and said he "courageously" pushed immigration
reform legislation in the Senate "at great political peril" to
himself.
Speaking in advance of Sen. Barack Obama's address today to the
National Council of La
Raza's meeting in San
Diego, Marin predicted that Obama would "do the same thing he
has been doing" by claiming that "Senator McCain has changed his
position on immigration reform. Nothing could be further from the
truth."
Marin blamed the failure of Senate immigration legislation on
"people like Senator Obama casting votes that eventually unraveled
the compromise" that McCain had crafted. She specifically blamed
Obama for voting for an amendment to the 2007 bill that "cut the
number of guest workers in half."
Obama "has not shown any great leadership," said Marin, who
praised McCain's "unquestionable" integrity. "He not only says what
he means, he means what he says."
She said McCain's current emphasis on border security was
because "the American people have said that they want border
security first," and that, if elected president, other elements of
McCain's immigration agenda would be done after securing the
border. "He will do it in steps," Marin said.
Asked about polls showing that a majority of Hispanic voters
favor Obama, Marin said that polls also show 26 percent of
Hispanics are undecided, and said many are unaware of McCain's role
in pushing immigration reform. McCain will address La Raza's
conference Monday, a move for which he's been
excoriated by Michelle Malkin and other conservatives.
topics:
John McCain, Barack Obama, NATO, Immigration
