Hillary Clinton

Editorial: As GOP candidates huddle with far right, Clinton deals with reality

To appreciate how high a priority is placed on Latino issues by Republican presidential candidates, just look at how many of them attended a recent national Latino leadership convention in Las Vegas.
The convention would have been the natural forum for them to discuss immigration reform, an important — and increasingly less controversial — issue among voters, based on public opinion polls. And it would have been an opportunity to engage with leaders of a voting demographic that could sway the 2016 presidential election.

So how many of the 16 invited GOP candidates showed? You can count them on one finger: retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson.

Most of the others cited scheduling conflicts, saying they instead would attend a rally in Washington sponsored by the ultraconservative Faith and Freedom Coalition, an organization endorsed by Sarah Palin, Donald Trump and Michele Bachmann. Seems most Republican presidential candidates don’t like leaving their comfort zones.

Organizers of the 32nd annual convention of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials would be right to feel snubbed. Its executive director, Arturo Vargas, said, “Scheduling is a reflection of priorities. If something’s important to you, you move your schedule around to accommodate it.”

UNLV political scientist David Damore put it this way: “Their absence spoke loudly and was another salient example of the gulf between the GOP’s rhetoric and actions when it comes to reaching out to the Latino community.”

http://lasvegassun.com/news/2015/jun/28/editorial-gop-presidential-candidate-clinton-NALEO/