The Service Employees and Priorities USA, the superPAC created by backers of President Obama, have jointly bought $4 million in television ads in key states with Hispanic-American populations, exposing the anti-worker, anti-Hispanic record of presumed Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.
The joint ad buy is the latest evidence that progressive groups, faced with the financial might of the Right – an estimated $1 billion-plus in their pro-Romney campaign spending – are uniting in coalitions to fight back on behalf of Obama and their causes.
The commercials, “Mitt Romney: En Sus Propias Palabras” (Mitt Romney: In His Own Words), feature working Latinos commenting on Romney’s statements in favor of firing people, union spokeswoman Beatriz Lopez says.
“Romney’s tainted record shows how the multi-millionaire has made a career out of driving companies into bankruptcy and laying off workers without the health and retirement benefits they had earned, only so that he could generate profit for himself and his wealthy, corporate shareholders,” she added.
In the ad, one Denver Latino voter says Romney is “making fun of us, of the people who don’t have work. What he is saying is not fair. I cannot vote for Romney.” Colorado is one of the swing states where the ad campaign will run.
“Our kids are suffering and he makes a joke… I cannot imagine voting for him,” adds an offended Nevada voter. Nevada is another swing state with a fast-growing Hispanic-American population.
“The new Spanish-language ads are part of a broader effort to illustrate what a
Romney presidency would mean for Latinos and working families everywhere,” Lopez says. “His condescending rhetoric regarding the middle-class and the Latino commun-ity are clear indicators of devastating policies that would come with his administration.”
Eliseo Medina, the union’s Secretary-Treasurer and the son of immigrants, expanded upon the ad campaign in a June 13 op-ed piece about Romney’s anti-Hispanic stands.
“Actions don’t lie and neither does video,” Medina wrote. “Those who doubt that should closely watch facial expressions of those who feel insulted. Watch faces of voters when they see and hear a politician only interested in helping the wealthy. Watch faces of Latinos when they hear Romney speak in his own words and hear about how Romney actually made his millions. Then you will agree that pictures don’t lie.”
Romney, Medina said, “jokes about being unemployed” and “made a fortune often driving companies to bankruptcy and laying off workers without the health and retirement benefits they had earned to increase the profit margins for himself and his wealthy investors.” The voters, Medina said, were disgusted and worse, and not just about Romney’s stands on jobs.
“Romney’s GOP primary campaign rhetoric on immigration, jobs and other key issues shows a real disrespect for Hispanics struggling to earn fair wages to support their families. Lately, Romney has run paid media ads claiming he shares Latinos’ values, while trying to avoid talking about immigration, a ‘gut check’ issue that helps Latino voters distinguish between the good guys and the bad.
“But Hispanics won’t forget his record” of opposing the Dream Act, favoring anti-Hispanic anti-immigrant laws in Alabama and Arizona and saying Latinos should “self-deport” after authorities make their lives miserable, Medina said.
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