Greg Abbott Decides That Spanish Speakers Are Worth Courting, Does So

By Stephen Young Wed., Jun. 18 2014 at 6:00 AM

Greg Abbott debuted his first general election campaign ad Tuesday, bucking his party's recent trend by at least attempting to appeal to Hispanic voters.

The ad, which can be seen in full below and features Abbott's mother-in-law and sister-in-law, was aired on Univision during Mexico and Brazil's 0-0 World Cup match on Tuesday. It will air on the station throughout the tournament.

Although Abbott has compared the border region to a Third World country and has a $300 million plan to secure it, he has never been quite as confrontational as his Republican ticket-mates on immigration issues.

Republican Lieutenant Governor nominee Dan Patrick has accused undocumented persons of staging an "illegal invasion" and has pledged to do everything he can, if elected, to repeal Texas' version of the DREAM Act. Abbott has said that he only wants to reform the act -- which allows certain undocumented students to attend college at in-state tuition rates -- rather than get rid of it entirely.

As recently as April, Abbott trailed Wendy Davis by as few as 10 points among voters who identified as Hispanic.

Davis, who in the Democratic primary lost 20 border counties to a candidate who didn't spend a dime, is thought to be having trouble gaining support from some Hispanics, specifically Catholic Hispanics, who know her best from her 2013 filibuster against new abortion restrictions in Texas.

With this ad, and the many that are sure to follow, Abbott appears set to at least take a run at those voters (and soccer fans who are watching Univision because they just can't handle ESPN's coverage).

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stancorbett86

...Not sure if Dallas Observer writers are really this clueless, or just sucking Wendy's tits so hard they don't even care to live in reality.

Either way, here's the truth: the fact that Abbott is trailing Wendy with Hispanics BY ONLY 10 POINTS is the real story. Republicans often lose Hispanics by at least 50-60 percentage points, so the fact that Wendy is only up 10 points WITHOUT ABBOTT EVEN TARGETING THEM UNTIL NOW is already a huge victory for Abbott... and a disaster for Wendy Davis. Much like every other aspect of her campaign.

Myrna.Minkoff-Katz topcommenter

Abbott can drag around his best buddy, Ted Nugent, to say some nice things about Hispanics. Oh, wait... never mind.

Sharon_Moreanus topcommenter

All ready running damage control.

TheRuddSki topcommenter

Si quiere conectar, todo lo que tiene que hacer es mostrarles el dinero.

bippyizod

He has reached a new low. Speaking to people of ANOTHER language?? Flamin' Libtard!

TheRuddSki topcommenter

@Myrna

"The unemployment rate among Latinos stands at 11 percent, which is much higher than the national average. Mr. Romney must continue to remind Latinos that improving the economy is key to improving their livelihood. He should tell them that Mr. Obama’s economic policies are a complete disaster and that the president has failed them miserably.

Mr. Romney should continue to press for education reform, and remind Latino voters that education is vital to success. He should illustrate the importance that Americans of Asia-Pacific descent place on education and how fast their children move into the middle class. It doesn’t have to be an Asian thing.

He should praise Latinos for their strong work ethic and remind them that this work ethic coupled with an education is an unstoppable combination that will catapult them into the middle class and beyond.

Mr. Romney should also hammer away at the welfare state that Democrats have largely created and continue to support. He should tell Latinos the welfare state is fiscally unsustainable and creates dependence instead of independence. Mr. Romney has little to lose by illustrating how Fedzilla has wreaked untold havoc on black America.

Immigration is a topic central to Latinos. Mr. Romney has to address this and illustrate the differences between his immigration policies and the president’s policies of ignoring or selectively enforcing U.S. laws.

The governor should clearly state how the GOP supports and strongly encourages legal immigration but does not support amnesty or creating a system whereby illegal immigration is encouraged and rewarded. He should remind Latinos and other prospective immigrants that he supports an express-immigration policy through which America wants to attract the best and brightest immigrants from around the world. Legally.

http://p.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jun/13/attracting-the-latino-vote/

TheRuddSki topcommenter

@HollmanTX

You'll notice that Abbot doesn't actually speak Spanish in the ad, he is, like our president, embarrassingly mono-lingual, and as such will have difficulty assimilating.

stancorbett86

LOL. This might come as a shock to you Myrna, but people are complex and can, in fact, have more than one opinion at a time. And defining any person by one single position or opinion is the very definition of narrow-minded.

It is, believe it or not, entirely possible for Ted Nugent to have been extremely degrading to women, a bit too insensitive about gun control, and also very insightful and compassionate when it comes to the GOP and Hispanic relations.