John McCain launches Spanish-language website, will speak at National Council of La Raza convention

"Feliz Cinco de Mayo" from John McCain, as he launches a Spanish-language section of his website: johnmccain.com/espanol
There's a "hablando claro" ("straight talk") link at the top which should give background on his policies, and I was expecting it to say something in Spanish that he wouldn't say on his main site. Unfortunately it leads to the English side of things, so we'll have to wait and see. This is supposedly part of his outreach to Hispanics, but one wonders exactly why he would do that by celebrating a Mexican holiday (which is a minor one in Mexico). St. Patrick's Day isn't really a celebration of the country of Ireland and Columbus Day isn't a celebration of the country of Italy, yet Cinco de Mayo is definitely a celebration of the country of Mexico. The closest analog would be if McCain tried to reach out to the Franco-American vote by celebrating Bastille Day, but I'm going to guess that almost no one knows when that was. And, needless to say, why Puerto Ricans, Hondurans, or Cubans would feel any link with a Mexican battle isn't clear.

And, per this, he's agreed to speak to the National Council of La Raza convention in July. He'll fit right in: they're a far-left organization that supported giving a break to those who engage in identity theft, they gave an award to a vile racist, their leaders frequently mislead, and they have links to and fund extremists. And, Karl Rove spoke at their 2006 event.

UPDATE: Per this, McCain said:

"everything about our Hispanic voters is tailor-made to the Republican message... I am confident that I will do very well... I know their patriotism, I know the respect for the family, the advocacy for pro-life, I know the small business aspect of our Hispanic voters."

And, to show how much he knows, he's going to speak to a far-left identity politics organization closely linked to not only the Democratic Party but to those who promote irredentism. A Democrat could have said the same thing, although it must be admitted that they would have racialized it even more and stressed other topics. And, one wonders whether he'd engage in such boosterism about other races and ethnicities. And, one wonders whether he'd point out some of the downsides, such as the fact that millions of the Mexicans in the U.S. think the U.S. Southwest rightfully belongs to Mexico.

Politics · Mon, 05/05/2008 - 10:36 · Importance: 1