LatinaLista — No matter how you look at it, it was a leap for Gov. Perry to go from being asked a question from his competitor, Mitt Romney, about Texas having the most uninsured children of any state in the country to accusing Romney of hiring undocumented workers. But it was clear that Gov. Perry, in the GOP debate televised last night, was on a mission for some payback with his competitor, Mitt Romney.
However, what ensued between the two men — either of whom could occupy the Oval Office — devolved into a brand of political theater that underscored how both men see undocumented immigrants — or not see them.
From their performance, it was clear that both men saw undocumented immigrants as less than human. Each referring to undocumented workers as an “illegal,” making the word stand as a noun in describing undocumented workers.
Their constant back-and-forth, in vollying the term between them, clearly illustrated their lack of acknowledging that undocumented immigrants are first and foremost people, not bugs that are a nuisance and need to be exterminated.
Both clearly showed their contempt for undocumented workers and in the process all Latinos who fit the stereotype description of undocumented workers.
Day by day, this party is making it harder for Latinos, from whichever party, to see them as a party that really cares to represent Latinos.
It’s time more Latino Republicans spoke up because in the end, politicians who don’t know the difference between a noun and an adjective aren’t going to know the difference between a Latino born in the United States and one that is here only to work.
