Latinos: Obama's Pandering On Immigration Falls Flat

Reaction from Hispanic leaders suggests President Barack Obama’s charm offensive with Latinos in the run-up to the 2012 election may be falling flat.

Polls indicate that far fewer Hispanics say they’ll cast their vote for the president than did so in 2008.

One prominent observer of the Latino community, syndicated columnist Ruben Navarrette, Jr., is calling on Hispanics to launch a third-party movement to ensure their interests receive genuine representation rather than political pandering.

In a USA Today op-ed on Thursday, Navarrette stated that Latinos are increasingly disillusioned with Obama’s promises to push immigration reform.

“America’s largest minority needs to take a cue from the Tea Party movement and start an insurgency challenging both political parties -- the one that takes them for granted and the other that writes them off,” he wrote.

In a Tuesday speech in El Paso, Texas, Obama indicated the border was secure and called for immigration reform. He charged Republicans would “want a higher fence. Maybe they'll need a moat. Maybe they want alligators in the moat.”

Frustrated Latinos in Arizona have formed a nonpartisan “Tequila Party” movement. The group, whose primary objective is boost the Latino voter turnout in 2012, was created by a self-identified Republican.

Read more