In this overwhelmingly Hispanic city of 225,000 just outside Miami, Mitt Romney was made to feel right at home on Sunday.
The Hialeah Police Department closed down streets surrounding his rally here and escorted the candidate's campaign bus as it rolled into a restaurant parking lot that was packed with a lively crowd of Spanish-speaking Republicans.
An animated coterie of introductory speakers bellowed into the microphone in both Spanish and English as the audience cheered and waved homemade signs that read “Vive, Romney!” and “Arriba, Mitt Romney.”
With a bouncy demeanor that made his crushing defeat in South Carolina just one week ago seem like a distant memory, Romney let on that he has victory here in his sights.
He beamed as his Spanish-speaking son Craig said a few words to the crowd in their native language, and the candidate’s grandson Parker extended his own “Hola.”
Romney’s appearance here was one of three well-attended South Florida rallies he hosted just two days before the pivotal primary on Tuesday.
As his lead over Newt Gingrich in the RCP averageof Florida polls has stretched to more than 11 percent, Romney brimmed with confidence as he played to the boisterous, largely Cuban-American crowd.
“If I’m president of the United States, I will stand with free people around the world and speak out for them and do everything in our power to bring freedom to the people of Cuba, and the people of Venezuela, and the people of Iran,” he said. “We will stand with freedom fighters all over the world.”
His trouble with winning over Hispanic voters was a key reason Romney lost the 2008 make-or-break Florida primary to John McCain.
But with all of the momentum apparently on Romney’s side this time, campaign spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom said that Hispanics were responding well to the candidate’s economy-heavy message. A key component of that message has been a relentless barrage against Gingrich for his past work on behalf of mortgage giant Freddie Mac....
Hispanics are drawn to an economic message that promotes jobs, just like most people. Democrats prefer to play to a tribal image of Hispanics as all former illegals who want all illegals to become Democrats. Their message is one of amnesty without consequences for those who break the law to get here.
Comments
Post a Comment