New McCain Ad a 'Fraudulent' Attack Designed to Fool Latino Voters

Posted by Paco Fabian, AmericasVoiceOnline at 11:51 AM on September 17, 2008.

On Friday, Senator John McCain released what the New York Times editorial board blog has denounced as a "fraudulent" Spanish television ad, accusing Senator Obama and other Senate Democrats of "killing immigration reform." The Washington Post blog also weighed in with a scathing piece that argued, "Obama supported the bipartisan John McCain-Edward Kennedy efforts to enact such reforms and voted for their final proposal last year."

Frank Sharry, executive director of America's Voice, released the following statement as soon as the ad was released:

The whole political world knows better. Comprehensive immigration reform was blocked not by Democrats but by Republicans. A White House strategy designed to secure 25-30 Republican votes (of the 60 needed) ended up getting only 12 Republican votes.

The reason? A number of Republican Senators were intimidated by the intense opposition to the bill fueled by anti-immigrant groups, hard line Republicans and right-wing talk radio and television.

Senator Robert Menendez also reacted to the ad, in the Washington Post:

The man who said he would vote against his own immigration bill during the Republican presidential debates, who was unwilling to stand up to his own party when they approved an anti-immigrant platform, cannot attack Democrats on immigration in Spanish, while pandering to the extreme right Tancredo wing of the Republican Party in English.

It's clear that Senator McCain has realized what an important constituency Latino voters are becoming in the battleground states where he's launched the new ad. What is not clear is whether the Senator will continue to release "truth-deficient" ads targeted to these Spanish-language audiences.

"I understand the politics associated with the decision to run this ad, but it's disappointing," said Frank Sharry. "I hope that all voters have the opportunity to base their choice on facts, not these types of blatant distortions and inaccuracies."

Tagged as: lies, mccain, latino vote, attack ads