Politics

Political Ad Urges Nevada's Latinos Not to Vote

By Anne Landman

A front group called Latinos for Reform is running a 60-second advertisement on Nevada TV that urges Latinos not to vote in the upcoming mid-term election, saying it is the way to punish Democrats for failing to enact immigration reform within the first years of Barack Obama's presidency. The ad, which will air in Spanish on Univision, urges viewers "Don't vote this November. This is the only way to send [Democrats] a clear message ... 'You can no longer take us for granted.' " The ad features Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who is in a tight race against right-wing conservative Republican Sharron Angle. The Nevada Latin Chamber of Commerce has denounced the ad. The Nevada Democratic party argues that Latinos for Reform is working to elect Angle, who "has an interest in suppressing the Latino vote ... rooted in the extreme anti-Hispanic agenda she's established." The president of Latinos for Reform, Robert Desposada, was once was the director of Hispanic affairs for the Republican National Committee. The group ran similar racially-loaded, Spanish-language election ads in 2008 that said that then presidential candidate Obama put the interests of African-Americans ahead of those of the Hispanic community, and that he prioritized relations with African countries over those in Latin America.

Full post as published by PR Watch on October 19, 2010 (boomark / email).