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<p> Repeat after me, GOP: “Marco Rubio will not be our savior with Latinos in the 2012 election.”</p>
<p> It has nothing to do with whether the U.S. senator from Florida lied about the year his parents came to the United States, though let’s pause on that for a moment anyway: It should be fully explored, as it goes to his credibility.</p>
<p> I asked my father, a Colombian-American, what year our family came to the United States. He said in 1966. I said that was impossible because that would have meant I was born here and I wasn’t. He then recalled the correct year. Which lead both of us to ponder that maybe Marco Rubio’s story of mixing up the dates of when his parents came to the United States was plausible.</p>
<p> Except it isn’t. My dad went on, “Mijita, if we had come to this country, as many Colombians have done, after surviving a kidnapping in the family, the moment of our arrival would have been burned into our memories forever.” He is right. It is the same with real political exiles from Castro’s Cuba: They never forget the moment their families made it out and entered the United States. But these discrepancies are not the reason why Rubio is not suited to deliver the Latino vote to Republicans.</p>
<p> The reason is his record. Latinos, both immigrants like my family, and those whose families have been here for centuries, do not vote surnames. Newsflash: We actually look at the records of those who are running. That is why Marco Rubio — a potential GOP vice presidential nominee — will not be the “bridge” that Republicans so desperately need with the Latino community. His record is abysmal when it comes to issues that many Latinos care deeply about. Let’s take a look:</p>
<p> The economy – This is the number one issue for Latinos, indeed for all Americans. Marco Rubio, like the entire GOP led by the Tea Party, is adamantly against the president’s American Jobs Act even though many of its provisions have had Republican support in the past. According to independent analyses, Obama’s plan would create 1.9 million jobs. An overwhelming 78% of Latinos support the jobs bill.</p>
<p> Health care – Given that the Health Care Act has given/will provide health care access to an additional 9 million Latino citizens, it is no wonder that a majority of Latinos are against repealing the law. Rubio is in lock-step with the Tea Party ideology of repealing “Obamacare,” in effect stripping millions of Latino voters and their children of the health care coverage they currently or will enjoy.</p>
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