There is a lot of buzz about Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul’s sudden embrace of immigration reform and a possible ‘path to citizenship’ but not from Latinos. Coming from a man who is the face of the Tea Party and just two years ago wanted to rewrite the constitution to deny birthright citizenship – the about face is remarkable.
So why aren’t Latinos bringing out the tequila to toast? Why isn’t Spanish-language media all over this pronouncement like they were all over Jeb Bush’s fill-flop on immigration?
Why aren’t Latinos toasting the man who filibustered for 13 hours without a break to protect them from a possible drone strike death and protects their right to go into sugar-induced comas with a Big Gulp?
Simply put it’s because Paul is “coco loco” “chiflado” “loquito” – translation: he’s crazy town. It’s like saying to someone who hasn’t been lucky in love I have the man of your dreams and his name is Jeffry Dahmer. It is also his questionable gene pool being the son of Ron Paul, his own ‘odd father’.
Latinos are worried that Paul has inherited his dad’s clinical propensity for paranoia. Did the apple fall from the arbol? I don’t think so; to quote Bill Maher, “the shit doesn’t fall far from the bat,” with those two.
Paul made the startling about face on immigration when he addressed the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday. Yes, I know what were they thinking? Why the hell did they let him in the front door – not sure? Maybe they thought as a licensed ophthalmologist he was offering free glaucoma tests.
Paul has not garnered much Latino voter enthusiasm even at the Chamber meeting where he spoke in Spanish or paid homage to Gabriel Garcia Marquez, told us of his Texas days along side Latinos and recited Pablo Neruda’s poetry. Apparently one of the things Paul does on his episodic visits to sanity is read poetry, who knew.
Latinos know when they look him in the eye (and hopefully not get checked for “lazy eye” since that is what he ultimately thinks of minorities) they find a deluded hater. This is the man that vows to eliminate the Federal Reserve, Department of Education, American With Disability Act, to name a few, and revoke the Civil Rights Act. There’s a reason his own party has called him “too kooky for Kentucky.”
So let’s see we will have a population that is dumber, trading monopoly money for food, hobbled and segregated all while dodging a drone strike in their back yard.
He is certifiable if he believes that this move will win over Hispanic voters – well because they aren’t crazy. More importantly they have a long memory.
Estelle Gonzales Walgreen at HS News