Go figure:
It was billed, in part, as a forum for the 2012 Republican presidential field to speak directly to Hispanics — a replica of the vaunted Conservative Political Action Conference, but tailored to the fastest-growing slice of the electorate.
... the only potential presidential candidate confirmed to attend — so far — is Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney declined the invite. So did South Dakota Sen. John Thune, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and Texas Gov Rick Perry.
Among those who haven't sent in their RSVP's are Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, Haley "Watermelon" Barbour, and Newt Gingrich (although Newt is "amenable").
This news comes fresh off the Republican crushing of the DREAM Act, their recent wholesale support of racial profiling in Arizona, and of course their demonization of brown people over the years, so their lack of interest in addressing this "fastest-growing slice of the electorate" isn't a surprise.
In fact, the only surprising thing in this article is that the writer included this line:
A poor showing could raise doubts about the commitment of Republicans to court Hispanics, one of the open-ended questions of the 2012 presidential cycle.
Well, sure. Because that's what will raise those doubts.