Former Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, an advisor to Mitt Romney on Latino outreach, spoke of the need for the GOP to overcome the self-destructive "anti-immigrant" orientation and their focus on "English as the official language of government," and support the Dream Act for those who serve in the military and gained advanced degrees on Face the Nation, this morning. Gutierrez also said that the GOP scared the heck out of Hispanics, and suggested that the GOP primaries force Republican presidential candidates to have to move too far to the right to placate party extremists.
"The Hispanics I know were scared of the Republican party," he said on CNN's "State of the Union" in a blunt assessment of Romney's loss. "I think it has to do with our incredibly ridiculous primary process where we force people to say outrageous things, they get nominated, and they have to come back."
Gutierrez worked under former President George W. Bush, who won around 40 percent of the Latino vote in 2004 -- over 10 points more than Romney won this year. The Latino vote was a pivotal part of the 2012 election, and it is widely acknowledged that the Republican Party could be forever damaged if it can't win over more Latinos in the future.
He said extremists in the party were fully to blame for Romney's loss, pointing to "the anti-immigration talk, the xenophobes." "It's almost as if we are living in the past," he added.
Almost as if they were living in the past? Bwa, ha, ha. How about "almost as if they are most certainly still living in the past?"
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) responded by saying the GOP "needs to become more modern but not more moderate to win over more Latino, women and young voters."
Guitierrez kept to his guns insisting that "if we want to be the party of growth and prosperity, we have to be the party of immigration." He recommended that the GOP lead comprehensive immigration reform.
Gary Bauer was not at all pleased by this. He and other panelist wanted to change only how the GOP talked about policy not their actual policies. Maybe he means the GOP should put happy faces on their "Latinos go back to Mexico brochures and postures?"
It will be fun to watch how the Republican Party responds to their decisive defeat in the electoral college after a record setting Latino turnout. From seeing how they are starting off, we may not need to worry too much, for quite a while.