Tough Talk on Immigration at Debate Turns Off Some Latinos

From the SJ Mercury:

Today, Republican candidates are competing over who can talk the toughest about illegal immigration — who will erect the most impenetrable border defense; who will turn off “magnets” like college tuition benefits.

But after such pointed proposals heated up yet another Republican debate Tuesday, some party officials see a yellow light signaling danger in battleground states with large Latino populations in November 2012. Will Latino voters remember and punish the eventual Republican nominee?

“The discussion of creating electrified fences from sea to sea is neither prudent nor helpful,” said Ryan Call, chairman of the Republican Party of Colorado, where Latinos cast 13 percent of votes in 2008 and helped President Barack Obama flip the state to blue. “They’re throwing red meat around in an attempt to mollify a particular aspect of the Republican base.”