Can Rubio Control the Candidates?

A joint Univision, ABC News, and Latino Decisions survey released Wednesday drives home the point. Yes, the survey reports that jobs and the economy are the foremost concern for Hispanics. But electoral decisions are not made in laboratory settings where issues are dissected. Feelings enter the equation. When the survey probed beneath the surface, more than half of Hispanic voters said that they would be less likely to support a Republican candidate who pledged to veto the Dream Act, which would give college students who came to America illegally as children a path to citizenship. (And all of the remaining candidates have spoken against the Dream Act.) Only seventeen per cent of Hispanics said Republicans were doing a good job of reaching out to their community.

Every time Romney and Gingrich and Santorum and Paul thump on about “illegals” or about keeping them from invading America, many Hispanics don’t hear a law-and-order argument. They hear: You don’t like us. Senator Rubio, who says that his endorsement, which is highly coveted, will not be given before the Florida primary next Tuesday, knows this.