Republican Sen. Marco Rubio and GOP strategist Ed Gillespie will give the keynote speech at the āInspiring Actionā conference in Miami in late January, just days ahead of Floridaās Republican presidential primary, the Hispanic Leadership Network announced Thursday.
TheĀ Hispanic Leadership Network ā āa sustained effort to engage the Hispanic Community on center-right issues,ā co-chaired by former Gov. Jeb Bush and launched in 2010 ā works to address the economy, education, health care and immigration.
A press release issued Thursday says:
A rising star and national figure,Ā Senator Marco Rubio stated, āThe Hispanic community understands the American Dream and have not forgotten what they were promisedāthat in the U.S., a free market system allows us all to succeed economically, achieve stability and security for your family and leave your children better off than yourselves.ā
The Chicago Tribune commented yesterday: āFlorida Sen. Marco Rubio might be just the ticket for vice president.ā
Latino DecisionsĀ āĀ a media outlet dedicated to Latino politics ā writes this week that āthe rise in Latino representation in elected offices across all levels of government has definitely provided a strong and growing pool of potential national leaders. However, although there has clearly been a rise in Latino representation, the question remains as to whether Latinos, themselves, views these elected officials as leaders of their community.ā
According to a Univision News/Latino Decisions November 2011 Latino electorate poll, 38 percent of Latino voters had not heard of Rubio; in Texas that number was up to 49 percent and in California it stood at 45 percent.
The Univision News/Latino Decisions poll also showed that immigration was the most important issue for Latinos, about which theĀ Hispanic Leadership NetworkĀ has said,Ā it is necessary to āfind common sense solutions to address our broken immigration system.ā
RubioĀ said in NovemberĀ thatĀ legal and illegal immigration remains a problem that needs to be confronted, that the Republican Party āshould be the pro-legal immigration party,ā adding itās time for GOP candidates to start talking about āwhat are we forā and about āhow we modernize our legal immigration system.ā
Gillespie, former chair of the Republican National Committee and former White House counselor to President George W. Bush, is quoted in the press release saying: āIt is important that all policy makers understand the importance of the issues critical to the Hispanic community, especially in Florida where many in the Hispanic community live.ā
The Hispanic Leadership NetworkĀ and Resurgent Republic (a conservative survey and focus group organization)Ā conducted 1,200 interviews with Hispanic voters in Florida, Colorado and New Mexico in September.
Resurgent RepublicĀ ā co-founded by Gillespie ā wrote in September that in orderĀ to āremain competitiveā in 2012, āRepublicans do not need to win a majority of Hispanics nationwide, or within these states,ā adding that, ādespite the clear opportunities for Republicans among Hispanic voters in these three states,Ā Republican positions on immigration reform continue to be at odds with the overwhelming majority of Hispanic voters.ā