Monday, April 16, 2012

When will anyone in the Spanish speaking media tell Pres BO to stop speaking in tongues?

Am I the only person who is disappointed with how easy the Spanish speaking media has been on Pres BO?  When are we ever going to see a Spanish speaking reporter respectfully challenge Pres BO and politely tell him that we don't want any more "Cinco de Mayo" speeches about immigration reform? 

With all due respect, how do you explain the encounter between Univision and Pres BO this week? 

First, it's getting rather boring to watch Pres BO insult our intelligence blaming everybody for his own failures to convert congressional majorities into legislation. 

Second, it's sick to watch another Spanish speaking reporter just sit back and let Pres BO "speak in tongues" about immigration reform. 

According to news reports, Pres BO said this to a representative of Univision: 

"President Obama promised to pursue immigration reform in his second term, but said Republicans in Congress may keep him from succeeding. 

“I can promise that I will try to do it in the first year of my second term,” Obama said in an interview with Univision set to air on Sunday. 

“I want to try this year. The challenge we've got on immigration reform is very simple. I've got a majority of Democrats who are prepared to vote for it, and I've got no Republicans who are prepared to vote for it.”"  (Here is the full transcript)

How can anyone read that and not crack up in disbelief? It insults our intelligence but it apparently just went over the Univision reporter's head.  He just sat there and felt a tingle up his leg.

Pres BO's remarks were flat wrong and totally unchallenged. 

We are not asking the Univision reporter to scream at Pres BO or be disrespectful to the office that he holds. We just want a Spanish speaking reporter who won't allow Pres BO to rewrite history. 

Pres BO's defense of his failure to pass immigration reform is one of the most outrageous statements ever made by a US president. Here are some of my concerns:

1) Pres BO had 60 votes in the US Senate and a 40-plus majority in the House in 2009-10. 

In other words, the GOP did not have the votes to stop anything.

Why didn't the Univision reporter respectfully ask Pres BO to explain why he is always blaming somebody else for his leadership shortcomings?   Why do so many Spanish speaking reporters continue to allow Pres BO to get away with blaming the GOP for his party's failure to pass a bill?   They had a majority....didn't they?

2) The Dems love to talk about The Dream Act.  However, they didn't have the political courage to put it to a vote until after the 2010 election..   Why?  Because the Dem leadership did not want to force Dems to vote for The Dream Act before the election. It eventually went down during "the lame duck session" because 7 Dem Senators voted no! 

3) Pres BO has a 53-47 majority in the US Senate today.  Does the Univision reporter know that?   This is important because it destroys the myth that the GOP is holding back Pres BO's proposals.

4) The Univision reporter did not ask a single question about "Fast & Furious" or the Obama administration program that put 2,000 guns in the hands of Mexican cartels.

Why not?   "Fast & Furious" is the single greatest premeditated breach of Mexican sovereignty in history.   How can a Univision reporter avoid this topic?   Doesn't he know that 300-plus Mexicans have been killed by these weapons?

5) The Univision reporter did not tell the viewers that Pres BO opposed all of those free trade agreements that he is now taking credit for.  

We understand that it was an interview around the Latin America meeting.   We understand that there is only so much time to sit down with Pres BO.  However, I wish that the Univision reporter had asked about Hispanic unemployment, gas prices and public education reforms.

I think that Hispanics are entitled to reporting that holds politicians accountable.   It does not appear that some Spanish speaking reporters understand what accountability is!  It looks to many of us that some Spanish speaking reporters just want to sit next to Pres BO and feel a "tingle" up their leg.

Yes, it was a very bad day for Univision. However, it was a worse day for Hispanics who never get to see a Spanish speaking reporter challenge Pres BO's false answers.

We discussed this interview and the media with Bill Katz of Urgent Agenda:



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