Pro-Obama groups slam Romney in new Spanish-language ads
(CBS News) The pro-Obama super PAC Priorities USA Action doesn't have the cash to flood the airwaves with ads like its conservative counterparts, but it has enough money to hit Mitt Romney where it hurts -- with critical voting blocs like Latinos.
The super PAC has teamed up with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) for a $4 million Spanish-language ad campaign slamming the presumed Republican presidential nominee. The groups say the series of ads makes up one of the largest-ever independent Spanish-language campaigns.
Called "Mitt Romney: En Sus Propias Palabras" (Mitt Romney: In His Own Words), the television and radio ads feature Latino voters reacting negatively to some of Romney's remarks. For instance, one ad running in Florida features a clip of Romney joking, "I'll also tell my story: I'm also unemployed." The ad is shown on a split screen, opposite a clip of a Latino man who winces as he listens to Romney.
In addition to Florida, versions of the ad will be running throughout the summer in two other swing states where Latinos could have an important impact: Nevada and Colorado.
"Latinos say they are insulted and angry when they watch Romney, a multi-millionaire, joke about his 'unemployment' status," Eliseo Medina, SEIU secretary-treasurer, said in a statement. "When Latinos hear Romney, in his own words, they really know what's going on and what he is saying. They know what he means. And what it would mean for their families if he were to be elected president."
The ad campaign is similar to the campaign the SEIU and Priorities USA Action ran earlier in the year during the Republican primary. Back in January, the groups paired up to run Spanish radio ads called "Las dos caras de Mitt Romney" (The two faces of Mitt Romney).
It's no secret that Latinos are a traditionally Democratic voting bloc, and this year seems unlikely to be different: A poll released Friday by Latino Decisions shows President Obama with a 43-point margin over Romney among registerd Latino voters. Still, Romney will likely need to boost his appeal among Latinos to win states like Florida or Nevada in November. In a closed-door conversation with top donors that was overheard by a pair of reporters in April, Romney was blunt: If Republicans can't win over Hispanic voters, it "spells doom for us."
