by: John Rodriguez
Known for not biting his tongue, and letting out the occasional swear here or there, this Tuesday Vice President Joe Biden took several shots at Presidential candidate Mitt Romney. While making an address to the National council of La Raza, a non-profit and non-profit organization seeking to improve opportunities for Latinos in the United States, Biden went after Romney by stating to the audience, “Mitt Romney wants you to show your papers, but he won’t show us his. So many questions…”
The statement contains a two-fold message. The first being Romney’s lack of providing documents pertaining to his taxes of the last few years and the second being a possible appeal made by Biden to attract more Latino voters to vote for President Obama in the upcoming elections. Last month at the NALEO conference of Latino Officials, both Obama and Romney delivered addresses as a means to attract the Latino votes.
However, Obama had the advantage over Romney since his address was made after the announcement that his administration had ordered the deportations of some immigrations brought to the United States illegally as children to be suspended. With Obama seemingly gaining ground in the Latino community, Biden continues to reel in more voters especially with the address made before a Latino audience at the conference.
But former head of the Small Business Administration and co-chairman of Romney’s Latino Outreach effort, Hector Barreto believes Biden’s timing of making statements against Romney “comes on the heels of yet another disappointing jobs report which showed that the second quarter of this year was the worst quarter of job creation in two years,” and that the report shows for the Latino community the “situation is even more precarious, with the unemployment rate stuck at 11% and for our youth between the ages of 16 and 19 at a staggering 31%.”
While countering Biden’s claims, along with his claims that the jobs report shows it being “the worst quarter of job creation in two years” Barreto adds that “Regrettably, President Obama’s answer to our economic troubles is to set up the U.S. economy for one of the biggest tax increases in history in 2013. Increasing taxes on any American at this time is the wrong policy at the wrong time. Either the President does not recognize that or chooses to ignore it for political purposes.” Barreto’s statement attempts to rebuff comments about Romney’s near-to-no relationship with the Latino community by painting Obama as not caring for the American people as a whole.
Barreto’s addressing Obama’s proposed tax increase comes after Obama’s camp has recently called out for Romney to release more than a decade’s worth of tax returns rather than releasing his 2010 tax returns to the public. The move made by Obama’s camp is to address Democrats wanting Romney to follow in his father, George Romney’s, footsteps and release 12 years’ worth of tax returns when he was running for President. The move is supposedly being made to counter Romney’s claims that he too feels the economic burden like his fellow Americans.
In response to Democrats and Obama’s camp wanting Romney to release more tax returns, Republican Representative Jason Chaffetz of Utah said that they should “get over it” and that Romney’s “been very successful. He has released everything that is required to be released, including paying more than 16% of his income to charitable giving. So I think it’s a diversionary tactic. Most people don’t care about this.” However, statements in Biden’s address suggests otherwise.
In his address, Biden warned that Romney’s idea “of tax reform is to maintain the Bush tax cut for the very wealthy, which costs $1 trillion, 55% of which goes to just 120,000 households in America, households of an average income of $8.4 million,” alluding to the idea that Romney’s interest wouldn’t be America as a whole, but only those of a higher financial standing. Biden also suggested with Romney as President we can expect, “an additional $1.6 trillion tax cut to people with incomes in excess of a million dollars, which is a $250,000 per year tax cut for the average millionaire.” Supporting the claim regarding to who Romney’s interest lies.
While he does make statements that address what Romney would do to all American citizens regarding taxes, Biden believes that if Romney becomes President, “The impact on the Hispanic community would be devastating—and the effects would last a generation.” Biden also asks the audience to picture a America with Romney as President, “Imagine what the Supreme Court will look like after four years of Governor Romney. Imagine what it will act like. Imagine what it will mean for civil rights, voting rights, and so much we have fought so hard for. Imagine a Justice Department that supports, rather than challenges, continued efforts to suppress the right to vote. Because that’s what will happen if they win.”
But Biden’s most impacting statement comes when addressing the Latino audience and community as a whole by stating, “You’re the fastest-growing population. You now make up more than 16 percent of the population. But there are voices among us who fear your inclusion. This is not new. There have always been fights between the voices of inclusion and the voices of exclusion. Between those pushing us forward and those who keep pulling us back. Between those appealing to our hopes, and those appealing to our fears.”
So from now until November read up on our two Presidential candidates, learn what their positions are, discover whether or not they have your interest at heart and then hit the voting booths because your voice does count when you push that lever to vote.
