Republican Debate Sponsored by Univision

Last Sunday, the Republican candidates were involved in a debate held at the University of Miami, in front of a very pro-immigration audience. This was always going to be a difficult debate for these candidates because it is being broadcast on Univision. Their goal then had to be not to offend the Hispanic audience, but also not offend the Republicans whose support they have been trying to get by taking this hard line on this issue. For the most part, the seven candidates toned it down a little, even though they certainly talked about working to close the borders to illegal immigrants. Some spoke of trying to send some of the 12 million people who are thought to be here illegally back to their native countries. Their strategy seemed to be to sneakily weave comments about the value of immigrants and legal immigration into the debate amid the “send them home” talk. The debate comes less than a month before Iowa and New Hampshire cast the first ballots. The Republican presidential candidate drama is getting more intense due to the surge of support for Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas. Candidates’ records were being attacked and they were forced to defend themselves. I believe that this debate is very indicative of what the candidates are willing to do to gain support. This debate in particular is really a great concept because the idea is that questions of Spanish-speaking viewers can have their questions translated to the candidates. But it is obvious that the candidates were trying to “tweak” their stance on this particular issue because they recognized the audience. This worries me. Language is already a barrier, but when it becomes a way for the candidates to alter their views I believe it becomes dangerous.