Obama Ad Hits Romney for Opposing Justice Sotomayor
Jose Cabezas/AFP/Getty Images
A new Spanish-language TV ad from the Obama campaign airing in Florida attacks Republican rival Mitt Romney for opposing the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The spot suggests that Hispanics, a key constituency for President Obama in Florida, should be "offended" that Romney would not have supported the first Hispanic high-court nominee in American history.
"When she was nominated by President Obama, we all celebrated - Puerto Ricans and all Hispanics," says Puerto Rican attorney Nydia Menendez speaking directly to camera . "But Mitt Romney was opposed to Sotomayor. He offended me when he stated he would have voted against her nomination. And now he wants our vote for president?"
In a March radio interview with Noti Uno Radio, Romney said he would have voted against Sotomayor if he was given the chance.
"Judge Sotomayor and I have very different judicial philosophies. She is an activist, a liberal jurist," he said at the time. "And I prefer people who follow the Constitution and do not make law as a judge. And so I will support justices who are conservative and who follow the constitution."
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The Obama campaign has also launched a second Spanish-language spot in Florida and four other swing states (Colorado, Nevada, Ohio and Virginia), appealing to Hispanic voters on the economy with help from Cristina Saralegui.
"When President Obama took office our economy was on the verge of disaster," Saralegui says. "And now Romney and Ryan ask us to return to the policies that CAUSED the crisis.
"Back to the future? No way. Forward…. with Obama!" she says.
Saralegui, who is popularly considered the "Hispanic Oprah," is a leading surrogate for President Obama in the Hispanic community, appearing in half a dozen TV ads since the start of the campaign.