Ignoring reversal, AP reports McCain trying to "convince Hispanics that he was on their side" in immigration debate

FROM: MEDIA MATTERS FOR AMERICA

Mon, Oct 6, 2008 2:46pm ET

Summary: The AP reported that Sen. John McCain is trying to "convince Hispanics that he was on their side" during the recent congressional "fight" over proposed immigration reforms. But the AP did not report that McCain has since reversed his position, and now says he would no longer support the legislation -- which he co-sponsored with Sen. Edward Kennedy -- that Congress was "fight[ing]" over.

In an October 6 Associated Press article, AP Hispanic Affairs writer Laura Wides-Munoz reported that McCain adviser Ana Navarro "allows that the [Republican] party lost support among new Hispanic citizens because of some Republican lawmakers' remarks during the recent congressional debate over proposed immigration reforms. But the McCain campaign is using Spanish-language ads to convince Hispanics that he was on their side of that fight." However, while reporting the McCain campaign's claim that McCain was on the "side" of Hispanics during the recent congressional "fight" over immigration reform, Wides-Munoz did not mention that McCain now says he would no longer support the legislation Congress was "fight[ing]" over. As Media Matters for America has documented, McCain said in January that he "would not" vote for the immigration reform bill he co-sponsored with Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) if it came to a vote on the Senate floor. McCain now says that "we've got to secure the borders first" -- a position at odds with his prior assertion that border security could not be disaggregated from other aspects of comprehensive immigration reform without being rendered ineffective.

As Media Matters documented, in a July 13 AP article, Wides-Munoz wrote that McCain "is respected by many Hispanics for refusing to pander to anti-immigrant sentiment over the years," but did not mention that McCain altered his position on immigration reform to more closely conform to the views of the GOP base. The AP has ignored McCain's reversal on border security in numerous articles since March, as documented by Media Matters here, here, here, here, here, and here.

From the October 6 article:

Ana Navarro, McCain's adviser on Hispanic affairs, said Republicans aren't investing the same amount of money as Democrats on registering new citizens. She also allows that the party lost support among new Hispanic citizens because of some Republican lawmakers' remarks during the recent congressional debate over proposed immigration reforms.

But the McCain campaign is using Spanish-language ads to convince Hispanics that he was on their side of that fight and that he has had a lifelong interest in Latin America, Navarro said.

—A.J.W.