OF SOME OF THE MOST HATEFUL
IMMIGRATION POLICY IN THE U.S.
HISTORY.
>> IT’S BAD FAITH.
>>> A NEW REPORT UNDERSCORES
DEMOCRAT MESSAGING SHORTFALLS
WITH LATINO VOTERS IN THE 2020
ELECTION.
A SURVEY FOUND THAT BY THE TIME
DEMOCRATS STARTED PAYING
ATTENTION TO LATINO VOTERS IN
KEY TEXAS AND FLORIDA DISTRICTS,
REPUBLICANS HAD ALREADY EMBEDDED
THEIR MESSAGE LINKING DEMOCRATS
AND BIDEN TO SOCIALISM.
AS NBC LATINO REPORTS, WHEN
DEMOCRATS AND THEIR ALLIES
FINALLY DID SPEND MONEY, THEY
HIRED WHITE-OWNED MEDIA FIRMS
THAT USED SPANISH SPEAKING
VOICEOVER ACTORS WHO NARRATED
OVER STOCK PHOTOS AND VIDEO.
JOINING US NOW, DEMOCRATIC
STRATISTSTRAT
IST
STRATEGIST CHUCK ROCHA.
THE GROUP DID THE QUESTIONING OF
LATINO VOTERS. ALSO WITH US, MSNBC CONTRIBUTOR
ALSO WITH US, MSNBC CONTRIBUTOR
VICTORIA SOTO AND JIM MAESSINA.
AND JONATHAN LEMIRE IS HERE AS
WELL.
>> CHUCK, YOU FIRST.
I KEPT HEARING WARNINGS, TRYING
TO TELL DEMOCRATS, REPUBLICANS I
HAD KNOWN FOR 20 YEARS, LET ME
TELL YOU WHAT WE ARE FINDING IN
MIAMI-DADE.
THE SOCIALISM STUFF THAT ALL OF
YOUR DEMOCRATIC FRIENDS SAY IS
NOT HAVING AN IMPACT, IT’S
HAVING AN IMPACT.
>>> DE-FUND THE POLICE STUFF
YOUR DEMOCRATIC FRIENDS IS
SAYING IS NOT HAVING AN IMPACT,
IT’S HAVING AN IMPACT.
THERE ARE A LOT -- MY GOD, WOULD
DEMOCRATIC LEADERS IN WASHINGTON
NOT CONSIDER FOR A SECOND WHAT
THE REPUBLICANS ON THE GROUND
KNEW?
THERE ARE A LOT OF HISPANICS IN
MIAMI-DADE WHO ARE POLICE
OFFICERS OR RETIRED POLICE
OFFICERS OR FIREFIGHTERS OR
RETIRED FIREFIGHTERS.
THERE’S A REAL COMMUNITY THERE.
THE FINAL THING HAD TO DO WITH
THE PANDEMIC.
A LOT OF HISPANICS WANTED THEIR
BUSINESSES TO REOPEN.
I’M JUST WONDERING, CHUCK, WILL
2020 BE ENOUGH FOR DEMOCRATS IN
WASHINGTON, D.C. TO FINALLY
REALIZE THAT HISPANICS ARE NOT
ONE HOMOGENOUS GROUP?
THERE ARE CONSERVATIVE HISPANICS
THAT THEY ALSO HAVE TO WORRY
ABOUT.
>> YOU COULDN’T BE MORE RIGHT.
IT’S LIKE YOU WROTE THE REPORT.
YOU LOOKED AT THE LAST 30 DAYS
IN MIAMI-DADE AND FOUND
DEMOCRATS SPENT $14 MILLION --
THAT WOULD BE COOL MOST OF THE
TIME IF HAD YOU DONEYOU HAD DONE
REPUBLICANS SPENT $6 MILLION.
DEMOCRATS SPENT TWICE AS MUCH
BUT UNDERPERFORMED BY 20
MINUTES.
TO YOUR MESSAGING POINT, WE SENT
MAIL OUT TO PERSUADABLE
DEMOCRATS IN AUSTIN.
WE HAVE RUN A LOT OF CAMPAIGNS.
I HAVE SEEN THREE OR FOUR MAIL
PIECES COME BACK WITH SOMETHING
UGLY ON IT.
WE GOT BACK 300 PIECES OF MAIL
WITH SOCIALIST OR TRAITOR OR
COMMUNIST SENT BACK TO US.
WE TRIED TO SAY, SOMETHING
HAPPENING.
WHEN WE DELVE INTO THE RESEARCH,
WE FOUND TRUMG PP AND THE
REPUBLICANS HAD PEOPLE ON THE
GROUND -- WE WERE TELLING PEOPLE
TO STAY HOME AND NOT CANVAS.
THEY WERE IN THE COMMUNITY.
ONE AFTER ANOTHER, IT BRINGS
HOME THIS FINAL POINT THAT YOU
MADE IS WE ARE NOT A MONOLITH.
I GREW UP IN EAST TEXAS.
I GREW UP LISTENING TO -- I’M
DIFFERENT THAN A MIAMI CUBAN BUT
WE ARE STILL LATINO VOTERS.
>> STILL A LOT OF HIS CULTURALLY
CONSERVATIVE ELEMENTS IN A LOT
OF HISPANIC LATINO COMMUNITIES.
YOU ARE SO RIGHT.
IT SHOULDN’T BE THAT HARD TO
FIGURE OUT.
WHEN HISPANIC VOTERS ARE
SCRAWLING ON -- SOCIALIST --
THEY ARE NOT THINKING ABOUT AOC.
THEY ARE THINKING ABOUT THE
LEADERS IN NICARAGUA, THEY ARE
THINKING ABOUT THE TYRANTS IN
CUBA, THEY ARE THINKING ABOUT
THE TYRANTS IN VENEZUELA.
THIS IS NOT ABOUT AMERICAN
POLITICS.
I HAVE TALKED TO PEOPLE THAT
HAVE IMMIGRATED FROM OTHER PARTS
OF THE WORLD WHO SAID, I CAME TO
AMERICA FOR FREEDOM.
I WANT THE GOVERNMENT OFF MY
BACK.
I’M NOT MAKING -- THIS IS NOT
COMING FROM ME.
I’M NOT MAKING A POLITICAL
STATEMENT MYSELF.
I’M JUST REPEATING WHAT I HAVE
HEARD TIME AND TIME AGAIN.
IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU DID, TOO.
>> WE ALSO FOUND OUT -- THAT
DRIVES HOME THE POINT.
THE SOCIALIST THING WAS PART OF
THE COLUMBIANS.
RESEARCH SHOWS HOW IT MOVED THE
COLUMBIANS.
IN PLACES LIKE TEXAS, THINK
ABOUT 168,000 PEOPLE WHO VOTED
IN A COUNTY THAT’S 90% LATINO.
WE FOUND OUT THAT 53,000 OF
THESE PEOPLE, LATINOS, WERE NEW
VOTERS.
9,800 HAD REGISTERED AFTER THE
DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY.
THE REPUBLICANS HAD BUILT
INFRASTRUCTURE THERE AND WENT
INTO THE COMMUNITY WHEN THE
DEMOCRATS DIDN’T SPEND MONEY
THERE BECAUSE OF THE ELECTIONS
IN THE VALLEY ARE IN THE
PRIMARY, NOT THE GENERAL.
>> JIM, HERE IS THE BIGGER
CHALLENGE FOR DEMOCRATS.
A LOT OF PEOPLE SAY, YOU KNOW
TRUMP, HE CAMPAIGNED A LOT IN
MIAMI-DADE.
YOU CAN GO -- YOU CAN LOOK AT
HISPANIC NUMBERS IN CALIFORNIA,
HISPANIC NUMBERS IN
MASSACHUSETTS, LOOK AT HISPANIC
NUMBERS IN NEW YORK STATE, IN
PLACES WHERE THERE WASN’T A LOT
OF CAMPAIGNING, BECAUSE IT
WASN’T COMPETITIVE, AND YOU
STILL HAD HISPANIC MOVEMENT
TOWARD THE REPUBLICAN PARTY FOR
MANY OF THE SAME REASONS THAT
CHUCK IS TALKING ABOUT IN
MIAMI-DADE.
>> YEAH.
I AGREE.
THERE’S A COUPLE THINGS TO
UNPACK HERE.
THE FIRST IS, OUR INABILITY TO
CANVAS.
WE WERE NOT ON THE DOORS TALKING
TO THESE VOTERS AS THEY WERE
DECIDING.
THE SECOND, THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY
HAS GOT TO GET AROUND TO THE
NOTION THAT WE HAVE MESSAGING
PROBLEMS.
THE THING YOU SAID THAT I AGREE
WITH THE MOST AND YOU AND I HAVE
TALKED ABOUT, THEY ARE NOT A
MONOLITH.
THEY ARE DIFFERENT IN SOME OF
THE PLACES.
MY FRIEND WHO IS A STATE SENATOR
FROM TEXAS SAID PART OF HER DEAL
ISN’T SOCIALISM, WHY WE DID SO
POORLY DOWN THERE, IT’S OUR
EMBRACE OF THE GREEN NEW DEAL.
THE FACT THAT WE WERE BLEEDING
ENERGY VOTERS WHO ARE LATINO
VOTERS IN THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY
IN HISTORIC NUMBERS.
WE HAVE TO LOOK AT SOME OF OUR
MESSAGING AND SAY, ARE WE REALLY
APPEALING TO ALL THE VOTERS WE
CAN?
I AGREE ON THE SOCIALISM POINT.
WE HAVE TO TACKLE THIS HEAD ON
AND SAY, LOOK, WE HAVE A
DIFFERENT VISION FOR THE FUTURE.
IF WE’RE GOING TO PLAY DEFENSE,
WE’RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO BLEED
WITH THESE INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT
VOTERS.
WE CANNOT ASSUME THAT LATINO
VOTERS ARE PART OF OUR BASE.
WE HAVE TO TREAT THEM AS
PERSUADABLES AND HAVE A MESSAGE
TO THEM THAT IS COMPELLING AND
ISN’T JUST A TYPICAL JUNK THAT
WE PUT OUT THERE THE LAST 60
DAYS OF EVERY ELECTION.
>> THE TYPICAL BLAND, GENERIC
JUNK THAT ASSUMES THAT HISPANIC
VOTERS IN MIAMI-DADE ARE THE
SAME AS HISPANIC VOTERS ALONG
THE RIO GRANDE, THE SAME AS
LATINO VOTERS IN ARIZONA, THE
SAME AS LATINO VOTERS IN NEVADA,
IT’S UNSITTING. INGSULTING.
IT’S NOT LIKE HISPANIC LEADERS
HAVEN’T BEEN SAYING THIS FOR
DECADES BUT DEMOCRATS WON’T HEAR
IT.
THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY NEEDS TO
NOW SEE HISPANICS AS SOME RIGHT
WING FORCE?
NO.
YOU JUST TARGET HISPANICS LIKE
YOU TARGET WHITE PEOPLE.
YOU FIGURE OUT.
RIGHT?
WHAT’S THEIR BACKGROUND?
DO THEY ATTEND CHURCH REGULARLY?
DO THEY DO -- INSTEAD OF JUST
ONE INSULTING MESSAGE.
WE ARE IN TROUBLE WITH