Subject: FOR RESEARCH APPROVAL: Politico: RNC's Cinco de Mayo message omits last year's call for 'welcoming country'
From: "Garcia, Walter" <[email-masked]>
To: RR2 <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 5 May 2016 06:29:22 -0700

Research, this good to go?

From: Walker, Eric
Sent: Thursday, May 05, 2016 9:20 AM
To: Garcia, Walter
Cc: Comm_D
Subject: Re: Politico: RNC's Cinco de Mayo message omits last year's call for 'welcoming country'

Good to blast to Hispanic list

On May 5, 2016, at 9:17 AM, Garcia, Walter <[email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>> wrote:

RNC's Cinco de Mayo message omits last year's call for 'welcoming country'<http://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/rnc-cinco-de-mayo-222837>

By NICK GASS

The Republican National Committee dropped a line in its annual Cinco de Mayo message urging the United States to be more welcoming to immigrants from Mexico, issuing a shorter statement emphasizing the ways in which generations of Mexican-Americans have strengthened and defended the country.

"We celebrate Cinco de Mayo to honor the many ways Mexican-Americans have for generations enriched our country's culture. With a commitment to faith, family, and the belief that hard work will help you achieve the American Dream, Mexican-Americans have strengthened our nation. And we express our deep gratitude to those who are proudly serving in our armed forces and defending our freedoms," RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said in the statement issued Thursday.

RNC Co-Chairman Sharon Day sent along her wishes as well.

"This festive day is known throughout the country because of the influence Mexican-Americans have had on our culture," Day said in the statement. "Today we reflect on the freedoms we are privileged to enjoy, and I hope Cinco de Mayo will serve as a reminder for us all to keep working to build a future in which the opportunity and prosperity are preserved for our children."

But in the 2015 message, in addition to the usual verbiage, Priebus commemorated the occasion of the Mexicans' victory over the French in the 1862 Battle of Puebla by stating that the day "is one of the many traditions brought to this country by those looking for a better life and in search of the American Dream."

"As we look to the future, America must remain a welcoming country that finds its strength in both our diversity and our common values," he said in the 2015 statement.

The Republican Party's presumptive nominee, Donald Trump, has called for deporting some 11 million undocumented immigrants, revoking so-called birthright citizenship and building a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border, financed by Mexico.

The RNC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the omission.

In previous years' statements available on its website, the RNC made the case for a "serious debate on immigration reform."

"So as our country continues to have a serious debate on immigration reform, Republicans reiterate that we're committed to fixing our broken borders, strengthening our interior enforcement, and respecting our rule of law to make sure we provide a fair solution for those seeking to come to the United States legally," Priebus said in part of the 2014 greeting. "However, President Obama's desire not to enforce our laws because of political convenience undermines any type of immigration reform."

The party's 2012 message again invoked the influence of Mexican-Americans on the country's larger culture and economy, while Day warned that the American Dream that brought Mexican families to the U.S. in search of a better life was being threatened. "The coming election is our chance to change that, and Republicans will stand for the policies that safeguard prosperity for future generations," she said in that statement, six months before President Barack Obama was re-elected.

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Walter Garcia
Western Regional Press Secretary
Democratic National Committee (DNC)
Email: [email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>
Twitter: @WalterGarcia231<https://twitter.com/WalterGarcia231>
<http://www.democrats.org/>