Three Ways the Republican State of the Union Response Failed Latinos

Republican lawmakers vilified President Barack Obama when he offered legal status to millions of undocumented immigrants last November.

The GOP vehemently objected to expanding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which would give individuals residing in the United States more than five years and their children - who must be legal residents - an opportunity to stay in the country. Cuban-American Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) even slammed the President for breaking a 50-year-long stalemate with Cuba, citing countless human rights violations.

Yet, when Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) - a staunch immigration-reform critic- responded to President Obama's State of the Union address last Tuesday, little was directed at the country's burgeoning Hispanic population.

The omission of immigration and Cuba in the Republican rebuttal didn't go unnoticed. While Tea Party Rep. Curt Clawson (R- Fla.) drew parallels between his party's conservative views and Latino values, Miami Rep. Carlos Curbelo's (R-Fla.) Spanish-language speech - one that should have mirrored Ernst's -strayed from the Iowa senator's message. Curbelo later said that while his and the official GOP response were similar per se, each speech contained nuances tailored to fit lawmakers' priorities.

Democrats won the Latino vote by a 62 percent to 36 percent margin during the last presidential election, according to the Pew Research Center. Ernst may have alienated these voters by focusing on Obamacare, the Keystone XL Pipeline, and her own middle-class upbringing. There wasn't any sort of minority outreach, or acknowledgement of Obama saying that "it's possible to shape a law that upholds our tradition as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants." Granting five million undocumented individuals the right to obtain work permit and driver's licenses wasn't even mentioned.

In that way, Ernst's blithe response fell short. Here are three specific ways Republicans missed the mark.

Ernst avoided immigration reform

Immigration reform failed in Congress because House Republican leaders wouldn't allow a full vote on a bipartisan immigration bill passed in the Senate. A lot of opposition comes from members representing districts with high numbers of conservative non-Hispanic white voters, many of which oppose a pathway to citizenship. Ernst, for her part, avoided the subject.

Curbelo approached it sternly, saying "Let us work through the appropriate channels to create permanent solutions to our immigration system - to secure our borders, modernize legal immigration, and strengthen our economy."

Though Curbelo was among a minority or Republicans opposed to undoing Obama's executive order on immigration, the hardline stance is apparent. His comment wasn't as much about resonating with the Latino community as it was to remind them of the GOP's priorities.

Little mention of U.S.- Cuba relations

Ernst denounces terrorism and a need to "confront Iran's nuclear ambitions." Curbelo said both Iran and Cuba are "ruled by dictators who for decades have tried to harm our country and our allies." Neither went into specifics.

"Our shift in Cuba policy has the potential to end a legacy of mistrust in our hemisphere; removes a phony excuse for restrictions in Cuba; stands up for democratic values; and extends the hand of friendship to the Cuban people," Obama said during his speech.

U.S.-Cuba talks have led to proposed embassies an ease on travel and trade restrictions. Diplomatic relations hit a snag when Cuba is pressed to improve human rights. Republicans called Obama's effort naïve, and that maybe be true, only they didn't so much as outline how Cubans and non-Cuban Latinos face repercussions.

No explanation as to why Culberto and Ernst's speeches conflicted

GOP strategists have struggled to explains why English and Spanish language versions of the script varied.

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus went on MSNBC's Morning Joe Wednesday morning and blamed Obama for overreaching on immigration reform by taking executive action. Others have stayed mum, though Iowa Rep. Steve King's virulent pre-SOTU Twitter post calling undocumented Texas student Ana Zamora a "deportable" did little to sway Latinos.

Therein lies the GOP's problem; they don't have a favorable message on immigration. Instead of recognizing minorities, Ernst's speech- and the aftermath - reiterated that they don't know how to approach the Latino community. Culberto at least made an effort.

Prospective 2016 GOP candidates are flocking to this weekend's Iowa Freedom Summit where they will mingle with potential voters. Immigration reform will undoubtedly be a hot button issue going in, especially with the backlash received over the last week. If representatives have learned anything since the SOTU, it's that all must be on the same page going forward.