When House Republicans think about who they'll offend if/when they kill immigration reform, it's a lengthy list. After all, the bill enjoys broad public support, and is backed by leaders of both parties, leaders from the Latino community, private-sector employers, labor, and deficit hawks.
But let's not overlook Spanish-language media, which as John Sides and Greg Sargent explained yesterday, is poised to be unrelenting in its criticisms of Republicans for killing the bipartisan bill. Indeed, by some measures, it's already begun.
Univision's Jorge Ramos delivered this message last night to his 912,000 Twitter followers, connecting House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to anti-immigrant sheriff Joe Arpaio in the minds of the Hispanic community. Following up on that message, Ramos added this tweet this morning:
Remember, in Spanish-language media, Ramos is unrivaled in his reach and influence. "Spanish-language news has almost the same pull as the priest in the pulpit," said Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.). "And Jorge Ramos is the pope, he's the big kahuna."
Three months ago, the Republican National Committee said it intended to vastly improve its relationships with Latino media outlets. How's that outreach effort going, Reince?
The more GOP lawmakers tear down efforts to reform the immigration system, the worse this is going to get.