Ahead of the third Republican debate, students, community members, and Latino leaders gathered at University of Colorado Boulder’s Farrand Field to send a clear message to the Republican party that there is no place for anti-immigrant rhetoric in Colorado.
Great crowd at #COmyvote rally! “El pueblo unido jamás será vencido” #CNBCGOPDebate @latinovictoryus pic.twitter.com/1wwqyyx8h7
— Pili Tobar (@pilitobar87) October 28, 2015
The rally, hosted Federico Peña (the first Latino mayor of Denver and U.S. Secretary of Transportation), was the launch of the My Country, My Vote! initiative – an unprecedented 12-month voter registration campaign to mobilize Colorado’s Latino, immigrant and allied voters. And as the Guardian pointed out, Colorado will be a critical state for the 2016 cycle:
It would be tempting to dismiss the event – complete with banners proclaiming “stand up to anti-immigrant politicians” – as an entirely partisan affair, designed to shore up support for Democrats and paint Republicans in the most extreme light possible. But the debate’s presence in Colorado, a so-called “purple” state with a tradition of teetering between Republicans and Democrats and a fast-growing Latino population, points to a demographic reality that the party of Lincoln arguably cannot afford to ignore.
Many of the speakers highlighted the importance of being engaged and active within the political landscape. Cherish Spengler, CU Boulder Student said:
“The contrast is clear between the culture of Boulder and the Republican Party… events like these demonstrate the contrasts in opinions. I think that missing class for one day is not that big of a cost compared to the grand scheme of things, [immigration] is a big issue and we are very lucky to have such a focus on our campus for it. It’s easy to acclimate yourself to the privilege of your chief concern around this event being traffic jams or road closings, and not things like deportations or losses of jobs and livelihoods.” – Cherish Spengler, CU Boulder Student
“My message [to the Republican Party] is to fix the broken immigration system, and listen to those who know the issue. Donald Trump is not an expert in immigration.” – Juan Rodriguez, Fort Collins resident
At the rally, we also got an opportunity to speak to Dolores Huerta, on of the event’s featured speakers. She had this message to Colorado community.
“I hope that the people here are very angry and motivated, so that they can launch an organizing effort out of Boulder and reach the entire state of Colorado. We know that Colorado is a swing state, we know that we have the power and the numbers to make sure that Colorado remains a blue state.”
More from last night’s event:
Join @latinovictoryus 4 My Country, My Vote rally. Stand against anti-immigrant politicians #COmyvote#CNBCGOPDebatepic.twitter.com/iLVfnlQOHj — Pili Tobar (@pilitobar87) October 28, 2015
Big fans of Hugo & Owen @2MX2 #COmyvote #GOPDebate #CNBCDebate #CNBCGOPDebate @americasvoice @latinovictoryus pic.twitter.com/vQ7GEejF9l
— tramontela (@tramontela) October 28, 2015
Visit the My Country, My Vote! website to learn more about the initiative.
