Colorado’s Hispanic voters are so infuriated that President Barack Obama delayed executive action on immigration until after the November election that they’re taking out their anger on a Democrat who’s not even up for re-election — Sen. Michael Bennet.
Bennet is the chairman of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, essentially in charge of maintaining his party’s majority. As such, according to the Denver Post, Bennet shared data with Obama showing that if the president acted on immigration before the election, it could hurt more Democrats than it would help.
While that may be the case in states like North Carolina and Arkansas, pushing off executive action on immigration could hurt Bennet’s colleague, Democratic Sen. Mark Udall, who needs every vote he can get in a state where Hispanics make up 21 percent of the population and 14 percent of registered voters.
Apparently blaming Bennet for influencing Obama’s change in a timeline for executive action — the president had originally promised to act before the election — Latino voters picketed Bennet’s Denver office Tuesday.
“How are you supposed to get people energized and mobilized when nothing is happening?” protest organizer Sonia Marquez of the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, told the Denver Post. “It’s not about Democrats or Republicans. It’s about who is going to follow their word.”
The protest comes just days after a similar one at Democratic Party headquarters in Denver, which was directed at Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper. The inspiration for that protest was what participants perceived as the lackluster implementation of a new law allowing illegal immigrants to obtain state drivers licenses. (RELATED: Colorado Hispanics Threaten To Boycott Hickenlooper)
During both, picketers warned that Democrats risked losing the support of an influential voting bloc. Udall, who the Post painted as the clear loser in the political calculus guiding Obama’s decision on the timing, said through a spokesman that he’s disappointed in the decision.
Bennet also went on the defense, with a spokesman telling the Post that Bennet had no role in Obama’s decision other than sharing data and concerns from Democrats facing tough elections. The spokesman also said that Bennet personally supports executive action on immigration.
“Our immigration-rights leaders and advocates have been fighting for years to fix this system and are justified in their frustration and disappointment,” spokesman Adam Bozzi said in a statement to the Post. “Senator Bennet shares these frustrations.”
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