McCain courts Hispanic voters

On Cinco de Mayo, John McCain reached out today to Hispanic voters, launching a Spanish-language campaign website and acknowledging that Latinos had been discouraged by the harsh anti-immigration tone during parts of the Republican primaries.

The Arizona senator championed comprehensive immigration reform, including a path to citizenship, but it failed to get through Congress. Under attack during the campaign for being too lenient on illegal immigration, McCain declared that Americans would not back reform until the borders were made secure. Representative Tom Tancredo, the most vocal opponent of illegal immigration, famously said during a debate that his fellow GOP hopefuls were trying to "out-Tancredo" him.

McCain told reporters in Phoenix that Hispanic citizens want America's borders secured and illegal immigrants to be treated humanely.

He issued a statement marking Cinco de Mayo, which marks a key military victory in 1862 on the path to Mexico's independence. "Today we join together to remember the sacrifice that these Mexican patriots endured, as well as the struggles of all those around the world striving for freedom," the statement says. "We recognize as well the important friendship that exists between our country and Mexico, and celebrate the many contributions Mexican-Americans have made to our society, culture, security, and economy.

McCain also announced that he will attend an important Hispanic political convention, La Raza, in July.

The Democratic National Committee, however, accused McCain of double-talk on immigration. "McCain said he would pursue comprehensive immigration reform as soon as he takes office," it said in a statement. "But in the same news conference, McCain also took the opposite position: saying that the borders have to be secured first....McCain's double-talk is indicative of a major problem the GOP nominee faces heading to the general election, trying to both appease the Party's conservative base while trying to reach out to moderate voters and Hispanics who have been targeted with ugly Republican Party attacks on the immigration issue."