Why Latinos loved John McCain
As for what drew Latinos to McCain, it was his military service and his heroism as a prisoner of war.
You love your country so much that you send your sons and daughters to defend it, and sometimes all you get back is a folded flag and a 21-gun salute, "on behalf of a grateful nation." The tio who died at Iwo Jima. The son we lost during the Tet Offensive. The cousin who took his last breath outside Kabul. Latinos know this story by heart.
Take it from McCain's compadre, Arizona businessman Tommy Espinoza. In English, compadre means "buddy."
A friend and McCainiac for 30 years, Espinoza is also a Mexican-American Democrat who once headed up a Phoenix-based Latino advocacy group called "Chicanos Por La Causa."
One of just four men that McCain asked to speak at his Phoenix memorial, Espinoza recalled that, for his friend, immigration was a matter of principle. McCain couldn't abide hypocrisy.
"He would say, 'You know what? I can't believe that these families that come from another country, from Mexico, from Central America to work, cutting our grass, feeding us, bringing in the labor force that we need, and now we turn on them?'"
As he left the podium, Espinoza looked at the flag-draped casket before him and bid farewell to his compadre.
"My dear friend, vaya con Dios," he said, as he made the sign of the cross.
While running for president in 2008, McCain spoke to me from the campaign trail. He reflected on his support from Latino voters. He told me it was an honor to represent "so many patriotic and great, wonderful Americans who are the heart and soul of the country."
No, Senator. With you so often in our corner, the honor was ours.
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Ruben Navarrette's email address is ruben@rubennavarrette.com. His daily podcast, "Navarrette Nation," is available through every podcast app.
(c) 2018, The Washington Post Writers Group
