Colbert: Latinos and GOP ‘go together like beans and very, very white rice’

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Stephen Colbert told his nación on Monday he was all for the Republican party’s sudden push to woo Latino voters, joining other pundits who saw the two groups as a natural fit.

“Hispanics and Republicans go together like beans and very, very white rice … that is very suspicious of the beans,” Colbert said.

Colbert said he earned a newfound respect for the Latino community after watching the GOP utterly fail to win their support in last year’s elections, calling it a very sobering moment – “or at least it would be if I could stop drinking.”

The results, he said, made Republicans reach out to people they trust even less than Mexicans — Democrats, as lawmakers like Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) joined with two other GOP members and four Democratic senators to put together an immigration reform proposal, which Colbert supported.

But like Rubio, Colbert said the process should involve some necessary safety precautions for people seeking to earn citizenship.

“They must be fingerprinted, they must have background checks,” Colbert said. “After all, they’re trying to get citizenship, not an assault weapon.”

But instead of letting the “Group of 8″ have the stage to themselves, he complained, President Barack Obama issued his own immigration proposal, which includes at least one feature the senators’ plan lacks: the ability for U.S. citizens and permanent residence in same-sex couples to seek a visa for their partners.

“What’s next, Mr. President?” he demanded. “Treating gay people as people?”

Colbert further objected, invoking his belief in American exceptionalism.

“Our gay people, our gay men and women are not just homosexual,” he exulted. “They are homoceptional.”

Watch Colbert’s take on the latest push for immigration reform, aired Monday on Comedy Central, below.