RNC ad ignores immigration but blames Obama for Hispanics' suffering

The Republican National Committee (RNC) on Wednesday released an online video that suggests President Barack Obama is responsible for problems affecting the Hispanic community.

The ad, which ignores the issue of immigration, uses audio clips of various news reports to paint a picture of hard economic times for Hispanics.

A statement on the RNC's website claimed that "Hispanics have suffered disproportionately in President Obama's economy."

"While nearly 23 million are feeling the pain of the Obama economy, Hispanics are being especially hurt with unemployment higher than the national average at 11% and 2.3 million more in poverty since Barack Obama was elected," the statement said.

"President Obama has let Hispanics down when it comes to creating good paying jobs and getting the economy moving again," RNC Chairman Reince Priebus added.

The web video does not mention the party's tough stand on immigration or Obama's latest policy that would halt the deportations of qualifying young undocumented immigrants.

A May NBC/Wall Street Journal poll (PDF) indicated that only 27 percent of Latino voters supported presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, compared with 61 percent who were for Obama. A recent survey by Latino Decisions and America’s Voice found that 49 percent of Latino voters in swing states were more enthusiastic about supporting Obama because of the immigration policy announced last week, while 14 percent were less enthusiastic.

A Bloomberg poll released Tuesday also found that among all likely voters, the new immigration policy was favored two-to-one, with 64 percent approving and 30 percent opposed.

"It's unfortunate that President Obama is going to play politics with Hispanics to try and shore up his reelection instead of implementing policies that will help put them back to work," Priebus said. "For someone who promised comprehensive immigration reform during his first year in office, it's more than clear President Obama is more worried about Election Day, than the long term improvement of Hispanics."

The RNC did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.

Watch this video from the RNC, broadcast June 20, 2012.

(h/t: CNN)