GOP candidates afraid of Brown People

And in other news, water is wet.

The University of Miami and Univisión invited the eight Republican presidential candidates to participate in a history-making debate conducted in Spanish on September 16. The Democratic candidates -- all of them -- will attend a similar debate on September 9.

But, lo and behold, every Republican candidate save one has "scheduling conflicts" and can't attend. Only John McCain RSVP'd "yes."

"As we have not released the schedule of events for that day, I'll just have to leave it at 'scheduling conflict,' " Giuliani spokesman Elliott Bundy said. "The campaign would love to attend all of the debates we're being asked to participate in, but our campaign has had to make tough decisions, based on the accelerated schedule and fundraising demands, about the number in which we can realistically participate."

While it's true a candidate running a national campaign can't accept every invitation, the Univisión debate is not on par with the the Midwest Leadership Conference in Indianapolis that Giuliani blew off last week. Univisión reaches 1.5 million viewers each night. It's the fifth-largest television network in the country, behind the major broadcast outlets, but ahead of cable channels like CNN and MSNBC, which have already aired debates.

Let's make this perfectly clear: the Democrats managed to schedule the debate, a week ahead of the Republicans, yet almost every Republican couldn't make it? That's a massive, steaming pile of bullshit, and I hope the Hispanic population in Florida and elsewhere sees the GOP candidates' decision for what it is: fear and loathing.

"This shows the lack of priority Hispanics play in the Republican agenda, bottom line," said Miami political consultant Fred Balsera, who worked on Hispanic outreach for Democrat Jim Davis' campaign for governor in 2006. "They're very good at putting out paid messages to Hispanics, but they don't want to answer difficult questions when the cameras are rolling."

Sure, that's Democratic spin. But at a time when South Florida voter registration statistics show the GOP losing ground among Hispanics, at a time when the heated debate over immigration left some Hispanics with a bad taste in their mouths, why would the GOP let the Democrats have the spin room at the debate all to themselves?

"I'm disappointed because it's a forum all of the Republican candidates should be engaging in," said Hialeah Council President Steve Bovo, who has endorsed Giuliani. "I hope there will be another opportunity in the future for a debate in Spanish. . . . As far as I'm concerned, there is no excuse for candidates not to engage different segments of the population, and the Hispanic vote is only going to get more important as time goes by."

Let's face it: the Republicans are dodging the immigration issue because they know their vehement opposition to anything approaching compassion for illegal immigrants (the exception being McCain, interestingly) is an indefensible position, especially here in south Florida. Indeed, the debate puts the GOP candidates into a no-win situation: take the heat from Hispanics for missing the debate or anger their mouth-breathing, bedwetting base by agreeing to debate in a "furriner" language.

Bottom line: when Republicans (candidates or otherwise) have the choice to be bigots or be right, they'll be bigots every time. Count on it.