The official GOP response to President Obama’s SOTU was delivered by newly-minted Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA).  She said that instead of responding point by point to the president, she’d talk about her own trials and tribulations and how she and her family was able to pull itself up by their own bootstraps (and bread bags) to become a rich farmer (with the help of some generous government assistance).  The American dream come true as long as you’re born white here; she didn’t say anything about immigration policy or what the Republicans plan to do about it.

The official Spanish-language version of the GOP response was delivered by another new face on Capitol Hill, Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) whose last job was as my nominal boss; up until his election he was a member of the Miami-Dade County Public Schools board.  His speech was pretty much the same as Ms. Ernst’s; the family history, how he wants the best for America, how he cares about the middle class and wants them to rise up, etc.  But he did talk about immigration, saying (translated) “We should also work through the appropriate channels to create permanent solutions for our immigration system.”

So why did Ms. Ernst leave out that part?  I can think of two possible reasons.  First, she toes the Republican line on immigration reform (don’t do shit about it until That Man is out of the White House), and second, the GOP thinks that a Cuban-American from Miami might have a bit more credibility with the Hispanic audience when it comes to immigration reform.  Yeah, except most Hispanics know that Cubans aren’t exactly the ones to listen to regarding immigration since they get frontsies.

So far the response to Mr. Curbelo’s address has been tepid: “Eres una desgracia” doesn’t need a translation.