Letters: Marco Rubio is a Hispanic’s Hispanic

MSNBC’s Chris Matthews said he wasn’t sure he would call Marco Rubio Hispanic because of his Cuban ancestry, even though the U.S. Census Bureau defines the term as “a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.”

It’s understandable that Matthews is worried about Rubio’s appeal to Hispanics, having the same ceiling-busting novelty Barack Obama did. But white liberals don’t get to make arbitrary distinctions about the ethnicity of minorities with whom they disagree.

Rubio’s Hispanic appeal goes beyond his ethnicity. Rubio agrees with Hispanics who overwhelmingly support school choice. He wants to expand small business opportunity for Latinos who are the most likely to start new businesses. He wants to expand access to affordable consumer-driven health-care options for Hispanics, who make up one-third of the nation’s uninsured.

There’s plenty for Hispanics to love about Rubio’s policies, and no matter what liberals say, he’s a Hispanic’s Hispanic.

This story was originally published December 31, 2015 at 4:22 PM with the headline "Letters: Marco Rubio is a Hispanic’s Hispanic."