John McCain believes he will get support from Hispanic voters because he has a "long record working with Hispanic leadership" and that "[e]verything about our Hispanic voters is tailor made to the Republican message." [CNN.com, 5/5/08]

But the reality is Hispanic voters have made it clear that they don't trust Senator McCain on the issues that Hispanic voters think are important-health care, the economy, and jobs-issues on which Senator McCain has proven he lacks the leadership and vision America needs. As Congressman Silvestre Reyes of Texas pointed out in an op-ed in the Washington Times this morning, it's hard to know where John McCain stands on the issue of immigration reform. [Pew Hispanic Center, 12/6/07; Washington Times, 6/27/08]

Latino Voters Weary of a Third Bush Term and Identifying As Democrats. According to a Pew Hispanic Center report, a plurality of Hispanic registered voters, 41%, say that "the policies of the Bush administration have been harmful to Latinos, while just 16% say they have been helpful" and "57% of Hispanic registered voters now call themselves Democrats or say they lean to the Democratic Party, while just 23% align with the Republican Party -- meaning there is now a 34-percentage-point gap in partisan affiliation among Latinos." [Pew Hispanic Center, 12/6/07]

Republican Party Losing Support Among Hispanic Voters. "Latino support for Republican candidates dropped from roughly 40% in 2004 to 30% in 2006, while 69% of Latinos voted for Democrats in 2006." According to a survey of under-30 Americans Latinos preferred a Democrat for president in 2008 by a margin of 42 percentage points." [Houston Chronicle, 9/9/07]

A Majority of Hispanic Voters Are Concerned About Health Care, Jobs, the Economy, and Iraq. 91% of Hispanic registered voters consider health care to be an extremely important or very important issue, 91% of Hispanic registered voters consider the economy and jobs to be an extremely important or very important issue, two thirds of Hispanics want an end to war in Iraq, and 70% of Hispanic registered voters consider Iraq very important or extremely important. [Pew Hispanic Center, 12/6/07]

After casting himself as a "Maverick" in 2000, the new John McCain is walking in lockstep with President Bush, pandering to the right wing of the Republican Party, and embracing the ideology he once denounced. On the campaign trail McCain has callously abandoned many of his previously held positions, even contradicted himself, in a blatant attempt to remake himself into a candidate Republicans can accept in 2008. So just who is the real John McCain? The Democratic National Committee will present a daily fact aimed at exposing the man behind the myth.