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TAMPA, FL -- The battle over the Latino vote is heating up in south Florida.
Newt Gingrich is out with a radio ad playing on local Spanish-language stations that hits former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for being “the most anti-immigrant candidate.”
“Mitt Romney is a government liberal, from the state of and similar to Kennedy. He is the most anti-immigrant candidate,” the ad charges, according to a translation by the Miami Herald.
Immigration has emerged as a wedge issue between Romney and the former House speaker. Romney has insisted that illegal immigrants should go to their native countries to apply for permanent residency, while Gingrich has proposed a system of "citizen review boards," by which illegal immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for a certain number of years could win residency status without returning home.
"With regards to those that have come here illegally now, we're not going to round them all up and deport them. But we're also not going to give them a preferential pathway to become permanent residents," Romney said last night, during the CNN debate in Charleston, S.C.
"Coming here illegally," he continued, "should not give you an advantage being able to become a permanent resident of the United States."
The remarks won applause from the conservative audience.
Gingrich may hope that his own message will play among south Florida's various immigrant communities, where in some cases attitudes may differ. But the ad also clearly aims to discredit Romney among the Cuban community in particular, where another issue -- Cuba’s Castro regime -- is a chief concern.
Resurrecting a gaffe from the last presidential cycle, the ad hits Romney for misattributing a Fidel Castro quote to Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez during a stop in Miami in 2007.
The ad begins with archival tape of Castro using his signature phrase, “Fatherland or Death, we will prevail.”
The narrator says, “Surprising enough, this statement was also made by Mitt Romney.”
(According to the Miami Herald, Romney had mistakenly told voters that “Hugo Chavez has tried to steal an inspiring phrase” that in fact “belongs to a free Cuba.”)
“Unlike Romney, who uses statements from Castro, Newt Gingrich has fought against the regime with Lincoln and Ileana to approve Helms-Burton,” the ad continues, referencing a 1996 act that strengthened the U.S. embargo against Cuba.
That charge won pushback from the Romney campaign today, which points out that the two Florida politicians cited in the ad -– former Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart and Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen –- have both endorsed Romney, along Diaz-Balart's younger brother, Mario, who succeeded Lincoln in Congress.
"Mario Diaz-Balart, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Lincoln Diaz-Balart all stand with Mitt Romney because he has laid out a clear vision for spreading democracy in our hemisphere. By attacking anyone who supports common-sense border security and immigration reforms as ‘anti-immigrant,’ Newt Gingrich is once again reading from Barack Obama’s liberal talking points," Romney spokesman Alberto Martinez said in a statement to NBC News.
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Pander - rinse - spin - repeat!
Interesting how the the GNOP uses the immigration debate every 4 years as a wedge issue...
Same thing with abortion - if they were serious about any of this, they would of done something about it between 2000 - 2006!
Big happy shout out to two of my favorite FR posters:
1. Feisty - way to excel at the SUCK! Moodys just downgraded your great state.
2. Anna Molly - way to be - Wisc. got a big pat on the head from Moodys. Seems things are looking so very much better under Walker.
Yep - Ill, being a progressive paradise raised taxes last year. You know to 'close the budget gap' and all. 'Cept it's a big fail and now Ill is rated as the very worst state.
Wisconsin on the other hand took the opposite approach. See gang we already know:
1. higher taxes encourage more spending;
and '2. higher taxes don't mean more revenue.
So Blue Ill takes the pipe, whereas the Red run Wisc. gets it right.
So again - why is it always the bluest states that are the worse off? Pure coincidence I'm sure. :)
spanky ... yay GM stock up again ... a great run over the last month
Fantastic.
So when will it be holding that big IPO to pay us back?
Even when they do and even if you the people make a profit, do not expect a refund cheque.
@Idealogy I thought you alluded to the fact you weren't a shareholder in any stock so what point are you trying to make? You and Phine thought it was evil of corporations to try to make money.
ksw62118
There has been an ongoing argument over GM's bailout for ages. GM also received money from Canada and it remains in our interest that it survives, that i do not own stock in the company does not mean I will remain unaffected.
I see no evil in honest profits and from what I know of Phine, neither does she.
Catholic leaders and theologians across the country …
As Catholic leaders who recognize that the moral scandals of racism and poverty remain a blemish on the American soul, we challenge our fellow Catholics Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum to stop perpetuating ugly racial stereotypes on the campaign trail.
"Gingrich pulls out"___has a whole new meaning as of yesterday !
Funny once...
You Know Rodney's condo on the 11th floor of Regency Towers in Las Vegas just sold ..i wanted it .The design was so cool 1,800 sq ft 3 b3d 3 baths great views of Vegas
Funny once... repeat if necessary ...
Yo Feisty, what about that other pandering tool, gun rights! So far three years into Obama's presidency the black helicopters have failed to arrive in anybody's back 40 to take anyone's guns from live or dead fingers. The real and only purpose of the Republican party is to protect and expand the wealth of those who already have too much.
Wayne,
Which explains the extreme anger from the right - they see it crumbling down all around them!
And then there is gay marriage. Why do Republican candidates go on and on about how marriage is between a man and a woman (or, a man a woman, and a mistress,) as if this will be a crucial issue on which the President's opinion will have a huge impact? It's just a wedge issue. The states will decide whether to legalize it or not.
Gun Rights!
So I see where NY City is seeking to crush the 4th Amendment with scanners on the street that can detect if you are carrying a gun.
But, guns are illegal in NY, so why would anyone be walking around with a gun?
Oh and Wayne - speaking about a huge step backwards - you ok with Cunningham, the Arizona Attorney General telling congress:
"I can't answer your questions without implicating myself in a crime."
That's the kind of government we want and need, right Wayne?
Wayne - you think the government engaging in what they appear to know to be criminal acts just might set us back a tad?
Heck Spanky, I already mentioned above why you are a card carrying Republican! I am so sorry that you found a possibly dishonest Democrat in Arizona. Both parties have their crooks, drunks, junkies and skunks, but that is not what we are talking about here. The Republican party pulls the wool over the eyes over millions of Americans every day. They think that your party supports their agenda, when it really supports the agenda of people like good old Romney, who is richer than God but has no compassion for anyone without your kind of money.
Uh, no Wayne we are talking about the DOJ. He is taking the %th regarding a ATF/DOJ program that Obama touted back in '09.
But how about this - Cunningham should be fired immediately, no?
Want to bet it'll never happen?
Nope, it sure will not, but see Wayne the purpose of Gun Runner was to ensure guns bought in america would be found a crime scenes. and what a success it was.
Too bad we found out that our government gave them to the Sinola Cartel, on purpose then lost track.
See, Wayne, it goes to the very heart of your point.
Oh and Wayne - how much is too much wealth? And of course who gets to decide - you?
I have heard that story you mentioned above and heard how the batteries ran out on their location devices. That was more than somewhat careless, I agree. That is not what we are talking about here, once again! Now, regarding how much is too much, that is not for me to judge, but when I cast a vote and see the likes of Romney ranting again and again about the president dividing the country with his talk of "wealth distribution," which the wealthy in this country have been engaged in since the Reagan administration. The income gap is a real problem, and it is the worst it has been since the time of TR and the robber barons. It will be a real problem for Mitt Romney too, because people look suspiciously at this born with a silver spoon phony, though he tries and fails miserably to look like the every day Joe. A lot of people realize he is not going to make things better, but make them worse with his tax plan that would give the wealthy even more and the middle class and poor even less. It's okay though. I understand why you stump for your party, and you no doubt understand why I stump for mine.
Two points of confusion for old 'drive-thru':
1) It's dispicalble to question the moral fiber of a man that wants to run the country, but not dispicable to call the President of the United States of America 'dangerous' in front of the whole world?
2) Under THIS administration, the government 'is growing and getting bigger all the time', yet at the same time is incapable of creating jobs. Are software programs running all this 'big and getting bigger' government?? Robots??
There's my Buzz!
You dropping by the Dew Drop Inn tonight?
We've missed you spinning those old 45's!
Meanwhile Obama works tirelessly addressing the countries needs.
Just this week (from the President's daily schedule) .....
Monday - Off
Tuesday - Got in the office at 10:00 AM
Wednesday - Got in the office at 10:30 AM
Thursday - Left the White House at 9:15 AM to go to Orlando / Disney World to give a speech on tourism while closing the park to .... tourists.
Is Florida a state he needs to campaign in, or does Obama just know so much more about tourism / tourists than the folks at Disney World and the tourist industry of Florida?
Anyway, then he left Orlando for New York where he had FOUR campaign events.
Only a million of tax payers money spent yesterday for AF1 .....
Anyway rolled in at 10:15 this morning, will have 2 meetings ....
Thank you so much Mr. President for your efforts.
and yet, he managed to reform healthcare, so insurance companies can't drop you if you get sick, brought the economy back from a Depression, removed Qaddafy from power in Libya without spending 7 trillion dollars, and executed Osama Bin Laden - how does he do it?
Yea ... America wanted cost control and Obama gave us skyrocketing costs .... Less Americans now have insurance than before it was passed .... More than 1/2 of the states are suing the federal government over it .... his own CBO says it will cost over 800,000 jobs .... Americans in general hate it.
Yea ... GREAT JOB OBAMA.
No he didn't, dummie. The recession officially ended in June of 2009 after 2 consequtivew quarters of growth. Obama had nothing to do with ending the recession.
Brought back the economy ... what a joke ... almost every indicator is worse today than when he toook office.
Name one that is better other than his buds on Wall Street.
Worst recovery in history since the Great Depression.
BFD. And what was our national interest?
And btw - are you so stupid as to suggest / imply Bush spent 7 trillion removing Hussein? Do you not the total cost of both wars under Bush was 760 billion?
So our guys call up Obama and ask do you want us have SEAL Team take him out .... and Obama says .... OK. BFD.
What the greatest number of Americans on food stamps in history ... the greatest number of Americans at the poverty level ......?
He is a moronic ideologue with no clue.
When President Obama took office we were shedding jobs like Boehner sheds tears. By the end of 2008, we had experienced the biggest job loss since 1945.
Then, President Obama and the Democratic majority Congress, against objections from the Republicans, passed the stimulus bill.
The economy stabilized; we did not slip into a Depression, as some had feared. Not three years later, all the American automakers are profitable again, and GM is number one in sales worldwide.
One thing this crisis has brought home is how out of touch the Republican Party has become with working people and how in the pocket of the rich and powerful is the Republican House. The only thing I've seen Republicans fighting for, is relaxing environment protections, so corporations can resume raping and pillaging nature for profit. Republicans have done nothing during this crisis except try to shield the wealthiest for higher taxes, and the powerful from being held accountable for financial crimes.
On foreign policy, my God, only a hopeless partisan wouldn't stand in awe of the successes of the Obama administration at getting Arab countries to police their own, and pick up the tab for getting rid of dicators like Qaddafy and Mubareck. Finally, our troops have left Iraq. Thank you President Obama!
I would vote for Obama over dirty Newt. Kicked out of the speakership by his own party. Fine $300,000 for ethics violations. The dems will bring out every detail if he gets the nomination.