E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
In his interview with CBS over the weekend, Mitt Romney joined the chorus of GOP critics arguing that President Obama played politics with his immigration announcement on Friday.
Romney: I think the timing is pretty clear, if he really wanted to make a solution that dealt with these kids or with illegal immigration in America, than this is something he would have taken up in his first three and a half years, not in his last few months.
Schieffer: So he did it for politics.
Romney: Well, that's certainly a big part of the equation.
But when it comes to immigration, perhaps no presidential candidate has politicized the issue more than Romney has over the past five years -- during his 2007-2008 bid and during his current one.
Indeed, the issue was a clear way for the former Massachusetts governor to prove his conservative credentials. And it was a weapon he used -- often with success -- against John McCain, Rick Perry, and Newt Gingrich, all of whom had supported some liberal policies toward illegal immigrants.
For instance, before the New Hampshire primary in Jan. 2008, Romney's campaign blasted McCain on immigration. "McCain pushed to let every illegal immigrant stay here permanently -- even voted to allow illegals to collect Social Security," went one Romney TV ad. "And Mitt Romney?... He opposes amnesty for illegals."
Here's another Romney ad, which aired in Nov. 2007 and which used Romney's own words: "We all know Hillary Clinton and the Democrats have it wrong on illegal immigration. Our party should not make that mistake. As governor, I authorized the state police to enforce immigration laws. I opposed driver's licenses and in-state tuition for illegal aliens."
Romney added in the ad, "As president, I'll oppose amnesty, cut funding for sanctuary cities and secure our borders. Legal immigration is great, but illegal immigration -- that's got to stop."
And during this cycle's GOP presidential primary, Romney hammered Perry on the fact that young illegal immigrants in Texas qualify for in-state college tuition rates.
"With regards to illegal immigration, of course we build a fence. And of course we do not give instate tuition credits to people who come here illegally," Romney said at a Sept. 12, 2011 debate in Florida. "That only attracts people to come here and take advantage of America's great beneficence."
At a following debate, Romney stated, "I've got be honest with you, I don't see how it is that a state like Texas -- to go to the University of Texas, if you're an illegal alien, you get an in-state tuition discount. You know how much that is? That's $22,000 a year."
More from Romney: "That kind of magnet draws people into this country to get that education, to get the $100,000 break. It makes no sense."
And after Gingrich began to see his poll numbers climb in the fall of 2011, Romney knocked Gingrich's call to give illegal immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for years a chance to gain residency status.
"To say that we're going to say to the people who have come here illegally that now you're all going to get to stay or some large number are going to get to stay and become permanent residents of the United States, that will only encourage more people to do the same thing," Romney said at a Nov. 2011 debate.
"People respond to incentives. And if you can become a permanent resident of the United States by coming here illegally, you'll do so. What I want to do is bring people into this country legally, particularly those that have education and skill that allows us to compete globally."
Leave a Comment:
Mitt Romney is a wealthy Mormon puppet. Who knows if he is really going to help the illegal immigrants? All we know is that he is pro-Money. To get a better understanding of the cult that produced Mitt Romney and to get your socks scared off read The Assassination of Spiro Agnew, available at: www.amazon.com
It dramatizes the Mormons' anti-federal government temperament and demonstrates how their superiority complex manifests as racism, sexism, and jingoism on the ground.
It also shows the similarities between Islam and Mormonism and reveals the secrets of Mormon Mind Control.
Consider this review:
“With a clarity of language and vision unsurpassed in contemporary American prose, Steven Janiszewski's Assassination of Spiro Agnew takes us into a U.S. mazed with madness and Mormonism and all things Utah, a U.S. that was then and still is. Do we need a novel, even as brilliant as this one, about a young man on a divine mission to assassinate the Vice President because he is too liberal? Yes, now more than ever. Readers, welcome to a masterpiece.”
Tom Whalen
www.tomwhalen.com
Everyone should read The Assassination of Spiro Agnew.
Republicans want to elect a Republican as President, enough US representatives to control congress, and enough US senators to control the senate. That is the simple plan, and normal goal. Well, that is the end of normal when discussing the 2012 Republican campaign strategy. To accomplish these ends, it appears to me, that Reince Priebus has hired a mystic to channel PT Barnum to run the Greatest- Election-Show-On-Earth. To be fair, Democrats have the same normal plan with the notable exception that the Democrats are solidly behind their Presidential candidate.
The Republican’s biggest problem is the complete lack of new ideas to get us out of the jobs depression. So they have decided to run on the old ideas that gave us the jobs depression. The old ideas did give us one other thing; an even wealthier 1%, grotesquely wealthier. Over the period of the BUSH 2 Presidency, the Supreme Court was given over to Politicos. Thomas votes the far-right way every time, but never speaks from the bench. A tweaked old adage; it is better to be thought foolish, than to speak and remove all doubt. The Justices put our Democracy up for sale with the Citizens United decision.
That decision has allowed for an absurd level of funding for the Republican political circus. A spectacular show totally eliminates the need for a substance based discussion. It is ironic to me that the Republicans tell the middle class that taxes we must cut even more for the rich, while a small group of these same rich waste hundreds of millions to elect Republican candidates. It defies logic that someone that can give away millions now, could possibly need more tax-cuts that must be funded through cutting meals for school children and the elderly.
Republicans know that scrutiny is their enemy. Romney has a vapor-plan. The vapor is gone before he is finished with his pandering platitudes. When he is pressed by a responsible journalist; he does his circus impression of that great mime, Marcel Marceau. Romney who pays under 15% in federal taxes will start-off his presidency by cutting his taxes even more. Not just his taxes but those of the rest of the 1%. Romney says he is going to cut his own taxes by hundreds of thousands and balance the budget, total vapor. More vapor close loop holes; he won’t name one. Romney reminds me of the guy at the beach selling sunglasses out of the trunk of his car and using a big sign promising a lifetime guarantee.
The grown-ups in the media can expose vapor-man for the fraud he represents; demand a substantive answer to your legitimate questions. Don’t move on, stay still and move your noble profession forward for the American people.
'TR' Rose II,
So...you say vote straight 100% Democrat and rid the Fed govt of all Republicans. Looking at Democrat ideas, you'd raise taxes on the rich and corporations, right? You'd allow anyone into the country, right? Let's see, you'd dismantle the DOD. You'd take down Wall Street too. No drilling for oil, natural gas. And absolutely no coal. No nuclear power. Too dangerous. You'd allow more taxes and funding for solar and wind, right? You'd follow Maxine Waters mantra and "socialize "yo bidnesses". Redistribute any profits to the people, right? You'd have more SS so everyone can retire like the French, right? "Free" health care like all of Europe, right?
Have I got just about all of that right? Marginalize capitalism. Bring on socialism (the OWS mantra).
To me it sounds a lot like what has been done with variations in many countries in modern 20th century history. I would suggest you check out just two of them that did much of what you want for this country and see how they've done economically. There are other similar results with other countries but specifically look at Argentina and Sweden. You might be just a little disappointed.
'TR' Rose II and others of the same political side:
You guys do realize that the big nanny states of Europe have had chronic unemployment that for decades has hovered in the 8 to 10% area. When government spends, has huge "free" (sarcasm intended) programs and people living "comfortably" on the public teat, there's no incentive to work.
So...I find it hugely comical you tout Obama's record of huge govt spending vs negative job creation while unemployment hovers, let's see...(Europe-like!) at 8% and above. Gosh, what a surprise!
Now, if one compares the US vs a combination of the European countries, the two have roughly the same population and GNP. Mort Zuckerman, Editor of US News and World, once observed this of the US vs Europe comparing the two areas: During the 80s to the mid 2000s, the US had a net creation of something like 27 million jobs. By contrast, Europe created about 4 million jobs during the same period.
What does that tell you about big government vs small govt, less taxes vs more taxes and how that affects the economy?
Romney: ‘I’m Running For Office for Pete’s Sake, I Can’t Have Illegals’
By Eric Scheiner
October 19, 2011
Subscribe to Eric Scheiner's posts
(CNSNews.com)- During last night’s Republican presidential debate in Las Vegas, Nev., former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney admitted that a lawn company he had used hired illegal immigrants and that when he found out he told the company it could not have illegal aliens working on his property because he was running for office.
There you go