Thread: Mitt Romney's Son Chokes Up Over Family's Immigrant Past

Mitt Romney's Son Chokes Up Over Family's Immigrant Past

By AMY BINGHAM (@Amy_Bingham)
Aug. 30, 2012

Mitt Romney's son Craig choked up tonight when he recounted for the Republican National Convention how his grandparents immigrated from Mexico to live the American dream.

"It's easy to forget that the story of my father's success begins with the story of two immigrants - my grandfathers - who came to this country with little more than hope in the opportunity of America," he said.

Craig Romney's heartfelt story of his family's immigrant roots was among more than half a dozen convention speakers who highlighted their immigrant backgrounds, but it has created what one expert describes as an "awkward dance" because of the GOP's reputation for being hostile to immigration.

South Dakota Sen. John Thune told of his Norwegian grandfather immigrating through Ellis Island and changing his name along the way. Former GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum recounted how his father immigrated "from the mountains of northern Italy, on a ship named Providence."

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul told of his great grandfather who arrived penniless to live the "American Dream," and also cited struggles and triumphs of friends -- a Cambodian family in Kentucky and Vietnamese brothers who arrived on a "leaky boat."

Utah House candidate Mia Love had only two minutes to speak, but managed to mention her parents immigrating from Haiti "with $10 in their pocket."

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley's said she is the "proud daughter of Indian immigrants," while Texas Senate candidate Ted Cruz told a "love story of freedom" about his Irish-Italian working-class mom and his Cuban refugee dad.

Craig Romney speaks about his father Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney at the Republican National Convention at the Tampa Bay Times Forum, Aug. 30, 2012 in Tampa, Florida.

"They made a good effort at trying to have their stage build bridges to those communities they are trying to reach out to," said Clarissa Martinez, director of civic engagement and immigration at the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic advocacy group.

"While they simultaneously were doing that, they were unveiling a Republican platform that in many ways detracts from what they were doing on the stage... There is a little bit of a mixed signal or a mixed message being sent here," Martinez said.

She said the convention speeches "up the ante" on Romney to clarify where he stands on immigration.

"Is he the candidate that the Republican platform would convey or is he the candidate that some of the speakers on that stage that would represent," Martinez said.

The official party platform is seen as unfriendly to immigration, although it is specifically tailored to illegal immigration. It supports self-deportation, encouraging "illegal aliens to return home voluntarily" by making it nearly impossible to support themselves in America.

It calls for building a "double-layer fence" along the U.S.-Mexico border, implementing a nationwide E-Verify system to prevent undocumented workers from being hired and making English the official language.

The GOP opposes "any form of amnesty" and supports denying federal funding to universities that, as the platform says, "provide instate tuition rates to illegal aliens, in open defiance of federal law."

"It's a really kind of an awkward dance," said Stephen Nuno, an expert on minority political participation and assistant politics professor at Northern Arizona University. "You can't on the one hand say we love these people, we love this story, we love the character this story creates and builds, but we are going to do everything we can to discourage more people from immigrating like this again. And if they are here we are going to make life so miserable that they want to leave."

Latinos are overwhelmingly voting Democratic. Only 23 percent of Hispanics said they are supporting Romney this year in a NBC/Wall Street Journal/Telemundo poll released last week.

Rep. Mario Diaz Balart, R-Fla., said Republicans' problem with Hispanic voters is not about policy, it's about rhetoric.

"Unfortunately we have had some people… who frankly made it an issue to stir up their electoral base. They used some language that was very damaging, very painful," Balart said Wednesday at an ABC/Univision/National Journal breakfast.

Craig Romney One of Many Convention Speakers to Cite Immigrant History - ABC News

http://www.alipac.us/f12/drug-cartel...into-u-263351/

Craig Romney's heartfelt story of his family's immigrant roots was among more than half a dozen convention speakers who highlighted their immigrant backgrounds, but it has created what one expert describes as an "awkward dance" because of the GOP's reputation for being hostile to (ILLEGAL) immigration.

The bold is mine... as always the LSM left out the most important word...ILLEGAL. "Awkward dance"... BS! It's only "awkward" if you condone lawbreakers, there's nothing "awkward" about following the letter of the law like Americans are expected to do. It's only "awkward" if you think you are above our laws... and then get caught!

I told you he for the Illegal immigrants ? I don't like him at all he is another Obama watch out for him
No amnesty Or Dream act

I didn't see his son get "choked up", but I felt like choking Romney after he kept harping on the immigration thing. He immediately latched on to this subject like white on rice and prattled on incessantly about it last night. Was an instant turn off. Made me wonder if he was "speaking in code" to someone out there.

Other than that, the rest of the speech was OK, not anything super inspiring as far as I'm concerned, but I'm jaded and don't get too excited over candidates these days. Still don't trust him, but the alternative squatting in the white house is almost unbearable to me.

Boy are they blowing it. You can expect Obama to take this election. Most everybody I know is refusing to even vote. Nobody is paying attention anymore to the crooks on the TV. It is wasn't for football most of us could do without the damned thing. The GOP will have no one to blame for their loss, I think this will really be the death of the GOP.

Originally Posted by Cujo47

Boy are they blowing it. You can expect Obama to take this election. Most everybody I know is refusing to even vote. Nobody is paying attention anymore to the crooks on the TV. It is wasn't for football most of us could do without the damned thing. The GOP will have no one to blame for their loss, I think this will really be the death of the GOP.

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@ http://www.alipac.us/f12/gop-big-tent-big-mess-263212/

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Craig Romney Speech Courts Latino Voters, Romney's Son Tears Up Discussing Immigrant Grandparents



Huffington Post
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Posted: 08/30/2012


Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's Spanish-speaking son, Craig, gave a pitch for his father to Latino voters on Thursday, becoming emotional when he spoke about his grandfathers who immigrated to the United States.

"It’s easy to forget that the story of my father’s success begins with the story of two immigrants--," he said, becoming emotional. "-- my grandfathers -- who came to this country with little more than hope in the opportunity of America."

His speech, along with a video featuring eight Hispanic Republicans who endorsed Mitt Romney, summarized the Republican Party's message to Latinos this year: that their party is more in line with the community's values.

So far, Romney isn't breaking through among Latino voters, still trailing President Barack Obama by huge margins. But Republicans this week have argued that Latinos are being taken advantage of by a president who doesn't serve them, or, as Ann Romney said Wednesday, are voting based on biases rather than the issues.

"When I think of the Republican party of Lincoln and Reagan, I see a political movement very much in line with values that Latinos share," Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said in the video, which aired ahead of his speech later in the evening.

Seven other prominent Hispanic politicians spoke in the video: New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Idaho), Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, Puerto Rico Gov. Luis Fortuno, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) and Rep. Quico Canseco (R-Texas).

One of their arguments was that the GOP is welcoming to Latinos, the majority of whom voted Democratic in the past and plan to again this year. The politicians pointed out that Hispanic Republicans have done well recently, with three elected governor and one elected to the U.S. Senate. "Our Hispanic-American elected leaders are as diverse as our people," Martinez, who spoke on Wednesday about her switch from Democrat to Republican, said in the video.

"It's not just about 'Sí, se puede,'" Canseco said, referring to Obama's "yes we can" message from 2008.

"It needs to be about 'como se puede,'" Labrador said.

Romney also appears in the video, sticking more to an economic argument and promising not to let Latinos down.

"America's entrepreneurial spirit is alive in the Hispanic community," Romney said. "Millions of Hispanics working hard to achieve a better future for their loved ones: that's the American dream."

Craig Romney promised that Latinos would play a prominent role in a Romney administration and some of those he mentioned were in the video that preceded his speech.

"We’re seeing this story play out in the lives of many other Hispanic Americans who have become leaders in the Republican Party and throughout our nation," he said, concluding his speech. "These leaders, along with Hispanics across the country, will play a vital role in the Romney-Ryan comeback, as we fight to put America back on the path to prosperity."

source: Craig Romney Speech Courts Latino Voters, Romney's Son Tears Up Discussing Immigrant Grandparents

HUFFINGTON POST ARTICLE ADDED TO ALIPAC HOMEPAGE News with amended title ..

http://www.alipac.us/content.php?r=8...Immigrant-Past

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