Immigration Stance improv: Mitt, Another Dubious Act

[CCUSA]

Immigration stance improv: From Mitt, another dubious act

By Virginia Buckingham
Boston Herald Columnist

Wednesday, March 14, 2007 - Updated: 01:09 PM EST

Add immigration to the long list of hesitations conservatives ought to have about Mitt Romney.

What he thinks ought to be done about the millions of illegal immigrants already in the country depends on whether you asked him POC (pre-official candidacy) or AOC (after-official candidacy).

Back in 1994, when the U.S. Senate, not the Oval Office, was in Romney’s sights, he said in those now infamous (on YouTube anyway) debates with Sen. Edward Kennedy: “I do not believe that we should deny all services to people who come here from across the border.”

And more recently, but still POC, Romney told the Lowell Sun in March 2006, “I don’t believe in rounding up 11 million people and forcing them at gunpoint from our country. With these 11 million people, let’s have them registered, know who they are. Those who’ve been arrested or convicted of crimes shouldn’t be here; those that are here paying taxes and not taking government benefits should begin a process toward application for citizenship, as they would from their home country.”



Now, given the immigration sweep fiasco which just took place in Romney’s home state (where mothers were among those rounded up from a New Bedford factory while children were left without adequate care) the former governor’s position of March 2006 was positively prescient. Whatever your views of immigration and border control, the impracticality of prying illegal immigrants who are already here (and whose children are citizens by virtue of their birth on American soil) out of our communities (and our economy) is obvious.

Equally obvious to Romney, though, was the need to conservativize (I know that’s not a word, but it should be) his credentials on immigration. He couldn’t very well run as the GOP’s alternative to Sen. John McCain if his position on illegal immigration were virtually identical, now could he?

Enter AOC Romney. In February on “This Week,” George Stephanopoulos asked Romney whether illegal immigrants should have a path to citizenship. The answer? “No.”

Then at the Conservative Political Action Annual Conference earlier this month, Romney denounced McCain’s plan as a taxpayer giveaway that amounts to amnesty.

“McCain-Kennedy isn’t the answer,” he said.

So what is?

Well, Romney’s common-sense positions against granting in-state tuition rates and driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, he says, will offer insight to his approach. He’s right on those two policies, but relatively minor legislative skirmishes shed little light on the reality of what to do about the workers at Michael Bianco Inc., their families and the millions like them elsewhere in the U.S.

But the most galling part of Romney’s immigration pandering is that he may advocate an end to citizenship for the children of illegals born on American soil.

“It’s something which I’m looking at,” he told Stephanopoulos. “I think it’s an important and valid topic.”

Immigration stance improv: From Mitt, another dubious act
[continued from previous page]

Really? Then why didn’t Romney bring it up earlier this week when he addressed Miami-Dade Republicans in Florida? “As president, I will stand side-by-side with the members of this community in fighting the menace of the Cuban monsters,” Romney said, according to published reports. But he said not a word about the “menace” of illegal immigration. That wouldn’t be because of Florida’s influential Hispanic voting bloc, would it?

“He’s going to have problems in South Florida,” said Miami-Dade County Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz.

According to recent polls, Romney’s having problems everywhere. The reason is obvious. On taxes, abortion, gay rights and now immigration, Romney’s switch in positions POC to AOC have made his credibility DOA.


http://news.bostonherald.com/columnists ... eid=188374

[CCUSA]

Romney is ticking off both sides of the fence!

[Richard]

The article on the internet that claimed to be in the Lowell Sun that Virginia Buckingham is referring to was a disinformation piece. When I went and I checked out the Lowell Sun newspaper what I found was that the article did not appear in there. So I phoned them up and they said that it did not exist.

The area where Mitt Romney can draw a legitimate coomplaint is his advocacy for automatic green cards for any foreign graduate student with a degree from an American university.

[Cindy]

The Mormon church wants illegal invaders in America, so it is a sure bet that Mitt will continue the Bush amnesty if he is elected.