In Georgia, Romney hits Giuliani on immigration
Aug 15, 2007
The Associated Press - ATLANTA

Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, making a stop in Georgia on Wednesday, continued to attack GOP rival Rudolph Giuliani for being soft on immigration.

Romney said Giuliani allowed New York City to remain a sanctuary for illegal immigrants when he was mayor. He said such cities are "magnets" for illegal immigrants.

"I don't know why Mayor Giuliani just won't say he made a mistake and that he's changing his mind," Romney said.

The Giuliani camp has fired back that as governor of Massachusetts Romney didn't punish sanctuary cities in the state. Romney said Wednesday that wasn't a fair comparison.

"I'm not critical of (New York Gov. George) Pataki for not cracking down on Mayor Giuliani," he said.

"Had I been a mayor I would not have been a sanctuary mayor."

Immigration has been a hot topic in Georgia, where last year Gov. Sonny Perdue signed a tough new state law that cuts off benefits for adults in the country illegally and also cracks down on the employers who hire them.

Romney's stop in the Peach State on Wednesday took him to The Varsity, a popular Atlanta eatery famous for its chili dogs. Several hundred supporters packed into a room to hear Romney deliver a stump speech in which he warned of the consequences if the country moves to the left in 2008.

"It will be out with Adam Smith and in with Karl Marx," he said.

"Are we going to turn to the left to the policies represented by Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards?"

Speaking briefly to reporters afterward, Romney ducked specific questions about his investments. A report in the Boston Herald noted that Romney's blind trust contained investments in two biomedical companies involved in stem cell research, a touchy topic with social conservatives.

"I did not direct any of my investments nor did I know of those investments" Romney said.

"The trustee of the blind trust has said publicly that he will endeavor to make my investments conform to my positions and I have confidence that he will do that well."

Romney did not say whether the holdings in Novo Nordisk and Millipore would be sold. Both companies engage in embryonic stem cell research. Many conservatives oppose the research because they say it destroys viable embryos.

Romney has said that his education on the issue of stem cell research prompted his decision to change course and oppose abortion. But on the issue of stem cells he has staked out a more nuanced position, saying that he approved the research if it involved embryos from fertility clinics that would otherwise be destroyed.

Novo Nordisk reported on its website that it uses only those spare embryos from fertility treatments.

Romney owns between $100,000 and $250,000 worth of stock in Novo Nordisk, a Denmark-based company, the Boston Herald reported.

Romney is by far the wealthiest of the presidential candidates. He and his wife Ann have assets worth between $190 million and $250 million, advisers say. Their vast holdings have been held in a blind trust since he was elected governor in 2002.

http://www.accessnorthga.com/news/ap_ne ... p?ID=96377