Thread: McCain unloads on Romney, Mitt's camp punches back

Sen. John McCain used a blogger conference call today to unleash his toughest -- and most personal -- attack yet on former Gov. Mitt Romney.

Per a McCain aide, one of the bloggers asked about the immigration issue and Romney's attack on the compromise.

"Maybe I should wait a couple of weeks and see if it changes because its changed in less than a year from his position before," McCain responded, referring to his rival's immigration stance. "And maybe his solution will be to get out his small varmint gun and drive those Guatemalans off his lawn."

McCain's reference to "Guatemalans" was an allusion to the Boston Globe story from late last year that reported Romney used illegal immigrants from that country to do work on his lawn.

Asked to respond, Romney spokesman Kevin Madden counter-punched on the controversial topic.

"It seems that certain candidates who brokered this flawed plan are having a very difficult time grappling with or coming to terms with the political fallout that has ensued in a substantive manner," Madden said.

Romney, Madden stated, "has been very clear that he opposes this immigration agreement."

UPDATE: The McCain campaign provided audio of the immigration question that was posed by the New York Sun's Ryan Sager. I've cleaned up the original quote to match the exact language McCain used. Note the little laugh McCain adds at the end of his jab to try to lessen the sting -- or at least make it seem less "attack-like."

A McCain aide said they knew immigration would come up, but that the exact line was "not pre-canned."

Also, as Sager notes on his blog, McCain took a small swipe at Fred Thompson, too. "I'm a little disappointed in Fred because again he had a very different position not that long ago," McCain said.




http://www.politico.com

Mitt Romney is WAY ahead of McCain in Iowa.

Monday, May 21, 2007 9:05 p.m. EDT
McCain's Nuts Again: Target Romney


Republican John McCain accused presidential rival Mitt Romney of flip-flopping on immigration Monday and said with sarcasm: "Maybe his solution will be to get out his small varmint gun and drive those Guatemalans off his lawn."

Romney's campaign said the Arizona senator's remarks showed a candidate on the ropes over a politically volatile issue.

The immigration spat comes as GOP presidential race turns increasingly contentious and as former Massachusetts Gov. Romney shows signs of gaining steam in Iowa and New Hampshire, two early primary-season states.

After months of behind-the-scenes aggression between the two campaigns, McCain and Romney openly sparred last week during a debate at the University of South Carolina.

In a conference call with bloggers Monday, McCain turned up the heat when he took Romney to task for opposing Senate immigration legislation.

McCain is a co-sponsor of the measure that would meld stronger border security with a guest-worker program and an eventual path to citizenship for many of the 12 million immigrants in the country illegally. Neither the measure nor McCain's backing of it sits well with hard-line conservatives. ADVERTISEMENT

Romney, who has sought to position himself to the right of McCain on this and other issues, says he opposes the measure because it would allow virtually every illegal immigrant to remain indefinitely, and, thus, "is a form of amnesty."

A year ago, he sounded more open to some illegal immigrants gaining legal status, telling a New Hampshire newspaper: "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."

McCain made his comments after he was asked his opinion about GOP rivals opposing the Senate measure.

Referring to Romney's stance, McCain said: "Maybe I should wait a couple of weeks and see if it changes because it's changed in less than a year from his position before."

Then, with a chuckle, he made his cutting quip that referenced two embarrassing episodes for Romney in the past six months.

Romney has faced criticism for calling himself a lifelong hunter even though he joined the National Rifle Association in August and officials in four states where he has lived said he never took out a hunting license. Defending himself, he said in April, "I've always been a rodent and rabbit hunter, small varmints, if you will."

Also, The Boston Globe reported late last year that several illegal immigrants, including at least one from Guatemala, worked at the lawn care company that worked on Romney's two-and-a-half acre property in a Boston suburb for a decade. His aides have said that Romney was not aware of the workers' status, and that the owner was in the country legally.

Romney spokesman Kevin Madden said his boss' opposition to the immigration measure has been clear. Madden also counter-punched McCain, saying: "It seems that certain candidates who brokered this flawed plan are having a very difficult time grappling with or coming to terms with the political fallout that has ensued in a substantive manner."

McCain also criticized former Sen. Fred Thompson, who is considering running for president, for opposing the immigration measure but didn't get nearly as personal as he did with Romney.

"I was a little disappointed in Fred because, again, he had a different position not that long ago," McCain said. "But since he's not a declared candidate, I think that Fred will be able to articulate his position."

In a statement last week, Thompson said: "We should scrap this bill and the whole debate until we can convince the American people that we have secured the borders or at least have made great headway."

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2007 ... 0623.shtml

Mccain and all the rest of them who think Illegal Immigration is not going to be a main issue of the "08 elections" are dillusional.
If Mccain cannot see that his poll numbers are a direct result in his support of amnesty then I believe he just plain stupuid!

Note to all canidates running for any office of government:
A VOTE FOR AMNESTY OF ANY KIND WILL RESULT IN A LOSS OF ANY OFFICE YOU ARE SEEKING!!!

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McCain takes shot at Romney on immigration
Story Highlights• John McCain accuses Mitt Romney of changing positions on immigration
• GOP presidential hopeful needles his rival Romney over "varmint" remark
• Romney campaign says McCain having trouble defending immigration bill


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Republican presidential hopeful John McCain taunted rival Mitt Romney on immigration Monday, saying the former Massachusetts governor should "get out his small-varmint gun and drive those Guatemalans off his lawn."

Romney's campaign responded that McCain "is having a very difficult time" defending his support of a sweeping immigration bill, which Romney opposes.

McCain is a leading backer of the bill, which critics have denounced as "amnesty" for illegal immigrants. (Listen to McCain mock Romney's position on immigration)

On Monday afternoon, McCain made fun of Romney's evolving positions on other issues when asked about the immigration controversy during a conference call with bloggers.

"In the case of Gov. Romney, you know, maybe I should wait a couple of weeks and see if it changes, because it's changed in less than a year from his position before," McCain said. "And maybe his solution will be to get out his small-varmint gun and drive those Guatemalans off his lawn. I don't know."

The jab squeezed in references to two past controversies: Romney's backtrack on an April comment that he'd "been a hunter pretty much all my life" -- he later said he had shot "varmints," such as rabbits, as a child; and a 2006 report in The Boston Globe that a landscaping firm Romney hired to maintain his home for years had hired illegal immigrants.

McCain repeated the line to reporters Monday evening after a speech to state lawmakers in Oklahoma.

Romney has been criticized for previous support of abortion rights, which he now says he opposes, and for his support of gun control during his four years as Massachusetts governor.

But his spokesman, Kevin Madden, said that Romney "has been very clear that he opposes this immigration agreement, which clearly falls short of the American public's expectations."

"It seems that the candidate who brokered this flawed plan is having a very difficult time coming to terms with the political fallout that has ensued and cannot even muster up a substantive argument in favor of it," Madden said.

McCain's support for the immigration bill already has led to a sharp exchange last week between the senator from Arizona and his Texas GOP colleague, Sen. John Cornyn. (Watch the fallout over McCain's reported exchange with Cornyn)

Cornyn was speaking outside the Senate chamber with other senators and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff about concerns that the proposed legislation could lead to judicial appeals that would tie up the courts, as first reported Friday on Washingtonpost.com.

Another senator present called that concern "chicken----."

Sources contradict each other on which senator used the word. Cornyn became angry and said that while he had been present during the meetings held over the past few months by the bipartisan working group that crafted the bill, McCain had appeared only at the last minute.

Sources said that comment elicited a "F--- you!" from the gentleman from Arizona.

McCain admitted after the 2000 Republican primary campaign that his temper might have hurt his chances to be president.

"My anger did not help my campaign," he said seven years ago. "People don't like angry candidates very much."

Republican strategist Ed Rollins said Tuesday that incidents such as these diminish McCain's appeal to voters who don't know him.

"The bottom line is, I've known John for a long time and I admire him greatly," Rollins said. "But the critical thing is people who don't know him watch him and they don't know if he has the right temper to be president of the United States. Every time he makes a mistake in the campaign, this clip and every clip will be repeated so it's a whole reel of him going out of control.

"When the pressure gets on, he tends to get his back up a little bit," Rollins said. "He's 70 years old. People don't want a cantankerous president."

CNN's Lauren Kornreich contributed to this report.








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