Michigan Crowd Boos McCain on Illegal Immigration
Michigan Crowd Boos McCain on Illegal Immigration
By Pete Winn
CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer
January 14, 2008
Detroit (CNSNews.com) - Sen. John McCain of Arizona, winner of last Tuesday's New Hampshire primary, drew cheers and jeers from an audience of over 500 conservative activists in Michigan over the weekend.
Just days ahead of the Michigan primary, McCain was one of three Republican presidential hopefuls, including former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Rep. Duncan Hunter of California, to visit the Americans for Prosperity Summit held Saturday in the Detroit suburb of Livonia.
McCain was alternately cheered and jeered by the vocal, pro-growth, "limit-the-government" activist crowd. He was cheered for his military service and for his pledges to maintain a strong defense, to cut taxes and to veto earmarks, but he was booed for his stances on immigration and the environment.
McCain's signature lines such as, "We need to send Washington a message: 'No earmarks -- not 10,000, not one. Zero!" drew thunderous applause, McCain's attempt to bring "a little straight talk" about Michigan's flagging economy seemed to fall flat.
Globalism, he told the audience, is not going away. "Some jobs that have left Michigan aren't coming back, and the answer is not to create false hopes that we can bring back lost jobs -- but to create new ones," McCain said, to a stony silence.
McCain, who engaged the audience in a lengthy Q&A period, drew howls of protest and boos when he expressed support for allowing most illegal aliens to stay in the United States and when he opposed against any form of protectionism.
The Arizona Republican even promised one vocal detractor in the audience, John A. Hillman of Livonia, Mich., he would personally phone him and answer his questions as soon as he got back on his campaign bus.
Hillman, a car salesman, told Cybercast News Service he hopes McCain does call.
"Look we don't necessarily need protectionism for the American automobile industry, but it would be nice if we were on a level playing field, which we've never been on," Hillman said after the speech.
Romney: 'Send a Message to Washington'
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the man some polls place in a dead heat with McCain in Michigan, had an easier time of it when he appeared on the stage more than an hour before McCain did.
Saying that the Michigan primary "is personal," Romney pledged to end his birthplace's "one-state recession."
Romney played up his roots in Michigan by mentioning his father, the popular three-term Gov. George Romney - and making numerous references to cars.
Saying that Detroit "used to make fine cars," he noted that his children recently gave him a car for his 60th birthday.
"You could imagine this was pretty exciting. I thought, 'Maybe (it will be) a new Mustang, or Corvette, or a Viper.' I went out to the driveway, and it was a 1962 Rambler American," Romney said.
1962 was the year his father left his job as president of American Motors to become governor. Romney told the story to make a point: "Cars have gotten better over the years, and just like everything else in the private sector - you either change or your competitor changes and comes up with something better, and puts you out of business," he said.
Romney promised as president to try to level the playing field to help Michigan's beleaguered auto industry. He also reiterated his call for the removal of any tax on savings for everyone making $200,000 or less.
While no one booed Romney (who finished second to McCain in New Hampshire), Bill Dennahay of Livingston County, Mich., questions whether Romney truly understands just how serious Michigan's economic plight really is.
"Let me tell you, here in Michigan, the last thing you want to talk about is what you may get, because we're all talking about what we don't have," Dennahay told Cybercast News Service, referring to Romney's Rambler story.
Neither former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee nor Rep. Ron Paul attended the Michigan event, although their supporters were there. Voters, meanwhile, get a chance to speak at the ballot box on Tuesday, Jan. 15
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp ... 0114b.html
