Thread: Newt Gingrich Courts Hispanic Voters

Newt Gingrich
Newt Gingrich Courts Hispanic Voters
By Michael Scherer Saturday, May 14, 2011 | 35 Comments

Hispanics are not a typical target demographic for Republicans seeking a presidential nomination. Rather, since at least 2007, GOP candidates tend to jump all over each other to prove that they will take a tougher, no-amnesty line on immigration. But Newt Gingrich is breaking from the pack.

In a symbolic move, Gingrich has granted one of his first post-announcement interviews to Jorge Ramos, the anchor of Noticiero Univision and the national Spanish-language Sunday program, Al Punto. In the interview, Gingrich expresses support for a version of the DREAM Act and speaks of creating a system that would provide a path to legality for many of the nation’s 11 million undocumented immigrants. Univision provided TIME with an advance transcript of the interview, set for broadcast Sunday. Here is the key excerpt:

JR: MR GINGRICH, TALKING ABOUT IMMIGRATION AND THE HISPANIC VOTE, OBVIOUSLY YOU NEED LATINOS TO WIN THE WHITE HOUSE. THERE’S NO OTHER WAY. YOU HAVE EVEN…

NG: Absolutely…

JR: … SET UP THE AMERICANO.COM. HOWEVER, YOU ARE NOT MOVING AN INCH ON IMMIGRATION. FOR INSTANCE, DO YOU SUPPORT THE DREAM ACT?

NG: I think the Dream Act, if it were amended, could be passed and I think candidly that the Democrats last year wanted the issue, more than they wanted the legislation. If they had been willing to allow amendments in the Senate, they could have passed the Dream Act last year. And I think it was a deliberate, cynical political ploy not to allow those amendments to come up. And I think, this is exactly what’s wrong with where the President is taking us on immigration. His recent speech in El Paso was a campaign speech, it wasn’t a presidential speech. Now, you may not agree with me but let me at least say

JR: SURE…

NG: …the following. I’ve worked on immigration since 1986 and in the late 1990′s as Speaker, I helped save hundreds of thousands of Central Americans from being deported and we amended the law and we made sure that they could achieve residency in the United States…

JR: OF COURSE, WITH THE TPS…

NG: …particularly Nicaraguans and Hondurans and El Salvadorians. So I’ve been at this a long time. I don’t think you can pass a comprehensive bill. President Bush couldn’t pass a comprehensive bill, when Barack Obama had a Democratic House and a Democratic Senate he couldn’t pass a comprehensive bill, but I think you could step by step pass a series of bills and achieve remarkable progress in the next three or four years. It’s very disappointing to see the immigration reduced to a political game. We have an absolute obligation to find a way to get America to be a country in which everyone who is here is here legally and I think we’ve got to have a much different conversation than the El Paso speech.

JR: MR. GINGRICH, YOU ARE TALKING STEP BY STEP. EXACTLY WHAT DO YOU MEAN? WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH THE 11 MILLION UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS IN THIS COUNTRY? YOU ARE NOT FOR IMMIGRATION REFORM, I MEAN; YOU WILL NOT FAVOR LEGALIZING 11 MILLION PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY.

NG: I would favor finding steps that determine who is clearly going to remain in the United States and I think you got to start from that point

JR: BUT HOW CAN WE DO IT?

NG: First, somebody who’s been here 20 years, somebody who’s been here 20 years and is married and has three kids and has been paying taxes and lived a totally peaceful life and is a citizen – but by the way they came here 20 years ago outside the law. We got to find the way to routinize and get them in the law without necessarily getting them on a path to citizenship. Now there ought to be a way to do that. And one of the things I’m looking at, and this may come as a surprise to you, is in World War II we had a selective service board where every local community could apply common sense to the draft process. We may want to think about a citizen board that can actually look at things and decide, is this a person that came in two months ago and doesn’t nearly have any ties here? Or is this a person who clearly is integrated into the society but unfortunately has been undocumented, therefore, we have to rethink how we are approaching them.

In previous interviews, Gingrich has spoken about giving undocumented immigrants a legal status short of citizenship, that would allow them to stay in the country. He has said he opposes comprehensive immigration reform, which he sees as a political tactic by Democrats. “What I’m opposed to is the federal level passage of a single bill that pretends it does all the right things, but is actually designed to ensure that millions of people get to be American citizens in hopes that they will vote Democrat, which I think is the Obama plot,â€

"What a stupid name "Newt"

Who wants a president named Newt?

Buh Bye Newt, even if every hispanic voted for you, you wouldn't win. That is, unless you bus illegal aliens and non-voters to multiple locations to vote again and again.

I’ve worked on immigration since 1986 and in the late 1990′s as Speaker, I helped save hundreds of thousands of Central Americans from being deported and we amended the law and we made sure that they could achieve residency in the United States…

Newt Gingrich supports AMNESTY for illegal aliens.

W

Newt sounded silly on meet the press. He is triangulating like hell.

Newt is going to do what ever he can to get votes.He dont stand a chance in hell of winning.He wont carry his home state of Georgia.

GA is no longer his home state. He lives in Virginia and they can keep him.

He makes GWB look like a good solid conservative, and I believe that GWB is a traitor.

Why do Republicans give Newt any ground? Don't get me wrong - I worked on his campaigns in the 80's & 90's and supported him financially. Now, I wouldn't go out in my backyard to hear him speak and turn the station off if he is on.

He's a RINO globalist.

Doesn't surprise me in the least. Really, other than Jan Brewer, who else is on our side in politics these days?

Step by step the shadow government is maneuvering Newtonto into the nomination. That way they'll have a pro amnesty man on both tickets just like last time.

Newt Gingrich supports AMNESTY for illegal aliens.

we're watching.......

Dear President Obama, Mr. Holder, Ms. Napolitano, Illegal Immigrants, Ms Pelosi, and many in our Congress, DOJ, Legislation, and Representatives across the United States,

Thank You ALL for helping to open the eyes of the American Citizen to see and understand what is going on in the United States today.

For well over 200 years, Americans have known that Our Leaders, Our Country, Constitution, Rights, Laws, and programs were put into place to protect and benefit America and American Citizens-- and prohibit the protection, support, and rights of foreign peoples sneaking inside our borders to take advantage of America and American Citizens. And that Illegal means ILLEGAL….NOT RACE or RACISM!

Thanks to your hard work and determination towards helping illegal immigration, Illegal immigrants and their supporters, as well as blowing through our money like air, along with blocking and stopping investigations of some of you by Honorable Senator Grassley, Issa, and others...you have helped us to further realize how grossly Our Constitution, Country, Laws, and American people have-and ARE- being neglected, manipulated, and misled for far too long.

Our Founding Fathers had warned us of you and your kind, and now we are remembering those warnings and acknowledging why OUR CONSTITUTION should forever be protected and respected. Why our leaders should never go UNCHECKED. More and More, We are realizing what we have unknowingly allowed to happen because of you and many others like you, and why now we must stop and never again allow it.

Sadly, your actions—and/or lack of—cause us to realize that you obviously belittle the sacrifice and lives of our Ancestors and troops today. WE proudly fought, and tirelessly fight to protect and secure our Country, way of life, and people from the intrusions and demands of foreign people and/or foreign Countries.
YOU fight for the millions of foreign people who have and are illegally intruding, illegally staying, and causing thousands of deaths and billions of debt to American Citizens. YOU condemn, sue, and mock American Citizens and States for trying to uphold our Constitution and protect our Country and People. YOU support and appease Leaders of foreign Countries and/or their demands for what they want Americans to offer and allow these intruders from their Country.
YOU fight for and invite them and are proud of it. It doesn’t bother you at all that foreign people illegally reap the benefits in which Americans have worked so hard for, sacrificed and died for. It doesn’t faze you a bit, that Millions are here and continue to come with no intention to assimilate to US and are demanding we support and assimilate to them, their needs, culture, language, abuses, crimes against our Country and citizens, disregard, disrespect, and lawlessness. They come here only to benefit themselves, with no intention to honor our Country, Principles, Laws, and/or Citizens.

Today, we are grateful to the majority of our Leaders, Representatives, and illegal immigrants- for the transparency you have provided us through your speeches, behaviors, demonstrations, and actions. (lack of action when it comes to properly securing our borders,enforcing our laws, etc.)

On your behalf, we will help you to relay your message to all Americans. Letting them know that you obviously no longer prioritize your oath or duty to US, nor do you want us to fight for what we’ve been protecting and believing in for over 230 years.

Americans have “sleptâ€