|
July 27, 2007
 Romney
Should Stop Hispandering, Run On Illegal Immigration Record
By Joe
Guzzardi
Dear God! What in the world was
Mitt Romney doing addressing the
Republican National Hispanic Assembly last week?
(The RNHA is a thirty-three year old front group created
by
George H. W Bush).
There was Romney,
Hispandering to the choir about "Hispanic
family values," and all the other nonsense that
candidates
just can’t help but utter when they mingle with Hispanics.
If you want to see how little influence Romney’s canned
speech had on the sparse crowd, look closely at the photo that
accompanies the AP story linked below.
A guy in the front row is text messaging, a woman at the same
table is digging in
her purse ,possibly looking for her fingernail file, another
older woman in the back has fallen asleep, the man next to her
is eyeballing the door, probably hoping he can bolt out of the
room ASAP.[
Romney Touts Immigration To Hispanics, by Andrew
Miga, Associated Press, July 22, 2007]
Even though Romney has been in and out of politics for
thirteen years and compiled a good record on immigration as
Massachusetts’ governor, he’s slipping backward and falling
into the pandering trap that plagues every candidate—Republican
and Democrat— when it comes to the so-called "Hispanic
vote."
When it comes to politics and immigration, candidate’s heads
are hard.
The pity in Romney’s case is that he started out strongly on
our side. But, as evidenced by his performance at the RNHA,
indications are that Romney is getting—and listening to—bad
advice.
In 1994, Romney lost to
Edward M. Kennedy in the Massachusetts U.S. Senate race. But
in 2002, Romney was elected the state’s governor. Although
immigration wasn’t an issue in either of those campaigns, Romney
learned quickly on the job.
- In 2003, Romney
opposed any and all attempts to give drivers’ licenses
to illegal aliens, threatening to veto any such legislation
if it reached his desk. Romney called the plan to give
aliens licenses would give "…tacit support from our
government that gives an indication of legitimacy." [No
free ride for immigrants, but they'd like licenses to drive,
by Avi Steinberg, The Boston Globe, January 9, 2005]
- In 2002, Romney argued strongly for
English immersion promising, according to his press
secretary, "He will veto anything that weakens or delays
English immersion." The pro-English ballot measure was a
big winner garnering 70 percent of the vote.
This year, once on the campaign trail, Romney came out early
and often as "strongly
opposed" to the McCain-Kennedy Amnesty/ Immigration
Surge bill. He called their proposed legislation "not
the answer."
And earlier, Romney
said:
- "We must reform the current immigration laws so we
can secure our borders, implement a mandatory
biometrically-enabled and tamper-proof documentation and
employment-verification system."
Unfortunately, my enthusiasm for Romney’s perfectly correct
position on illegal immigration has been watered down somewhat
by his call, in
various speeches, for an "increase" in legal
immigration.
Romney’s
endorsement of
more legal immigration brings me to my central thesis about
how—for maximum political gain across the entire spectrum of
voters—Romney should have addressed the Republican NHA,
If Romney wants to be president as badly as he thinks he
does, then he should light a fire under the group by pressing
them on immigration. Talk to
Hispanics openly and honestly about immigration and its
direct impact on them.
At the very least, such an approach would prove to the
general public, and to disaffected Republicans in
particular, that Romney recognizes
the dangers of unchecked immigration.
A bold speech would generate headlines, give
favorably disposed talk show hosts plenty of fodder, and
immeasurably lift Romney’s chances at the big prize.
If I were advising Romney on immigration—and I am available
to do so for a modest fee—here is the speech I would have
written for him to present to the RNHA:
"I know that many of you favor
more immigration into the U.S. Some of you—perhaps the
majority—think that immigrants keep the country vital and
diverse while illegal aliens ‘do
jobs Americans won’t.’
"But I respectfully disagree.
Those ‘jobs Americans won’t do’ may be ones that you might one
day covet. But over-immigration has made it difficult for you to
get and keep any kind of job, especially a well-paying one. Your
wages have stagnated because of excessive immigration.
"Your children cannot get an adequate education because
schools are crowded with
non-English speaking students that require special
attention—attention that should be going to your child. You want
the American dream to come true for your children. But it only
becomes more elusive as the immigration wave continues.
"America’s
health care system is overburdened. If you have insurance,
your premiums are higher every year. You pay more because
they—illegal aliens—pay nothing. Too many uninsured immigrants
have forced
emergency clinics all over the country to close.
"Many of you no doubt felt
that the McCain-Kennedy bill that would have provided amnesty to
as many as 20 million should have passed. But again I
respectfully disagree. Twenty years ago, our
great American president Ronald Reagan said that the
1986 amnesty was a
one-time forgiveness to illegal immigrants. I do not intend
to break President Reagan’s promise to Americans.
"While my position on
immigration is firm, my mind remains open. If any of you in the
audience can give me specific examples of how your lives are
improved by increased immigration, I will take them into
consideration.
"Or if any of you can provide
me with tangible reasons why America should go back on the word
of President Reagan, then please tell me."
Needless to say, it’s unlikely that Romney would give a
speech even remotely resembling this one.
But it would represent no more than a modest gamble on his
part.
Romney doesn’t carry the extremist label that has
unfairly been attached to
Congressman Tom Tancredo…All the easier for him for him to
pull this speech off.
And if Romney thinks that the country isn’t ready for some
refreshing straight talk about immigration and its consequences,
then he should look at the
disaster that is
John McCain’s campaign.
McCain’s unbending
endorsement of amnesty and unchecked illegal immigration
have moved him from the front of the Republican pack to the
back of it.
Romney has a chance. But to make the most of it, he should
run on his strong record on illegal aliens as Massachusetts’
governor.
Throw this
"family values" stuff into the wastebasket.
Joe Guzzardi [e-mail
him] is the Editor of VDARE.COM Letters to the Editor.
In addition, he is an English teacher at the Lodi Adult School and has
been writing
a weekly newspaper column since 1988. This column is exclusive
to
VDARE.COM. |
