Posted on 12/02/2007 12:10:08 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
New Iowa Leader Criticized by for Indecision on Federal Student Aid.
Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor who backed in-state tuition for the children of illegal immigrants, hedged Sunday on whether illegal immigrants who have gone to school in the United States should become eligible for federal student aid such as Pell grants and subsidized federal student loans.
"I'm not sure that I would support that," Huckabee told ABC News, "it was a different program in Arkansas."
Huckabee's failure to take a clear position on federal student aid while appearing on ABC News' "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" drew swift rebukes from two Republican rivals.
"Gov. Romney does not support providing federal taxpayer-funded student aid intended for legal residents going to illegal immigrants," Romney spokesman Kevin Madden told ABC News. "Mike Huckabee's position [in Arkansas] that taxpayer dollars meant for students who are legal residents should also be made available to illegal immigrants puts him squarely at odds with the American taxpayer."
Echoing a line that Romney used against Huckabee in last week's CNN/YouTube debate, Madden added, "Mike Huckabee needs to understand that it's not his money. It's the taxpayers' money."
Huckabee's indecision on federal student aid was also criticized by the campaign of former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson.
"Children who are born in this country are U.S. citizens and entitled to the privileges of citizenship," said Thompson spokeswoman Karen Hanretty. "Those in our country illegally are not. It's that simple."
Huckabee appeared on "This Week" on the same day that a highly respected poll showed him as the new Republican leader in Iowa.
Huckabee leads the GOP field with 29 percent support, according to a Des Moines Register poll released Sunday. Romney has 24 percent, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has 13 percent, and Thompson has 9 percent. The Iowa Republican Caucuses take place on Jan. 3.
In-state tuition for illegal immigrants was never enacted in Arkansas. But Huckabee's rivals believe that his momentum in Iowa can be stopped once his views on public benefits for the children of illegal immigrants become more widely known.
Asked on "This Week" about his Arkansas record, the former Baptist minister said, "You don't punish a child because a parent committed a crime, or committed a sin, you just don't do it."
Huckabee did not rule out that his principle might extend to the federal level.
He suggested, however, that he might view state and federal benefit questions differently.
"It's the difference between being punished and being rewarded," said Huckabee. ". . . the point in Arkansas was, we had kids who had been in our schools, by law. And to simply shut them out of any additional educational advancement, to me, seemed not only in their worst interests, but ours, as well as the state's."
And so is using hospitals and other medical services without the ability to pay.
Choose your poison.
Either accept no insurance and no “right” to care, or have insurance.
The first way is best, but unlikely in today’s political climate.
No, that’s not a tax, that’s an entitlement, which is the issue.
Remove the entitlements; remove the burden.
More government is NEVER the solution to government.
My response was to your first line -— we obviously agree on the second, and disagree on the third.
We do agree; it’s just that I’m a realist and think we have to change the entitlement mentality for everything (not just healthcare) before we can get government out of our personal lives.
“If we think Bush is terrible on illegal immigration, Huckabee will make us want the Bush days again.”
Yup. Most freepers have had their fill of big-Gubmint “compassionate conservativism” and Huckster comes and wants a double-order biggie size of it.
sw
That I think is the plan, they've already agreed to be a team regardless of who comes in first or second. I can't think of anything worse than a ticket like that.
Not an illegal immigrant child anyway. The children of those who made this country great are fair game though. They can pay ever higher taxes to send illegals to school. The American people never wanted to pay the educational cost of the illegal children. Thanks to our Supreme Court we are forced to. Now, every time someone wants to give more to illegals, they use the excuse that we can't leave these children hanging after we've put them through k-12. What the LL is wrong with these people. It's like a rapist telling a woman "Well, being we've already had sex, you can't ever deny me sex again."
Well I guess we need to let all the prisoners who have children out of jail because we can't punish the poor children because their parents broke the law.
Ping to post #130.
PING TO POST #100 !
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.