Posted on 09/24/2011 4:40:14 AM PDT by iowamark
ORLANDO, Fla. — Rick Perry went out on a limb Thursday by refusing to back off his support as Texas governor for granting in-state tuition to some of the children of illegal immigrants, and painting critics of the law as heartless — remarks that landed him in the crosshairs of his GOP rivals.
The three-term Texas governor said he still supports the program "greatly" and that the Lone Star State needs "to be educating these children because otherwise they’ll "become a drag on society."
"If you say that we should not educate children who have come into our state for no other reason than they've been brought there by no fault of their own, I don't think you have a heart," Mr. Perry said.
The stance also put Mr. Perry at odds with a chunk of the audience, which booed, and opened him up to attacks from the Republican field, including former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who said the law carries an annual price tag of $22,000 per student and acts as a magnet for illegal immigrants.
"If you're a United States citizen from any one of the other 49 states, you have to pay $100,000 more," Mr. Romney said, alluding to the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition at the University of Texas over four years. "That doesn't make sense to me. That kind of magnet draws people into this country to get that education, to get the $100,000 break. It makes no sense."
Former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania piled on the criticism and called Mr. Perry "soft on illegal immigration" and alluded to a Perry speech from 2001 at which the Texan extolled the virtue of studying a "binational health insurance" program between border areas of Texas and Mexico...
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
yawn.
once again then, If the state of Texas wants to (by overwelming margins) give all the children (even those who were brought here illegally by their parents, and have lived here for at least the past 3 years a break on tuition rates, then it has the right to do so.
Its cafeteria style conservatism on Freep sometimes...This law I like, this one I don’t.
Texase legislature passed this law. We respect a state’s right to do that. If the texans don’t like that, either complain before the bill gets passed, or send other legislators to Texas state legislature.
The rest of us have no say so in what Texas legally does...That’s exactly the issue in the arizona law..states rights.
It is so easy to have all kinds of heart when you are using other peoples money to have that heart to buy political votes with. My translation of Perry's momentous remark goes something like this: "Yeah, I'm a coward because I don't have to spend one red cent of my own money on these illegal aliens chilren but I sure know how to spend all of yours and your childrens future monies".
I would like to know if Pennsylvania is one of the states that offers in-state tuition to illegals and children of illegals, because both of my Ohio kids go to college there. I’d love to get the in-state break illegals get.
oh and by the way!
70% of those using Romneycare are apparantly illegal aliens!
so take THAT freaking RINO Romney lovers!
As I just posted on another thread...
All he really needed to do is reply:
“As Governor of a state, deportation of the parents isn’t an option. I don’t have the authority to make that decision, and the federal government won’t do it. That leaves me and Texans trying to figure out how to deal with the mess the federal government gave us. We decided that if the parents are allowed to stay per the federal government, and the children they have born here are US citizens per the Constitution, then we might as well make education available to the kids who were born prior to the parent’s arrival.
Maybe some don’t like it, but that is the compromise we had to make in a difficult situation, and I still believe that is right for Texas.”
A reply like that wouldn’t make some folks happy, but it isn’t spitting on us or calling us names.
The problem with Perry wasn’t that he disagrees with some of us on policy, but that he called us names - in a true Democrat politician manner. And if he feels free to spit on us and despise us while asking for our votes, what will he do in DC, surrounded by liberals on every side?
That's what the GOP establishment types at Fox news want.
Now you are sounding like Hilary. It’s for the “children”.
Bingo. And the Perristas know full damn well that's what it's all about. The destruction of our sovereign border with Mexico. Perry is not worthy to be called Governor and as a native born Texan and combat veteran I am ashamed of him and I personally disavow him. His goal is not all that dissimilar to Obamas and that is to harm this great nation but using a different method to do it.
If the state of Texas wants to (by overwelming margins) give all the children who live here a break on tuition rates, then it has the right to do so.
Wrong. The state of texas doesn’t have the authority to give benefits to people who are in their state illegally. The state has the responsibility to arrest them when found and turn them over to ICE. Giving aid to illegals makes them complicit in the illegal act.
In post 26, I explain it in under 30 seconds.
Perry had to know he was going to be asked about it. If he isn’t smart enough to sit down and come up with a polite response that takes 60 seconds or less, then he isn’t bright enough to tie his own shoelaces.
I hope that we’ll be finished with Rick Perry soon. He’s clearly not a conservative.
I’m not a Romney supporter - thanks for the post. Good read.
This is 2011 -- almost 2012.
Gov. Perry and The Texas Dream Act
[snip]
It’s important to point out that there is a huge difference in the Texas Dream Act and the The Dream Act that was pushed in Congress and failed. The Dream Act in Congress was full of all kinds of goodies other than allowing children of illegals to receive in state tuition. The Texas Dream Act was focused only on that. I happen to agree with The Texas Dream Act, and so did everyone in the Senate in Texas. It passed with ZERO “no” votes. Add to that, it has been proven to be successful.
These are a few things you need to know about the [2001] Texas Dream Act. The child has to have lived in Texas the three years leading up to high school graduation. These students are given no special treatment in getting into Texas colleges and universities. They must get in on their own merit. They are paying the tuition (with or without financial aid). It’s estimated that these students make up about 1% of those entering college.
[snip]
Most of us agree that border control MUST be dealt with first. The problem with all other efforts on this issue in the past is that the borders were not sealed. If there is anyone who we can trust to do that it is Gov. Perry (if he decides to run for President). He knows what goes on down at the border. He has gone there many times. He knows what needs to be done. There is no doubt in my mind that if he were President, he would seal our borders. But Perry also understands Hispanic outreach.
[snip]
Politicians either “get it” regarding illegal immigration, or they don’t get it. If you get it, then you know that every move you make to “help” illegals just draws more of them to the country. If you want to give illegals a free ride on education, if you’re against a the wall, believe me, it was understood and very well publicized south of the border (and north too, in the communities that count).
I’ve been saying that Perry is an Open Borders Republican, and he CLEARLY IS, after his outburst on Tuesday. He also showed something that we in Texas have ALWAYS KNOWN - which is that he is unable to admit a mistake and change position. Whether it’s selling off control of our highways to foreign interests (which he’s still doing, by the way), or the HPV vaccine, or his Dream Act (and no, he never said he was wrong pushing the HPV, he only said that he should have mandated it through the legislature, rather than by executive order).
It’s looking like he’s had his day, and will follow the Richard Roirden route. Riorden (sp.) was a good mayor in Los Angeles, but then he decided to run for governor as a Republican. He was so sure that he had it in the bag that he started lecturing Republican PRIMARY voters about how he planned to change the party to make it “more inclusive” regarding gays and similar types. His campaign for governor ended that day.
I live in Texas, not far from the Louisiana state line. If a student from that state wants to go to the local college here, he or she pays out of state tuition, but if that student is from Mexico, they pay in-state. And no matter how you slice it or try to defend it, it is just plain unfair for taxpayers to finance non-citizens. No wonder we have so many illegals. We keep offering them incentives to come here. This is one of those incentives. Perry said if you didn’t agree you had no heart. I say if you do agree you have no head.
“It didn’t matter if Perry vetoed the bill.It passed in the legislature with enough votes to be overridden if Perry did veto it.It was a catch 22 situation. Damned if you do,damned if you don’t.”
Actually, he’d still be the Republican favorite for 2012 if he had vetoed it. Now he’s a has-been.
My translation of Perry's momentous remark: "Yeah, I'm a coward because I don't have to spend one red cent of my own money on illegal aliens' children, but I sure know how to spend all of yours and your children's future monies". It is easy to have "heart" when you are using other people's money to buy political votes.
Nails it---Americans are sick and tired of vote-crazed pols extorting tax dollars to giveaway to favored voting blocs.
As one FReeper insightfully posted: "I just hate a politician with his heart in the right place."
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