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Romney: A Conservative on Immigration? - record doesn’t reflect his current campaign stances
National Review Online ^ | February 24, 2012 | Steve Baldwin & Deroy Murdock

Posted on 02/24/2012 2:04:35 PM PST by Cincinatus' Wife

One of the biggest myths of the 2012 presidential campaign, propagated by Team Romney and the mainstream media, is that Willard Mitt Romney is a hard-liner on immigration issues. One easily could reach that conclusion if Romney were judged on his speeches, press releases, and sound bites.

However, as all conservatives should know, it is foolish to predict how a politician will govern based on campaign rhetoric. The more reliable way to determine a candidate‘s position is to review his actual record.

It is clear the Romney campaign, beginning with his 2008 bid, decided to use immigration as one of the few hooks it had to lure conservatives to its camp. With Romney’s dismal record on fiscal and social issues, his consultants must have concluded that with so little said about immigration by Romney while governor, they could get away with creating a phony record.

Indeed, if one digs deeply, a disturbing pattern emerges. Romney’s “hard-line” positions on immigration suddenly arose as he began thinking of running for president in 2006. Moreover, his current views on immigration usually contradict what he actually said and did as governor. It appears that Romney’s immigration positions have been created solely for his presidential run or were based upon events that simply never occurred.

(Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Editorial; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: aliens; bordercontrol; borderwars; illegals; immigration; romney2012
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1 posted on 02/24/2012 2:04:46 PM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Cincinatus' Wife; All

Newt.org = The Candidate of Substance & Real Solutions!

2 posted on 02/24/2012 2:16:28 PM PST by onyx (SUPPORT FREE REPUBLIC, DONATE MONTHLY. If you want on Sarah Palin's Ping List, let me know.)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Besides his religion Romney has changed his stance on everything at one point or another, usually to get elected.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he was a girl at birth and switched on that one too.


3 posted on 02/24/2012 2:16:28 PM PST by Joe Boucher ((FUBO) Hey Mitt, F-you too pal)
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To: Joe Boucher

LOL.


4 posted on 02/24/2012 2:17:54 PM PST by onyx (SUPPORT FREE REPUBLIC, DONATE MONTHLY. If you want on Sarah Palin's Ping List, let me know.)
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To: Joe Boucher

It really isn’t even changing his stance, it’s fabricating one.


5 posted on 02/24/2012 2:21:37 PM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

As a pollster, I doubt that Romney’s speech writers pay any attention at all to Mitt’s actual positions, and he does have positions - liberal ones. What his writers do is poll his intended audience and write phrases that poll well with that group. Romney practices until he sounds mechanical, which is a huge step up from insincere, and then Mitt gets the support of 25%-30% of the GOP voters in that area. Sadly, that’s enough to win a few early states.


6 posted on 02/24/2012 2:22:46 PM PST by Pollster1 (Natural born citizen of the USA, with the birth certificate to prove it)
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To: Pollster1

7 posted on 02/24/2012 2:24:41 PM PST by JediJones (Watch "Gingrich to Michigan: Change or Die" on YouTube. Best Speech Ever!)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

I’m shocked...shocked...that this was published by National Review!?


8 posted on 02/24/2012 2:28:18 PM PST by JediJones (Watch "Gingrich to Michigan: Change or Die" on YouTube. Best Speech Ever!)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

You may not want to accept it, but when it comes to stopping illegal immigration Romney has the strongest positions and has maintained them even though all the Republican elites and campaign consultants and Fox News pundits tell him that you have to be nice to the amnesty and open borders crowd.

The easiest path for Romney would be to take their advice and pander to illegal hispanics. He hasn’t. I trust him more on stopping illegal immigration than the rest of the crowd, save perhaps Santorum.


9 posted on 02/24/2012 2:28:45 PM PST by oldbill
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To: oldbill

That's -- I'm running for office, for Pete's sake, I can't have illegals. [video clip] -- Mitt Romney, GOP presidential debate - October 18, 2011 - Las Vegas, NV

10 posted on 02/24/2012 2:32:13 PM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
This article would be more realistic if it not:
1. Begin with the leftist line "hard-liner on immigration issues. "
2. Were not co-authored by the open-borders libertarian Deroy Murdoch.
Perhaps in Murdoch's world, restricting illegal immigration (ie criminals invading the country) makes one a hardliner. But this is a moderate position on immigration. And I would argue that not event reducing legal immigration from the 1.5 million a year would be a hard line stance.
11 posted on 02/24/2012 2:37:07 PM PST by rmlew ("Mosques are our barracks, minarets our bayonets, domes our helmets, the believers our soldiers.")
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To: rmlew

What did the article say that you find is unfair to Mitt Romney?


12 posted on 02/24/2012 2:45:42 PM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: oldbill

Romney is fake, he used to be for amnesty, and he was determined to keep employing illegals at his own, “Sanctuary Mansion”.

The Boston Globe busted him twice for his 10 years of using illegals, and then his 11th year of using those illegals.

The first scandal was when he was Governor in 2006, and then they discovered that in December of 2007, after
Giuliani had called him on it in a debate, that they were still at his home.


13 posted on 02/24/2012 2:54:13 PM PST by ansel12 (Romney is unquestionably the weakest party front-runner in contemporary political history.)
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To: Joe Boucher
Image and video hosting by TinyPic
14 posted on 02/24/2012 2:58:35 PM PST by ansel12 (Romney is unquestionably the weakest party front-runner in contemporary political history.)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Nothing. But shouldn’t we praise Republicans who become more conservative? Romney and Santorum have improved on immigration. Newt remains the lying backstabbing open-border type he has always been. Ron Paul used to be OK on immigration, but has veered far left in the last year.


15 posted on 02/24/2012 3:13:22 PM PST by rmlew ("Mosques are our barracks, minarets our bayonets, domes our helmets, the believers our soldiers.")
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

I just read the article, it is fantastic, a real keeper.

This is an excellent keeper article as a summary for Romney’s immigration history.

Here is 12 seconds of Mitt on immigration in 2005.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpUNVRNVk-E


16 posted on 02/24/2012 3:15:46 PM PST by ansel12 (Romney is unquestionably the weakest party front-runner in contemporary political history.)
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To: rmlew
Nothing. But shouldn’t we praise Republicans who become more conservative? Romney and Santorum have improved on immigration. Newt remains the lying backstabbing open-border type he has always been. Ron Paul used to be OK on immigration, but has veered far left in the last year.

Santorum in the last debate said that people who hire the illegals to change their babies diapers and clip their lawns should NOT have to worry about hiring illegals. So you are HIGHLY misinformed into what is St. Rick's view on illegal invasion. The gated communities and the 1% rely on illegals cheap labor.

17 posted on 02/24/2012 3:17:23 PM PST by Just mythoughts (Luke 17:32 Remember Lot's wife.)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Hey,
It’s sticking his finger in the air and seeing what way the winds are blowing at that moment,
Say Anything to get elected and to hell with any REAL stances on anything.
Everyone knows this is Romney.
Used to be a larger than life super hero my kid played with who could twist in to anything he wanted, Streach Armstrong, ala mitt romney.
Hope You and yours are fine tonight Cincinatus


18 posted on 02/24/2012 3:19:27 PM PST by Joe Boucher ((FUBO) Hey Mitt, F-you too pal)
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To: ansel12

Easier to believe than his line that he is a conservative.


19 posted on 02/24/2012 3:27:32 PM PST by Joe Boucher ((FUBO) Hey Mitt, F-you too pal)
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To: rmlew
But shouldn’t we praise Republicans who become more conservative?

Romney is not different on every political position that he held dear for the first 59 years of his life, he merely reversed them to run for President as a Republican.

We don't have to help him in that charade, or accept it, or condone that cynical and insulting effort.

20 posted on 02/24/2012 3:28:20 PM PST by ansel12 (Romney is unquestionably the weakest party front-runner in contemporary political history.)
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