Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Willard "Mittens" Romney believes that he is entitled to be the next president. As his wife said, "it's his turn." So Mittens has this attitude that he should just be handed the job. "I don't have to answer any questions or tell you what I am going to do." You don't want to be that guy, Mittens -- people really hate that guy.
Mittens is in Scottsdale, Arizona today for a fundraiser (probably attended by the universe of Koch brothers' affiliated entities and their evil minions in the state of Maricopa) -- the same day that the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the majority of SB 1070 and left the "papers please" provision to another day after the Arizona Courts are done ruling on it.
After a day of being hounded by reporters, Mittens gave his typical non-responsive answer. He has a problem making a commitment. Romney Wishes Courts Gave States ‘More Latitude’ On Immigration:
Getting an opinion from Mitt Romney on immigration has been like pulling teeth after the Supreme Court’s decision on SB 1070 Monday, but the presumptive Republican nominee finally offered up some words on the ruling at a fundraiser in Arizona.
“Now you probably heard today there was a Supreme Court decision relating to immigration and, you know, given the failure of the immigration policy in this country, I would have preferred to see the Supreme Court give more latitude to the states not less. And there are states now under this decision have less authority, less latitude, to enforce immigration laws,” he said, according to NBC.
Did you even read the opinion, Mittens? The Court was pretty emphatic that immigration is the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal government and that express or implied federal preemption precludes the state from acting on immigration matters on its own. Only where there is cooperation between the state and federal government under an express provision of federal law -- and the Court did not expressly find cooperation or hinderance by Arizona on this ground since that provision of SB 1070 has been on hold pending this opinion -- does the state have a narrowly defined and limited role to play. "States Rights" Tenthers like Governor Jan Brewer and Mittens just had the foundation for their arguments blown away today by the Court.
Talking Points Memo earlier reported that Romney Spokesman Dodges 20 22 Questions On Romney’s Immigration Position:
Mitt Romney’s campaign has been extremely careful not to take a clear position on either Arizona’s SB 1070 law or the Supreme Court decision on Monday that ruled parts of it unconstituional. In an exchange with the traveling press, transcribed by Politico, Romney spokesman Rick Gorka was asked over 20 times by reporters to clarify the candidates position on either the law or the ruling.
Earlier in the day, the Romney campaign issued a statement critical of President Obama for "failing to lead” on immigration in response to the Supreme Court’s decision on Arizona’s SB 1070. "Yet, in what has become a signature move for the candidate, he offered no clear position himself, leaving Americans to wonder what exactly he would lead them toward." Romney Demands 'Leadership' on Immigration, Fails to Offer Position:
“President Obama has failed to provide any leadership on immigration,” Romney, who is in Arizona for a fundraiser this afternoon, said. “This represents yet another broken promise by this President. I believe that each state has the duty — and the right — to secure our borders and preserve the rule of law, particularly when the federal government has failed to meet its responsibilities.”
Despite his nod to states’ rights, Romney did not say whether he agreed with any or all of the Supreme Court’s decision, a complicated ruling that labeled several provisions of the law unconstitutional, but left the most controversial segment for later, saying future courts would need time to determine its effects. Nor has Romney taken a position on whether he supports SB 1070 in the first place, despite embracing the architect of the law, Kris Kobach, as an immigration adviser during the presidential primaries. An e-mail to the Romney campaign asking for further clarification on the Supreme Court ruling was not immediately returned and an official told the traveling press not to expect any more comments.
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Romney’s does-he-or-doesn’t-he SB 1070 statement comes on the heels of his prolonged dodge of President Obama’s recent executive order blocking deportation of some young illegal immigrants, refusing to say expressly whether he would overturn the action. A young undocumented college student confronted Romney Thursday after his speech to Latino group NALEO in Florida, and said she didn’t have any better luck getting Romney to articulate a position as to what would happen to her under his administration. Though Romney vowed to “replace and supersede” Obama’s order with a long-term solution, he has offered only scraps of information on what that solution might entail, saying only that he favors some path to legal status for members of the military.
Getting Romney to take a position is like trying to nail Jello to the wall.
I don't remember anything quite like my buddy Mitt's performance over the past few weeks. We're now on day 10 of a news cycle where immigration has been front and center, and Mitt has yet to make a substantive statement as to where he stands. This is the most pathetic display of non-statesmanship I've ever witnessed. How the race between Obama and this clown is close is astounding. Oh wait, I forgot, Obama's Black and this is America.
Posted by: Bob Lord | June 25, 2012 at 05:08 PM
Romney also pretty much hides the fact that he, like Pres. Obama, is a graduate of Harvard Law School. I'm sure most Republicans and would-be Romney voters would be surprised to learn that. I am curious as to why more is not made of Romney's training as a lawyer. Anyone who took Con Law at Harvard Law School as Romney did either has a better grasp of the Supreme Court opinions than he lets on or is suffering from dementia.
Posted by: Richard Grayson | June 25, 2012 at 06:46 PM
Who the hell IS this guy? http://www.balloon-juice.com/2012/06/25/gangsta-pranksta/
Posted by: Cheri | June 25, 2012 at 07:01 PM