Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
The issue of immigration reform and the DREAM Act came up during last night's debate. Willard "Mittens" Romney whined that President Obama promised a comprehensive immigration reform bill in his first year during the 2008 campaign, and he failed to deliver.
Somehow Whiner Willard has conveniently forgotten that in Obama's first year, the U.S. and world financial systems were in a catastrophic collapse, and the U.S. and world economy were on their way to cratering into a new economic dark ages, a parting "gift" to President Obama from his predecessor George W. Bush.
It's called prioritizing "Mittens" -- deal with the disasters first. Stop the ship from sinking, then you can rearrange the deck chairs.
Whiner Willard has also conveniently forgotten that Republicans like Sen. John McCain, who once championed a comprehensive immigration reform bill, disavowed his own bill during the 2008 campaign and adopted the GOP hard-line on immigration reform. McCain could have become an elder statesman by working with Obama. Instead, he opted for the role of embittered sore loser, constantly sniping at the man who defeated him.
When Republicans conspired on the day of Obama's inauguration to oppose everything he proposed, Robert Draper Book: GOP's Anti-Obama Campaign Started Night Of Inauguration, who exactly was going to partner with Obama on a bipartisan compromise? The GOP has had from day one a scorched earth policy of "just say no."
During last night's debate, President Obama slammed Romney for having endorsed "self-deportation" during the GOP primaries as a credible immigration policy. (Romney's chief anti-immigrant adviser is Kris Kobach, the author of Arizona's SB 1070 and other anti-immigrant measures). Steve Benen writes, Trying (and failing) to defend 'self-deportation':
Romney responded, haltingly:
"Self-deportation says let it, let people make their own choice. What I was saying is, we're not going to round up 12 million people, undocumented, illegals, and take them out of the nation. Instead, let, make people make their own choice. And if they, if they find that, that they can't get the benefits here that they want and they can't find the job they want, then they'll make a decision to go a place where, where they have better opportunities."
Oh, I see. Self-deportation, which started as a satirical joke before being adopted by conservative Republicans as a serious policy, is really about choices. Sure, the underlying point seems cruel, making immigrants' lives so miserable that they'll leave the country altogether, but for Mitt Romney, it's really just a celebration of "illegals" -- there's that word again -- having the freedom to "make their own choice."
In other words, instead of trying to Etch A Sketch his way out of his self-deportation agenda, Romney thinks he can convince Latino voters the idea isn't as ridiculous as it sounds.
Yeah, Mitt. Good luck with that.
The question which prompted this response was in regards to the DREAM Act. The questioner was concerned about children who were brought to this country by their parents -- the only country many of them have ever known and think of as their own -- and not having the necessary citizenship paperwork to go to school or to work.
Romney's position on the "Dreamers" -- "if they find that, that they can't get the benefits here that they want and they can't find the job they want, then they'll make a decision to go a place where, where they have better opportunities." Go to a foreign country they have never known... where they have better opportunities? This is not a choice. The cold-blooded cruelty of Romney's position is inhumane.
Why would anyone believe this man is capable of a comprehensive immigration reform bill that is humane?
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