Mitt Romney reaches out to Latinos

[TPSprayduster]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-romney-latinos-20120622,0,3001015.story

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Mitt Romney offered a family-friendly approach to the nation's immigration woes in his first general-election outreach to Latino voters, but the modest steps that he sketched underscored the political pull-and-tug the issue has become for the Republican presidential candidate.

His more moderate tone Thursday on a number of side issues contrasted with the tougher stance he took during the GOP primaries. Yet in outlining the path he would take as president, he declined to take on the larger and thornier problem of the 11 million men, women and children already in the country illegally.

Speaking to the same audience of Latino officials that President Obama will address Friday, Romney said he wouldn't "settle for stop-gap measures" like the policy Obama announced last week to prevent the deportation of hundreds of thousands of young illegal immigrants. Instead, he said he would work with lawmakers of both parties to "build a long-term solution."

"I will prioritize measures that strengthen legal immigration and make it more transparent and easier. And I will address the problem of illegal immigration in a civil and resolute manner," he told the National Assn. of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. "We may not always agree, but when I make a promise to you, I will keep it."

But he offered no specific solutions to an issue that has thwarted the intentions of presidents since Ronald Reagan's administration.

Romney accused Obama of taking the Latino vote for granted and criticized him for doing "nothing, nothing" to fix the larger problem. The administration's new deportation policy is little more than a ploy by a politician "facing a tough reelection and trying to secure your vote," he added.

The former governor said that Latinos "do have an alternative, and your vote is more important now than ever before." Romney acknowledged the growing power of Latino voters in a backhanded way earlier this year, warning a private gathering of GOP donors that the current Democratic trend among Latino voters "spells doom" for Republicans, unless it is reversed.

Romney's plan included expanding the availability of green cards for relatives of legal residents and highly educated foreign students, and offering potential citizenship to service members.

His 18-minute speech emphasized the economic damage that Latinos have suffered during Obama's presidency and was received politely by members of the bipartisan — though predominantly Democratic — organization. The only discordant note was a loud "boo" — along with a smattering of applause — at Romney's call for getting rid of Obama's healthcare law.

Former Republican Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida drew a far more enthusiastic response from the same audience about an hour later. Bush, fluent in Spanish and a dark horse candidate to be Romney's running mate, praised Romney as having given an "excellent speech."

Romney "presented a much softer image than the image you saw in the campaign," said Dario Mareno, a Florida International University political scientist. "Basically, I think the purpose here was to show that he is not a villain, to make him less scary to Latinos."

Another conference participant, pollster Matt Barreto, said Romney had "cherry-picked the easiest things to put together" in his initial approach to Latinos.

"But there was a huge hole: What is his policy toward the 10 or 11 million undocumented immigrants who are here?" Barreto added. "It's a start, but if that is all he does, this won't do it."

If elected, Romney would have to either suspend or continue Obama's new deportation policy, estimated to affect between 800,000 and 1.4 million young illegal immigrants. In his remarks, the Republican said he would "replace and supersede" the president's policy but offered no details.

During the primaries, when he ran to the right of his Republican rivals on immigration, Romney said those here illegally should "self-deport" and leave the country. He opposed the Dream Act, which would have given a path to citizenship to illegal immigrants in college or the military. And he backed tough anti-illegal-immigrant policies in Arizona.

On Thursday, Romney tweaked his position by announcing that, as president, he would ask Congress to speed the current process allowing families of permanent legal residents to unite "under one roof." His proposal would exempt the spouses and minor children of legal permanent residents from annual green-card limits, an advantage that only U.S. citizens enjoy now.

The former Massachusetts governor said his desire was to develop a policy that would "help promote strong families" and "not keep them apart."

There is a waiting list of about 21/2 years for legal residents who want to resettle close relatives in the U.S., according to Madeleine Sumption of the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington. Between 80,000 and 90,000 applications are approved each year, she said.

Romney's campaign said later that he also would raise limits on the number of immigrants from unspecified countries to improve the chances that "the best and brightest" could emigrate to the U.S. That would alter a policy that penalizes those attempting to emigrate from large countries like India and China, Sumption said.

Romney drew applause when he repeated his plans to offer a path to citizenship for immigrants who serve in theU.S. military— a narrow version of the Dream Act — and to "staple a green card" to the diplomas of foreign students who receive advanced degrees in the United States.

The Obama campaign, responding to Romney's statement assuring Latinos that he keeps his promises, highlighted an earlier pledge to Republican primary voters in which he said that he would veto the Dream Act if it reached his desk. The measure has been blocked by congressional Republicans.

"After seven days of refusing to say whether or not he'd repeal the Obama administration's immigration action that prevents young people who were brought here through no fault of their own as children from being deported, we should take him at his word that he will veto the Dream Act as president," Obama campaign spokeswoman Gabriela Domenzain said in a statement.

Divisions within the Republican Party, which have prevented action on a comprehensive immigration overhaul, are also complicating Romney's efforts to attract more Latino support. Conservatives have criticized him for not pushing back more aggressively against Obama's new policy.

The president's move is likely to help Democrats mobilize Latino voters, many of whom had been unhappy with the large number of deportations under the current administration and strongly favor the Dream Act. A flurry of new polls, conducted since Obama's policy shift, showed that he has improved his already strong standing among Latino voters.

In Florida, the battleground state with the largest number of Latinos, the president has widened his edge over Romney by 8 percentage points among Latino voters, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday. It showed Obama with a 4-point overall lead against Romney, reversing a 6-point advantage for the Republican in a similar survey conducted last month.

paul.west@latimes.com

[40oz]

I smell a flip-flop coming. Take note as Romney says whatever he has to say in order to try to get the Latino vote.

[rightsonword]

I smell a flip-flop coming. Take note as Romney says whatever he has to say in order to try to get the Latino vote.

lol, you noticed it, too. Flip Flopping evidence in the first sentence.

[jonjon]

Hey Poncho,

I think I vote for Mitt Romney.

Hey Cisco,

I think I vote for Mitt too.

[cris]

Hey Poncho,

I think I vote for Mitt Romney.

Hey Cisco,

I think I vote for Mitt too.

I likes eet....an actual candeedate capable of leeding

ees good.....ees very, very good....bueno even

[40oz]

I likes eet....an actual candeedate capable of leeding

ees good.....ees very, very good....bueno even

Freedom is more better.

FLIP

His more moderate tone Thursday on a number of side issues contrasted with the tougher stance he took during the GOP primaries.

FLOP

Romney "presented a much softer image than the image you saw in the campaign," said Dario Mareno, a Florida International University political scientist. "Basically, I think the purpose here was to show that he is not a villain, to make him less scary to Latinos."

[carlos in san diego]

The latinos he's boasting to befriend are not "latinos" they are Cubans Americans. They have been systematically brainwashed by their local media. Romney would not have the courage to appear in front of real latinos in another part of the county, because no one would show up!

Romney has no following among main stream Mexicans and other true latinos. He would have us believe that he is popular among latinos...but the ones he appears in front of do not represent the latino community. Romney is anti-immigration he has said so many times in the past...typical hypocrite, just like BUSH!

This is a real latino giving you his 2 cents.....Carlos

[carlos in san diego]

Hey Poncho,

I think I vote for Mitt Romney.

Hey Cisco,

I think I vote for Mitt too.

I think it's telling that what you said here shows that your views of latinos comes rom a Hollywood production that dates back to the 1950s. We are not as easily swayed by big money as you appear to be...some of us actually have some dignity left!

Allow me to bring you up to date with a dose of reality!

1980s El Salvador, US government intervenes to help Military dictators suppress the population to make the county safe for US Imperialism...estimated 100,000 civilians deaths in a bloody war that lasted 10 years. All the dictatorship had to do was claim that they were facing a "communist" insurgency, when nothing was further from the truth.

1980s Gutemala. Again, Washingtons intervened to aid a military dictatorship suppress an indigenous population under the guise of fighting communism, an estimated 1 million civilian deaths in another decades long war that ravaged the population. The intervention was also to further the interests of US fascism in Latin America. I understand that recently the Guatemalan dictators of the day haves just now been found guilty of genocide against a defenseless indigenous population.

1980s Chile...Again US intervention to depose an elected government of president Allende, and substitute it with a military dictatorship run by Agusto Pinochet. The brainwashed American people were told that the military were fighting a communist takeover, when in fact the dictators were clearing the way for US industry to set up shop in Chile. This was the case were 100,000 "dissidents" were rounded up an put in a soccer stadium. They were all murdered.

1980s Honduras and Nicaragua. I think anyone with half a brain remembers the "Iran Contra" drugs smuggling by the CIA into Los Angeles, and the purchasing of weapons from our "enemies" the Iranians, so the US could arm the "freedom Fighters" fighting to depose a sovereignly elected government in Nicaragua. What a joke!

Do you....in your delusional state, actually think these people have forgotten these things? Do yo think that your Illustrious Romney would actually show up in front of a group of these people?

You need to look up some words in the dictionary..."Fascism" and "imperialism" You obviously don't know the meanings. A vote for anyone in the GOP is a vote for fascism and imperialism, because these are their goals.

Mind you...the examples I showed you of what your government has done in Latin America, could not have been possible without someone in those governments being bribed to allows the US to get away with causing mass murder and genocide. Someone in those governments opened the doors to US intervention...someone sold out those people.

They sold the out so that they could also be rich.....But, we have sell outs here too! Most of our elected officials and many of their lackies...including you!

Carlos

Edited June 22, 2012 by carlos in san diego

[rightsonword]

I think it's telling that what you said here shows that your views of latinos comes rom a Hollywood production that dates back to the 1950s. We are not as easily swayed by big money as you appear to be...some of us actually have some dignity left!

Allow me to bring you up to date with a dose of reality!

1980s El Salvador, US government intervenes to help Military dictators suppress the population to make the county safe for US Imperialism...estimated 100,000 civilians deaths in a bloody war that lasted 10 years. All the dictatorship had to do was claim that they were facing a "communist" insurgency, when nothing was further from the truth.

1980s Gutemala. Again, Washingtons intervened to aid a military dictatorship suppress an indigenous population under the guise of fighting communism, an estimated 1 million civilian deaths in another decades long war that ravaged the population. The intervention was also to further the interests of US fascism in Latin America. I understand that recently the Guatemalan dictators of the day haves just now been found guilty of genocide against a defenseless indigenous population.

1980s Chile...Again US intervention to depose an elected government of president Allende, and substitute it with a military dictatorship run by Agusto Pinochet. The brainwashed American people were told that the military were fighting a communist takeover, when in fact the dictators were clearing the way for US industry to set up shop in Chile. This was the case were 100,000 "dissidents" were rounded up an put in a soccer stadium. They were all murdered.

1980s Honduras and Nicaragua. I think anyone with half a brain remembers the "Iran Contra" drugs smuggling by the CIA into Los Angeles, and the purchasing of weapons from our "enemies" the Iranians, so the US could arm the "freedom Fighters" fighting to depose a sovereignly elected government in Nicaragua. What a joke!

Do you....in your delusional state, actually think these people have forgotten these things? Do yo think that your Illustrious Romney would actually show up in front of a group of these people?

You need to look up some words in the dictionary..."Fascism" and "imperialism" You obviously don't know the meanings. A vote for anyone in the GOP is a vote for fascism and imperialism, because these are their goals.

Mind you...the examples I showed you of what your government has done in Latin America, could not have been possible without someone in those governments being bribed to allows the US to get away with causing mass murder and genocide. Someone in those governments opened the doors to US intervention...someone sold out those people.

They sold the out so that they could also be rich.....But, we have sell outs here too! Most of our elected officials and many of their lackies...including you!

Carlos

Hey Carlos, I'm Latino as well and I agree with you, but sadly, many people don't know about the history between the US government and South America, and fewer choose to acknowledge it. Be prepared for ignorance to rear it's ugly head.

[dinar_stud]

The latinos he's boasting to befriend are not "latinos" they are Cubans Americans. They have been systematically brainwashed by their local media. Romney would not have the courage to appear in front of real latinos in another part of the county, because no one would show up!

Romney has no following among main stream Mexicans and other true latinos. He would have us believe that he is popular among latinos...but the ones he appears in front of do not represent the latino community. Romney is anti-immigration he has said so many times in the past...typical hypocrite, just like BUSH!

This is a real latino giving you his 2 cents.....Carlos

Aren't Cubam American also latinos?? just like Mexican American, Puerto Rican Americans, etc etc etc???

[rothsdad]

Aren't Cubam American also latinos?? just like Mexican American, Puerto Rican Americans, etc etc etc???

Cubans are in the bag for Republicans.

[dinar_stud]

Cubans are in the bag for Republicans.

Any person that has knowledge of how things work knows that, there are even puertorican republicans, but that was not what I asked

Carlos claimed Cuban American are not latinos, I asked him using an example to explain that comment because he is wrong after all.

Since you jumped in are Cuban American latinos? Yes or no

Edited June 22, 2012 by dinar_stud

[jonjon]

carlos & ROW,

The TexLats are quite a bit smarter than some of you Obama Pumpers. They know the country hasn't got a chance with another four years of your pick. That's why they will all be voting for Mitt.

SO

Edited June 22, 2012 by TexasGranny
removed offensive image

[rightsonword]

carlos & ROW,

The TexLats are quite a bit smarter than some of you Obama Pumpers. They know the country hasn't got a chance with another four years of your pick. That's why they will all be voting for Mitt.

SO

Ah, looks like ignorance reared it's ugly head quicker than expected. Good job, jonjon. You're quite the classy gentleman.

Edited June 22, 2012 by TexasGranny
removed offensive image from quote

[rothsdad]

Any person that has knowledge of how things work knows that, there are even puertorican republicans, but that was not what I asked

Carlos claimed Cuban American are not latinos, I asked him using an example to explain that comment because he is wrong after all.

Since you jumped in are Cuban American latinos? Yes or no

Yes of course they are.

[jonjon]

Thanks ROW

[cris]

Its all about percentages.....Latino's voting Republican

are on the rise....The ones who are no longer brainwashed

by the Demo party want a more successful America, not

freebies for Illegal aliens.

The Latino's registered to vote is 8.7%...up from previous

years, but hardly worth the attention given by news sources.

Except to inflame the anti-illegal alien voters in this country,

now thats a huge percentage, 78%, and includes a lot of

latino's

The big question is likely voters.....Imo the O'blah supporters

are going to stay home in droves....they can see the writing

on the wall......but, Im happy to see the stealth Ron / O'blah

supporters show themselves once again in this thread.

[rightsonword]

L.O.L

[Bumper64]

Let's PLAY NICE in this thread, don't want to have to shut it down!

[rightsonword]

Let's PLAY NICE in this thread, don't want to have to shut it down!

Bumper, you really are the best MOD here. Just wanted to let you know. Must be the cool Florida sun. I'm from Orlando and I miss it!

[rothsdad]

Its all about percentages.....Latino's voting Republican

are on the rise....The ones who are no longer brainwashed

by the Demo party want a more successful America, not

freebies for Illegal aliens.

The Latino's registered to vote is 8.7%...up from previous

years, but hardly worth the attention given by news sources.

Except to inflame the anti-illegal alien voters in this country,

now thats a huge percentage, 78%, and includes a lot of

latino's

The big question is likely voters.....Imo the O'blah supporters

are going to stay home in droves....they can see the writing

on the wall......but, Im happy to see the stealth Ron / O'blah

supporters show themselves once again in this thread.

You don't get it. It is not about Obama and Romney. They are two hands of the same machine. In this country they have people think it's about percentages and polls. But in the long run these candidates are going to run the same plans that the PTB have already drawn up. Whether it be Repub. or Dem., fighting terrorists or liberating nations, Wide Receiver or Fast and Furious. It does not matter.

[Maggie123]

Hey Poncho,

I think I vote for Mitt Romney.

Hey Cisco,

I think I vote for Mitt too.

I likes eet....an actual candeedate capable of leeding

ees good.....ees very, very good....bueno even

You two are a disgrace to this site.

Here are some facts for you to chew on, bet it won't taste very good.

This is the truth about your "boy"... no denying it.

Mitt's father was born in a polygamist community in Mexico, yet he makes no mention of that being a part of his heritage? Why hide it? Why not come out to the the American Latino's (Mexican Americans) and try to use that to get their votes? He has this in common with them right? Oh maybe it is because the polygamist aspect may be damaging to his political image. Ya Think? Also he would have to admitt that he has never met or even acknowleded that part of his family.Why?

I also have to wonder what the Mexicans in Mexico thought of this community?

Wonder how Romney's relatives treated their new neighbors? They were very oppressive to the indians when they took over Utah. I imagine they took the same attitudes with them to Mexico and the American Mexicans know about this.

So try and sweep that under the rug. What a stand up guy.

Google is your friend, use it if abcnews isn't mainstream enough for you.

Romney's 'Family Came From a Polygamy Commune,' says ...

abcnews.go.com/.../romneys-family-came-from-a-polygam...

[cris]

Sorry if you feelings were hurt Maggie.....Cisco & Poncho

are funny characters from the movies. I love these

two guys....they had a good message if you look

them up.

You should get a sense of humor....all Demo's should.

Its free

As far as Romney's family history, its not hidden.....I know

about it, and Mitt is not a polygamist. Why that would be a

concern is beyond me, since your guy, O'blah is for, against,

for, against, and finally for *** marriage.

Whats the difference.....he might as well be for marrying

a horse, for all that it matters.

Also.....You can bet O'blahs Kenyan family history has just

a few skeletons in the closet....Those never seem to be

talked about....but we can

[Maggie123]

MY Guy Is Ron Paul, Thank You Very Much.

You were mocking the Latino's, you and everyone else knows it!

[cris]

You don't get it. It is not about Obama and Romney. They are two hands of the same machine. In this country they have people think it's about percentages and polls. But in the long run these candidates are going to run the same plans that the PTB have already drawn up. Whether it be Repub. or Dem., fighting terrorists or liberating nations, Wide Receiver or Fast and Furious. It does not matter.

All I care about is the economy.....One side wants socialism,

the other wants a Free Market.....so it seems your PTB

is fighting against themselves.

And if the PTB actually rules a Representative Republic, then Ron

never stood a chance to begin with.

I dont think thats the case.....lots of People were running in the Primaries,

not just Mitt & Ron......Paul came in 4th overall with a tiny percentage

of voters....thats the way it goes, thats reality....and thats how our

Republic is set up......No boogie men, no need to hate people that

make money, as the Demo's would have us believe...You should 'get it'

and quit carrying the water for them.