Romney's Immigration Plan

Although Romney said he had an immigration plan on June 15, 2012 he did not go into it with Face the Nation on June 26 or bring it up in his convention speech. Romney on September 19 (Univision forum) said “For those that are already here and that are undocumented, that were brought here by their parents and are therefore illegal aliens in this country, my view is that we should put in place a permanent solution”. When specifically asked if he would deport them he said “Well, I’m not in favor of a deportation, mass deportation effort rounding up 12 million people, I believe people make their own choices as to whether they want to go home and that’s what I mean by self deportation.” For the fourth time, Romney did not say what his solution would be. Romney did get a poor spray tan prior to attending the forum. 

Univision on September 20 reminded President Obama that he had made a promise to get an immigration bill through his first year and the President responded with: “There’s the thinking that the President is somebody who is all powerful and can get everything done, we have to have cooperation from all these sources in order to get something done”. I checked out what happened to the immigration bill. I found that on December 8, 2010 - HR 5281 - DREAM Act (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors) passed the House. On December 17, 2010 the Act was blocked in the Senate with 55-41 vote (didn’t get the needed 60) and it has since not been approved by either the House or the Senate. A Pew Hispanic Center survey conducted in late 2011 found that more than 9 in 10 Hispanics support the DREAM Act.

The President’s comment was true. To the dismay of Republicans, in an attempt to get something done Obama issued an Executive Order implemented August 14 that allowed thousands of young illegal immigrants under the age of 31 to apply for temporary work permits (no threat of deportation) if they arrived in the US by age 16, are in school or have graduated, are or have been in the military and have no criminal record; it’s expected that 1.5 million people qualify. 

Jeb Bush on Immigration

When Jeb Bush spoke with ABC’s Diane Sawyer on August 28, 2012 she pointed out that he has been an impassioned voice for the Republican Party’s need to change its tone; his wife was born in Mexico. Diane questioned Jeb about a recent statement he made - “The conservative cause would be the governing philosophy as far as the eye could see and it’s doable if we just stop acting stupid” – he said it’s not a radical idea, you need to get 50+% of the votes to win, Hispanics and Asians voter I would say share many of the values that conservatives embrace – the family being the most powerful political unit in society, the need to reform education so that there’s access to opportunity, small businesses driving economic prosperity, and a strong national defense. All of these things are shared values but if you have a tone that says we want your vote of course but don’t join our time, you’re not going to get very far”. Jeb brought up that his granddaughter in addition to her Mexican heritage is also of Canadian and Iraqi descent and said 20 years from now when it comes to checking a box for the Census she’ll have to say ‘not applicable’ and that’s the America we should aspire to.    

On August 30 when George Stephanopoulos brought up Jeb’s quote about the conservative philosophy and asked what he meant about acting stupid, Jeb said “I’m a huge Paul Ryan fan because I think he’s the Jack Kemp kind of conservative that is hopeful and optimistic; our message needs to be that way, inspirational rather than scolding, the tone has to be positive and Paul Ryan is the exact kind of Republican that I would be advocating for.” George asked what things the Republicans have been doing that have been stupid and Jeb said “Sending a signal as it relates to issues like immigration, that it is only about border control rather than about how we create a climate about economic growth, it’s a gateway issue about an emerging voting population in our country, Hispanic voters, Asian voters, the country is becoming increasingly diverse, my message is really about the long haul, demographics are your destiny and if you just ignore it you do it at your own peril.” 

Rubio on Immigration

ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on August 28, 2012 when talking to Marco Rubio said - If Mitt Romney is going to win this race he needs to do better with Hispanic voters. Rubio’s reply was “I think we’re going to have to do better among all voters obviously, I think our message is one that appeals to all voters. Look, at the end of the day no community in America has been impacted more by the failures of this administration’s policies”. George said - Your Party has a platform that calls for the self deportation of 11 million illegal immigrants; Rubio said “Polices matter and look the Republican Party does have a challenge, we can’t just be the anti-illegal immigrant Party, we have to be the pro-legal immigrant Party and I think Mitt Romney has really done that.” George brought up Obama’s Executive Order (EO) that suspended the deportation of young immigrants that came with their parents and asked where Romney stood on it; Rubio replied “What he has said is, if he is President there will be a permanent solution to that problem that won’t require the short term one. The problems with the Executive Order are two-fold, number one – I think it has constitutional problems, it ignores the separation of powers.” George interrupted him and asked if Romney would rescind it; Rubio replied “I can’t speak on what he’s going to do with it – I think he’s going to replace it.”

The Republican platform stems from Romney’s comment during the December 10, 2011 debates – “We should register those that that are here and they should go home and get in line to come for permanent residency or citizenship.” On June 15 the Daily Caller's correspondent Neil Munro heckled the President during his announcement of the EO saying he was choosing foreigners over Americans; radio host Glenn Beck said the move was like that of a dictator; Romney didn’t disagree with the President but said he had a plan of his own. On June 18 Rubio said the President should have worked with Congress to deal with immigration, he had his own version of the Dream Act (not the same as Romney’s) and no one in Washington had contacted him but his message is - They come for a better life for their children. On June 26 Romney was asked on Face the Nation about the EO and he only said he’d look at it. You would think 11 days would have been enough to know if he’d repeal it or not or at least go into the plan he said he had. On August 14 when the EO went into effect Republicans said it’s no surprise it came out right before the election. I’ll get to Jeb Bush’s comments.  

We're Losing Our US Heritage

On September 19, 2012 more of the May video hit the air - Romney said to use his wife Ann sparingly so people don’t get tired of her, joked that his father was born in Mexico to American parents and he’d have a better time winning the election if he was born to Mexican parents and said “Women are open to supporting me but we’re having a much harder time with Hispanic voters and if the Hispanic voting bloc becomes as committed to the Democrats as the African American voting bloc has in the past we are in trouble as a Party and I think as a nation.” People were taking Romney’s comments with a grain of salt, the media casually said he had 4 events left to gain points and the comments didn’t get much attention in the September 19 Univision forum.

Just for information, here are some changes that occurred in the Mormon religion: polygamy was outlawed in 1890 (after the 1879 Supreme Court ruling) and due to the 1960s and 1970s Women's Liberation and the Civil Rights Movement Blacks began to get positions of leadership and women a certain degree of authority (not leadership) - in the operation of local congregations, teaching classes, organizing social, educational, and humanitarian activities, serving as missionaries, and a select few may perform certain ordinances such as washing and anointing on behalf of women. On September 20 on Radio Iowa Ann’s response to critics saying her husband is running a losing campaign said “Stop it. This is hard. You want to try it? Get in the ring.” I guess this and other comments are why Mitt thought we’d tire of her.  

Maybe I’m overreacting. But it seems to me that the Republicans are trying to take us away from our history. In trouble as a nation – if people of non White heritage do not believe their rhetoric; I think the opposite is true. We need to stand together and make this vow - “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all”. It doesn’t matter if God has another name in a non Christian religion, it doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor to get liberty (rights) and justice (fairness). If they succeed I don’t believe there will be a way to repair the damage inside or outside our country.  

Promoting the General Welfare of 100%

September 18, 2012 on the View Whoopi pointed out that 9 of the 10 states with the most people not paying income taxes have Republican Governors. She also said she was on welfare and about 85% don’t want to be there including those that lost their jobs in the last 10 years. She said - Maybe I’m wrong but the country I remember, you help people that don’t have help. Joy said when she was a single mother she was fired from Good Morning America, had a near death experience that put her out of commission and got a divorce–she had no money, if it wasn’t for unemployment insurance she doesn’t know what she would have done and doesn’t like Romney considering her a victim. Barbara said there was a point when she collected unemployment insurance. The Preamble of the Constitution of September 17, 1787 says - We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity (generations to come), do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Romney on September 19 said “The question in this campaign is not about who cares about the poor and the middle class, I do and he does. The question is who can help the poor and middle class, I can, he can’t and he’s proven it in 4 years.” In a Florida forum with Univision (Hispanic TV) he said “First of all this is a campaign about the 100%...this is a campaign about helping people who need help and right now the people who are poor in this country need help getting out of poverty”. It seems to me that both Ryan’s and Romney’s comments go against our Constitution as neither is promoting the general welfare of Americans who lost their jobs, get sick or injured, etc. (Ryan has not voted for unemployment extensions and more that support people in need.)

This issue is not just a poor choice of words as Romney/Ryan made it clear they will continue with tax cuts for the rich. The argument now is what’s fair in paying federal income taxes however, the long term goal of the Republicans is to reduce the expenses paid by employers (that’s why they attack government regulation and health care that keeps you safe); employer paid expenses include unemployment, Social Security (SS) and Medicare. They’re already talking about reducing SS and Medicare so be careful what you ask for – unemployment could be an entitlement they go after later. 

Responding to Romney's 47%

In regard to Romney’s comments on the video released September 17, 2012: (1) it’s 46% not 47% of the population that isn’t paying federal income taxes, (2) The percentage is not made up 100% of those receiving entitlements; it includes upper middle class and millionaires and (3) Independent voters are the key and they didn’t make a mistake – it’s because of them that Obama’s fight with the Republicans have brought the issues to the foreground - don’t be fooled this time.

The USA Today article also said: Len Burman, a tax policy expert who has worked for the Treasury Department and the Congressional Budget Office, said "over the last 30-40 years, there's been a shift toward providing more and more public services through the tax system." Critics argue the issue of fairness especially as President Obama and Democratic members of Congress push for higher taxes on wealthier earners...a proposal Republicans almost certainly will block. But as the debate on tax revenue continues, the question of who pays — and who does not — is certain to keep coming up.

On September 18 Elisabeth Hasselbeck on the View said she’s not alone in saying by next July we could be celebrating Dependence Day instead of Independence Day and Abraham Lincoln said: You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich, you cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred, and you cannot build character and courage by taking away people’s initiative and independence. Paul Ryan said “He was obviously inarticulate making this point and the point we’re trying to make here is-under the Obama economy government dependency is up and economic stagnation is up.” The Romney campaign in an effort to fight off the video found a 14 year old audio tape of State Senator Obama in 1998 speaking on how to make city government more efficient – “I actually believe in redistribution at least at a certain level to make sure that everybody’s got a shot.” Romney said “I think a society based upon a government centered nation where government plays a larger and larger role, redistributes money - that’s the wrong course for America.” The President on David Letterman said “My expectation is that if you want to be President you gotta work for everybody not just for some.” My point exactly; Lincoln did not mean that the system should be a reverse Robin Hood – helping the rich by destroying the poor which is what the Reagan and Bush tax cuts did; this approach is what incites class hatred. Open your ears and your eyes – the Constitution and Lincoln’s words were meant for everyone not only the rich – there is no fairness in those making millions and paying zero taxes, the same as the 15% in poverty.  

Millionaires Are Not Paying Taxes

September 17, 2012 we heard of a video via Mother Jones of Romney at a Florida fundraiser in May saying “There are 47% of the people who will vote for the President no matter what. All right there are 47% who are with him, who are dependent on government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it - That, that’s an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what. And I mean the president starts off with 48, 49, he starts off with a huge number. These are people who pay no income tax. 47% of Americans pay no income tax. So our message of low taxes doesn’t connect so he’ll be out there talking about tax cuts for the rich. And so my job is not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives. What I have to do is to convince the 5-10% in the center that are independents. And because they voted for him, they don’t want to be told that they were wrong, that he’s a bad guy. Those people that we have to get, they want to believe they did the right thing but he just wasn’t up to the task. They love the phrase that he’s over his head.” In a quick California press conference Romney said “I understand that there’s been a video that’s been on the internet. Whoever has released the snip-its would, I’d certainly appreciate it if they would release the whole tape now so we can see all of it…it’s not eloquently stated, let me put it that way, I’m speaking off the cuff in response to a question and I’m sure I could state it more clearly in a more effective way then I did in a setting like that.” Romney didn’t apologize for his words.

A summary of an article in USA Today said: According to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center in Washington, DC, 46% of tax filers will owe no federal income tax this year. Those making $75,000-$100,000 a year are the fastest-growing share of people who don't pay federal income taxes. In recent years, (via tax cuts and tax breaks) the tax code has exploded with more ways for Americans to be forgiven part of their income tax burden, so much that more Americans seem to avoid paying taxes at all. A Detroit Free Press analysis showed: as of 2009, the total number of tax returns increased slightly over 2006 but the number of taxable returns actually fell by more than 10 million. Nontaxable returns from people with income between $75,000 and $100,000 went from 4,025 in 1996 to 476,624 in 2009 an increase of almost 12,000% and more than 20,000 filers making more than $200,000 a year owed no income tax - this included 1,470 filers who had adjusted gross incomes of more than $1 million; 6 of which made about $200 million each.