Romney Campaign: Anti-Immigration Hard-Liner Kobach an ‘Informal Adviser’
Right now Romney can’t win with blacks, women, hispanics, the educated, gays, or swing states but he’s a lead pipe cinch for the white haired male neoconfederate camp.
Romney is coming under increased pressure to moderate his tough positions on illegal immigration. During the primary season, the former Massachusetts governor advocated for the self-deportation of the undocumented and opposed the DREAM Act, a measure that would provide a path to citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants.
Those positions may be harming Romney’s popularity among Latino voters. A recent Pew Survey found Romney trailing President Barack Obama by 40% among Hispanics.
Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, a GOP favorite for vice president, discussed his own version of the DREAM Act at a panel discussion earlier this week. Rubio’s measure would offer only a path to legal status, not citizenship.
“I felt we had to find a way to accommodate young people who found themselves in the unfortunate circumstance,” Rubio said Thursday about his version of the DREAM Act.
In response to Rubio’s remarks, the Romney campaign put out a statement saying the presumptive GOP nominee “will study and consider any proposals on immigration from his Republican partners.”
Kobach opposes the original DREAM Act as a form of “amnesty.” He said he would have to look at Rubio’s proposal before rendering a judgment on the measure.
In an interview with CNN, Kobach said he did not expect Romney to soften his stance on the issue.
“I think it would be unusual for a national presidential candidate to back away from statements he’s made in debates and he hasn’t shown any sign of doing so,” Kobach told CNN.