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Romney Campaign Press Release - In Case You Missed It: Governor Romney On "Morning Joe"

December 12, 2007

Governor Romney Discusses The National Review Endorsement On "Morning Joe" (12/12/07):

MSNBC's Joe Scarborough: "Let's start, though, with an important endorsement from the National Review. Obviously, since William F. Buckley started this publication up half a century ago, there's just not a more important conservative publication. They say you're their guy. What's it mean to you?"

Governor Romney: "Well, it's a big endorsement for me, obviously, and I've met with them time and again. We talked about the future of the county and the future of the Republican Party and conservatism generally and they like me. We believe that the only way we can have a bright future is if we bring together the coalition that Ronald Reagan built, which is a coalition of social conservatives, economic conservatives and foreign policy conservatives. And I believe I'm able to draw on the strength of all three of those groups unlike the other folks who are running for this office. I think I've been successful in convincing the folks at National Review I'll do just that."

To watch Governor Romney discuss the National Review endorsement, please click here .

Governor Romney Discusses Illegal Immigration On "Morning Joe" (12/12/07):

Scarborough: "How big of an issue will illegal immigration be in these last four weeks in Iowa, a state that seems to care deeply about illegal immigration?"

Governor Romney: "I think it's a big issue here, and I must admit I was a little surprised the first time I came to Iowa for a speech, a Reagan day dinner speech some years ago, and I asked people here, 'What's the biggest issue in Iowa?' And I heard time and again immigration, meaning illegal immigration. And that's something that's really critical. Republicans respect and value legal immigration – but illegal immigration, that is something we have got to stop.

"And I'm pretty proud of my record as the Governor. I took every action I knew how to take to stop illegal immigration. I made sure illegals didn't get driver's licenses. I vetoed a bill that would have given illegals a tuition break in our state university system. I also empowered our State Police to enforce federal immigration laws and, of course, I also insisted on English immersion in our schools. But, at the same time, I tried to help legal immigrants. So I pushed for additional funding for English as a second language, so legal immigrants could learn English, because I think to be successful in America you've got to speak the language of America."

Scarborough: "And you think Mike Huckabee's record on immigration is a failed record?"

Governor Romney: "Well, I think his record on immigration is a real problem for him, and so he's now talking about an entirely different tact that he'd take as President. But his record, I think makes it pretty clear where his heart stands on this. He fought to provide a tuition break, an in-state tuition break for illegals, and he also fought for scholarships for illegals. If you create benefits like that for the children of those who come here illegally, you basically are creating a magnet that draws people across the border or draws them to over stay their visas. That's the wrong thing for America. We need to enforce our laws and have a nation of laws. That's so essential to the nation, a nation of liberty and prosperity, to have laws and to have the rule of law that it's just actually axiomatic that you can't have people who are running states, or for that matter cities like New York City, that put in place sanctuary policies that encourage people to come here and not follow the law."

To watch Governor Romney discuss illegal immigration, please click here .

Mitt Romney, Romney Campaign Press Release - In Case You Missed It: Governor Romney On "Morning Joe" Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/296895

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