Newt Gingrich: Mitt Romney Supported Amnesty On 'Meet The Press' (VIDEO)

Mitt Romney's spokesman attacked Newt Gingrich's progressive stance on immigration after Tuesday night's debate, repeatedly saying that Romney was against amnesty. He struggled to answer whether the candidate would deport undocumented immigrants already in the country.

Now Gingrich would like to remind Romney of his view on the topic.

"@MittRomney Here's a trip down memory lane: bitly.com/sdk8RE So what's your position on citizenship for illegals again? (I oppose it.)" he tweeted Wednesday morning.

In the 14-second clip (watch above) from a 2007 interview on "Meet the Press," Romney appears to support amnesty for undocumented immigrants. "My own view is, consistent with what you saw in the Lowell Sun, that those people who had come here illegally and are in this country, the 12 million or so that are here illegally, should be able to sign up for permanent residency or citizenship," Romney said.

That sounds a lot like the stance Gingrich took Tuesday night.

"I do not believe that the people of the United States are going to take people who have been here a quarter century, who have children and grandchildren, who are members of the community, who may have done something 25 years ago, separate them from their families, and expel them," Gingrich said.

But as Romney's camp was quick to point out, the rest of the clip would have shown a more nuanced picture. Romney's entire quote follows:

"My own view is, consistent with what you saw in the Lowell Sun, that those people who had come here illegally and are in this country, the 12 million or so that are here illegally, should be able to sign up for permanent residency or citizenship, but they should not be given a special pathway, a special guarantee that all of them get to stay here for the rest of their lives merely by virtue of having come here illegally, and that, I think, is the great flaw in the final bill that came forward from the Senate."

 

 

Comments

[jonesll]

09:22 AM on 11/27/2011

Of course he supported it.………….,he also believed at one time Mars is a planet, that water is wet, that grass is green, the sky is blue and fire is hot…………Now ask him any of these things through the evangy wing of the R party's belief filter and you might get this response from him ………..uhhhh I have not heard that water is wet, not saying it is, but some have said it is so, but I haven’t seen any final empirical evidence that would support it entirely”

[Drewood]

09:10 AM on 11/27/2011

Truly representatives of the American people as they come down firmly on both sides of the issues.

[TRex86]

07:58 AM on 11/27/2011

If you want to know what the Mittster stands for you need a chronometer to keep track of his shifting views.

[balrog221]

08:14 AM on 11/27/2011

not really. all you need to know is who is the audience?

[TRex86]

08:54 AM on 11/27/2011

LOL.

[1differentdrummer]

06:21 AM on 11/27/2011

They say whatever they need to in order to get our votes.

[jb2000000]

02:28 AM on 11/27/2011

Does anybody here remember Dom DeLuise in the movie "The End?"
If you do you'll understand why I asked while the comment should be about Mitt.

[hhoc612710]

11:44 PM on 11/26/2011

Romney talking about consistency when he is changing views on each issue? Who can believe him?

[siljerjo]

08:00 PM on 11/26/2011

Not that I'm excusing this kind of flip-flopping - and Governor Romney certainly takes it to a different level - but with foreign policy elements I do see why they would change their minds and speak differently. Regimes and circumstances change and they say what fits with the circumstances. That's why there are pictures of President Obama shaking hands with Quaddafi and then bombing and killing him next. But with Romney it goes so much further, a domestic issue like abortion, or even worse gay rights where the country has actually moved further towards his first stance rather than this 2011 incarnation which is out of sync with the general public. For someone who is supposedly running in the general election rather than the primaries, Romney is doing a good job of distancing himself from the majority. Including on immigration.

[siljerjo]

07:53 PM on 11/26/2011

This isn't wrong, but coming from Newt? Really? Mr. "anyone who quotes what I said on Sunday is a lie"? Really?

[StanleyYelnats]

07:09 PM on 11/26/2011

Multiple Choice at it again.

[olderdem]

05:14 PM on 11/26/2011

I'm wondering when "nuanced" came to mean flip-flopping in the same sentence.

"should be able to sign up for permanent residency or citizenship, but they should not be given a special pathway"

Huffpost is being way to kind buying into Romney's spin.

[TRex86]

08:03 AM on 11/27/2011

Within the spectrum of Republican positions Romney is a random opinion generator. Insofar as his voting base watches Faux News and hence knows less than zero this is no problem. Hey, that was my opinion 15 minutes ago. Keep up. The Amazing Republican Clown Show lurches between comedy and tragedy. Pray for more comedy.

[steveinohio]

04:37 PM on 11/26/2011

The thing that's so unbelievable to me isn't that he changes his mind. I change my mind sometimes as I learn more about an issue or as someone presents a personal experience that changes how I see an issue. That happens, and is part of being human.

The thing that's so incredible is that he will express a strong support for a position that he took the exact opposite position on only a few years prior, and he'll completely disavow having ever held the previous position! That he can do that and still poll at or near the top of the field is astounding, and a testament to the weakness of the GOP alternatives.

[Billie Burns]

06:26 PM on 11/26/2011

It is called 'being a politician'. You say whatever your prospective voters want to hear, with passion!

[siljerjo]

07:54 PM on 11/26/2011

Where's the passion? Other than when he and Rick Perry sparred over "illegals" working in Mitt's garden I never really see the man speak passionately about anything.

Though I completely agree with your first statement. Newt is a better example of that, I think.

[Jacukel]

12:51 PM on 11/26/2011

Why would anyone trust this guy to run the country? Frauds and liars are usually also cowards.

[Billie Burns]

06:27 PM on 11/26/2011

"Frauds, liars and politicians are usually also cowards."

Fixed it for you!

[FormerlyTCnSRQ]

12:11 PM on 11/26/2011

Romney is a liar. Pure and simple.

[siljerjo]

07:55 PM on 11/26/2011

No disagreements there, but Newt? He's up there, just as much of a liar as Romney.

[FormerlyTCnSRQ]

08:33 AM on 11/27/2011

Newt is theater in his own head....he thinks he's the king.....

[1oldhippie]

10:09 AM on 11/26/2011

No wonder the Republican voters can't make up their minds WHO they want, when the candidates can't make up their minds as to WHAT they want...

[joedaplumper]

09:57 PM on 11/26/2011

The poor average Republican voter must think they are in a whack- a-mole arcade.

[RecoveryRoad]

01:41 AM on 11/26/2011

tis the season where wing nu ts will say ANYTHING to get elected