WASHINGTON — Republicans had another spirited tussle over immigration and border policy in their latest presidential debate Tuesday, with new front-runner Newt Gingrich taking fire from rivals who accused him of being soft on illegal immigration.
The former House speaker insisted that this country would never deport millions of illegal immigrants, except perhaps recent arrivals with few family or community ties.
“I do not believe that the people of the United States are going to take people who have been here a quarter of a century … and expel them,” he said, “I’m prepared to take the heat for saying, ‘Let’s be humane.’ “
Mitt Romney hit both Gingrich and Rick Perry for advocating policies that in some ways help such immigrants, calling it a “huge mistake” for GOP candidates to debate the best way to provide amnesty for any of the 11 million or so people in the country illegally.
“Amnesty is a magnet,” Romney said, citing Texas’ in-state tuition policy and Gingrich’s support for granting citizenship for foreigners who serve the U.S. in uniform. “We have to stop illegal immigration … We have to turn off the magnet.”
Gingrich’s assertion sounded like an echo of Perry’s assertion at a debate two months ago that critics of Texas’ policy of offering in-state tuition discounts to younger illegal immigrants are “heartless.” That comment almost by itself put the brakes on his surging candidacy.
Perry backed up Gingrich, but carefully, and said that border security, not the debate over amnesty, was key.
“Within 12 months of the inaugural, that border will be shut down and it will be secure,” Perry vowed. “This conversation it not ever going to end until we secure that border.”
This was the 11th GOP debate since the first one in May.
Eight candidates shared the stage at the Daughters of the American Revolution Constitution Hall, in sight of the White House, auditioning for the role of commander in chief with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer as moderator.
For most, it was two hours spent somewhat beyond the comfort zone.
Herman Cain, for instance, has fumbled badly on foreign policy, asserting recently that Libya’s new government was at risk of being overtaken by the Taliban — an Afghan group, thousands of miles away.
He spoke often in generalities Tuesday night, as when talk turned to the value of U.S. aid to curb malaria and HIV in Africa. “It may be worthwhile to continue. It may not. I would like to look at the results,” he said.
Asked whether he would support an Israeli attack on Iran, Cain repeatedly — and to the apparent dismay of some rivals — said Iran “is a very mountainous region,” making an attack difficult.
The latest national polls show Gingrich either slightly ahead or in a dead heat with Romney, with Cain on a trajectory to join Perry and Michele Bachmann on the list of candidates who sparkled but then faded.
Gingrich argued for a tough stance on Iran, aimed at changing the anti-American, anti-Israeli regime, but said that military confrontation would be a “last recourse,” and doing anything to encourage Israel into a nuclear exchange would be a mistake.
“That would be a future none of us would want to live through,” he said.
Most kept their aim at President Barack Obama. Bachmann offered the toughest critique, accusing him of emboldening the regime by giving “Iran the luxury of time” since taking office. “It’s a doctrine of appeasement. He has changed the course of history because at the time when we needed a leader most, we didn’t have one,” she said.
Outside the debate hall, retired Gen. Wesley Clark, a former NATO commander and Democratic presidential candidate, said the attacks on Obama have been phony efforts at tough talk.
“Is it standing up for Israel? Doing that. … Is it being tough on al-Qaida? Doing that. Check, check, check,” Clark said.
As for zeroing out the foreign aid budget for Pakistan, then requiring that and other countries to prove they deserve billions in U.S. largesse — as Perry advocated and most of his rivals echoed — Clark called that foolish.
“It’s a great line to appeal to a certain group in domestic politics,” he said. “But America’s policy as a great nation is to build on consistency and reliability, not on zero-based calculations or quarterly earning statements.”
The ongoing focus on Obama meant that front-runners were able to emerge relatively unscathed. But for laggards, time is running low. Iowa Republicans begin the nominating process in just six weeks.
The debate, co-sponsored by the conservative Heritage Foundation and American Enterprise Institute, took place a day after the congressional “super committee” gave up and conceded it couldn’t find a way to trim the deficit by $1.2 trillion over the next decade. The Pentagon could face hundreds of billions in mandatory cuts that defense analysts in both parties warn could undermine American influence around the world.
“It was a super failure, and I think we expected that,” Perry said, blaming Obama for ceding responsibility for balancing the budget entirely to Congress. He called it “reprehensible” for Obama to allow the possibility of such deep military cuts.
“If Leon Panetta is an honorable man, he should resign in protest,” Perry said, referring to the Defense secretary.
The candidates argued heatedly over how many troops to keep in Afghanistan, with former Ambassador Jon Huntsman calling for a quicker withdrawal from the country, where the U.S. has had forces for a decade. Romney criticized that, saying he, unlike Obama, wants to follow the advice of military commanders there.
Two of the candidates clashed briefly on the Patriot Act, which gave federal law enforcement numerous new powers in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. In the first question of the debate — posed to Gingrich, in keeping with his status as the current front-runner, by Ed Meese, the Reagan-era attorney general — Gingrich defended the law as necessary to prevent nuclear attack on an American city.
Texas Rep. Ron Paul called the law “unpatriotic,” because it undermines liberty in the quest for security.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
