Helping Fred Thompson

Say you are a candidate and need to get in step with Republican voters on immigration, because your record wasn’t quite what it should be.



There’s one tried and true political strategy: Find an opponent whose record is worse than yours and attack him.



That’s what Mitt Romney is doing – accusing Rudy Giuliani of coddling illegal immigrants (by not enforcing deportation laws) as Mayor of New York City.



But Romney ran into a classic problem. His past caught up with him. He forgot three cities in Massachusetts had declared themselves sanctuaries for illegal immigrants, just like New York City.



Giuliani’s response was swift and simple. He said Romney hadn’t lifted a finger or objected to having three sanctuaries in his own state within about an hour’s drive of Boston.



This is the definition of a political disaster: Mitt hits Rudy. Rudy hits back. They both lose votes from people who care about immigration. And where do the votes go? Well, maybe, Romney’s strategy wasn’t such a good one – unless he meant to help Fred Thompson.



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Carter Wrenn

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Helping Fred Thompson

Say you are a candidate and need to get in step with Republican voters on immigration, because your record wasn’t quite what it should be.



There’s one tried and true political strategy: Find an opponent whose record is worse than yours and attack him.



That’s what Mitt Romney is doing – accusing Rudy Giuliani of coddling illegal immigrants (by not enforcing deportation laws) as Mayor of New York City.



But Romney ran into a classic problem. His past caught up with him. He forgot three cities in Massachusetts had declared themselves sanctuaries for illegal immigrants, just like New York City.



Giuliani’s response was swift and simple. He said Romney hadn’t lifted a finger or objected to having three sanctuaries in his own state within about an hour’s drive of Boston.



This is the definition of a political disaster: Mitt hits Rudy. Rudy hits back. They both lose votes from people who care about immigration. And where do the votes go? Well, maybe, Romney’s strategy wasn’t such a good one – unless he meant to help Fred Thompson.



Click Here to discuss and comment on this and other articles.

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Carter Wrenn

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