He now has to pick a running mate.There have been many people mentioned. Former MN Gov. Tim Pawlenty (GOP) seems to have a good shot at it. When I heard that, my mind went to 2007, a crucial year for young immigrants in MN, a year when Pawlenty did everything possible against us. And then I realized that picking him would only hurt Rmoney's chances to the White House (if he ever had any).
I'd like to shed some light to why Rmoney cannot pick T-Paw. And if he does, both can say good bye to the White House after this decision.
Reason #1: Tim Pawlenty made every effort to block the MN Dream Act, to block progress for many young Latin@s and other immigrants
Two anti-immigrants, two anti-Dream Act cannot run for office any longer. As it is becoming the norm, running on an anti-LGBT rights platform is no longer acceptable. Likewise, being a hard-core anti-immigrant candidate for national office is no longer acceptable. Ask John McCain. Running as an anti-young undocumented immigrant will set your pants on fire. And do not forget that we will question you anywhere and everywhere--your guaruras are gonna be PISSED. hehe.
Now, back to T-Paw. I've been involved in immigrant-related work for years. I started working on the MN Dream Act early in High School in St. Paul, MN. Tim Pawlenty was Gov. then. In 2007, we passed the MN Dream Act for the first time in both chambers! For the first time the House of Representative took a vote and passed it! The debate was heated, but we won! It was included in the Higher Education Omnibus Bill. Then, not to our surprise, the up-coming presidential candidate, threatened to veto the WHOLE Omnibus bill if the DREAM Act was included. From MPR:
"The [Dream] Act for the 2007 legislation session died when a conference committee removed it from the higher education omnibus bill on May 7, 2007 [because] Gov. Pawlenty had threaten to veto the entire bill, had the tuition provision remained."So, we weren't able to pass the MN Dream Act because Tim Pawlenty opposed us in every way possible. What you might not know is that we forced him to pass a MN Flat Rate Tuition (really super small clause) that made over 25 colleges and universities flat-rate for any student in the world--he didn't want to say it was for undocumented students, but it was. Best thing is is that the little clause is benefiting many undocumented students and US citizens from all over the nation. Which also means this has been great for the nation and the state.
Reason #2: Tim Pawlenty's tradition to announce anti-immigrant Executive Orders every January. And most recently endorse AZ's SB1070 and other draconian policies.
In the MN pro-immigrant community in MN, we knew T-Paw as extreme when it came to immigration. He even had a tradition of every early Januaries he would have a press conference to announce his anti-immigrant Executive Orders. And to have a hate-group (Numbers USA) praise Pawlenty's record against immigrants ain't gonna work well either (Hate-group's list is by issue):
Oppose Amnesty/Legalization
- On May 31, 2011, during a visit to Sioux Center, Iowa, Gov. Palwenty said: "I’m not for amnesty, because I think it rewards illegal behavior." Gov. Pawlenty also said he supports tougher border enforcement and thorough identification checks by employers.
Source: http://caucuses.desmoinesregister.com/2011/05/31/pawlenty-debates- immigration-with-iowans-over-coffee/?odyssey=mod|lateststories - Gov. Pawlenty continues to speak generally against allowing large numbers of illegal aliens to stay in the country and about the importance of the rule of law. He doesn't get an Excellent because he hasn't made a detailed statement against mass long-term work permits for illegal aliens, but when he spoke to a Republican Hispanic outreach conference in Miami in January of 2011, he showed spine by refusing to join the pro-legalization group-think of the meeting.
- Pawlenty was the only Republican Hopeful who
accepted an invitation to speak at the Hispanic Leadership Network, led
by conservative pro-amnesty Republicans. Pawlenty declined to appeal to
the audience with hints at support for legalization of illegal aliens
and, instead, said America is based on the rule of law and that "we
can’t have wide swaths of the country nodding or winking or looking the
other way to broad violations of the law.” “The system we currently
have is broken,” Pawlenty said. “We
celebrate and welcome immigration. … But the system needs to be legal
and reasonable and orderly and that is not what we have now.”
Source: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0111/47629.html - “One of the
founding principles of this country is the rule of law, so we can't have
a large segment of the population flouting or violating the law and
others large segment nodding and winking,” he said. “It corrodes respect for the law.... Deportation should depend on factors such as how long the illegal has been in the country.”
Source: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/oct/04/pawlenty-sounds-like-2012-hopeful/
Mandate E-Verify
- As governor, Pawlenty signed an executive order requiring government employees and contractors to use E-Verify. But his most recent public statement on workplace verification is that he doesn't know if employers should be required to use E-Verify nationwide, a most decidedly Unhelpful stance.
- On Janurary 7, 2008, Gov. Pawlenty signed an
executive order requiring state agencies and certain state contractors
to use the E-Verify system when hiring new employees. We just need to
hear/see him publicly advocate E-Verify for all employers nationwide for
him to earn an Excellent rating.
Source: http://www.governor.state.mn.us/priorities/governorsorders/executiveorders/2008/PROD008598.html - Gov. Pawlenty advocated the tightest
possible border security enhanced by an electronic Social Security
verification system so employers don't unknowingly hire illegal
immigrants.
Source: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/oct/04/pawlenty-sounds-like-2012-hopeful/
Reduce Overall Immigration
- Gov. Pawlenty has said little about whether immigration policies should continue to force mass population growth in the U.S.
Source: http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2006/01/minnesota_gover.html
Limit Unfair Worker Competition
- In appealing for Hispanic votes, Gov. Pawlenty has shown more interest in addressing Hispanic Americans' needs to deal with very high unemployment than in appealing to them with promises to increase immigration of more Hispanic workers. His rating is limited to First Steps, partly because he has not articulated a clear vision of how immigration numbers should be coordinated with unemployment rates.
- While Gov. Pawlenty has not called for an
increase in foreign workers during the current jobs depression, he did
lobby Congress to increase the number of H-1B visas in 2006 before the
recession.
Source: http://itbusinessedge.com/, 27 February 2006. - Asked by a Florida newspaper whether he would promise more work visas at an Hispanic conference in Miami, he said: “As
we talk about immigration and the Latino vote, we shouldn't make the
mistake of thinking the only thing they care about is immigration and
jump to that first and only. As I talk to the Hispanic community and
Latino community, they've got a lot of other concerns as well, which is
are they going to have a job, are they going to get a good education,
are they going to be able to afford college, are they going to be able
to buy health care, what's the economy going to be like. They have
national security concerns, so one of the messages I'm going to deliver
down there is we don't need to have every discussion start and continue
and end with just immigration and not pigeonhole either them or their
concerns.”
Source: http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/content/tim-pawlenty-sarah-palins-target-cross-hairs-jeb-bush-hispanic-voters-and-high-speed-rail
Secure Border & Fence
- Gov. Pawlenty has spoken of the need to use whatever resources necessary to secure the border and has authorized Minnesota National Guard to reduce illegal traffic at the U.S./Mexico border. But his statements about how he would secure the border are thin and not recent, keeping him from an Excellent rating.
- Gov. Pawlenty supports putting enough resources into securing the border “effectively.”
Source: Meet the Press, 26 May 2006. - On July 5, 2006, Gov. Pawlenty authorized
Minnesota National Guardsmen and Women to participate in Operation Jump
Start, an initiative to reduce illegal immigration by securing the U.S. -
Mexico border.
Source: http://www.governor.state.mn.us/mediacenter/pressreleases/2006/PROD007691.html
Support Local Enforcement
- Gov. Pawlenty has an especially strong record of ordering local enforcement of immigration laws in Minnesota, and he has strongly defended Arizona's law ordering local police to check for immigration status when there is reasonable suspicion. He just needs to make a statement about what a President should do to authorize and assist local law enforcement for him to earn an Excellent rating.
- On January 7, 2008, Gov. Pawlenty signed an
executive order directing the Minnesota State Police to cooperate with
federal immigration authorities and participate in the 287(g) program.
Source: http://www.governor.state.mn.us/mediacenter/pressreleases/printerfriendly/PROD008599.html - On January 7, 2008, Gov. Pawlenty signed an executive order preventing any locality in Minnesota from being a “sanctuary city.”
Source: http://www.governor.state.mn.us/mediacenter/pressreleases/2008/PROD008597.html - On January 7, 2008, Gov. Pawlenty signed an executive order allowing Minnesota to enter into an ACCESS agreement with ICE.
Source: http://www.governor.state.mn.us/mediacenter/pressreleases/2008/PROD008597.html - Gov. Pawlenty defended Arizona's interior enforcement law, SB 1070.
Source: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/06/22/pawlenty-arizona/?refid=0 - Asked in January 2011 by a Tampa newspaper if the Arizona approach to local enforcement gave him give you any “heartburn or concern,” Pawlenty said: “It
really doesn't in the sense that what it says has been
mischaracterized. I've read the law. Early on, I think the president . .
. misrepresented what the law actually says and unnecessarily scared
people. I think that was a disservice to the debate...If you read the
Arizona law what it says at its core is if the authorities have you
detained or stopped for another reason, a different reason unrelated to
immigration, and then they have a reason to believe you're here
illegally then they can ask for your documents. The notion that what I
just stated in summary allows you to pull someone over based on how they
look is not accurate.”
Source: http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/content/tim-pawlenty-sarah-palins-target-cross-hairs-jeb-bush-hispanic-voters-and-high-
Punish Business Violators
- Gov. Pawlenty in 2010 on Meet the Press called for the jailing of employers who knowingly hire illegal foreign workers. For now, that puts him just over the line for an Excellent rating.
- On May 26, 2010, Gov. Pawlenty said, “You
tell our employers if you knowingly, and underline the word knowingly,
hire an illegal immigrant, then you’re going to jail or you’re going to
have a serious consequence. It will take care of most the problem in a
big hurry.”
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37408098
End Birthright Citizenship
- In August of 2010 when the national news media were searching for Republicans to decry the idea of ending the practice of granting U.S. citizenship for births to illegal aliens and tourists, Gov. Pawlenty made an unequivocal statement of support for repealing the practice.
- On August 7, 2010, Gov. Pawlenty said, “We’re
the only, or one of the few, developed nations in the world that allows
somebody to come here illegally, give birth to a child, and then have
the child be a legal citizen of our country. The only way to trump the
court’s decision is to amend the Constitution.”
Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-06/republican-pawlenty-says-congress-should-extend-fund-upper-income-tax-cut.html
If Mitt Romney chooses Tim Pawlenty as his VP, he can say good bye to a vast majority of Latin@s (even more than recent polls have stated) and people with a heart and therefore say good bye to ever becoming President.
PS - Do not forget Romneycare (ahem Obamacare anyone?)
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