Oops:
Standing on stage at a Republican debate on the Gulf Coast of Florida last week, Mitt Romney repeatedly lashed out at rival Rudy Giuliani for providing sanctuary to illegal immigrants in New York City. Yet, the very next morning, on Thursday, at least two illegal immigrants stepped out of a hulking maroon pickup truck in the driveway of Romney's Belmont house, then proceeded to spend several hours raking leaves, clearing debris from Romney's tennis court, and loading the refuse back on to the truck. In fact, their work was part of a regular pattern. Despite a Globe story in Dec. 2006 that highlighted Romney's use of illegal immigrants to tend to his lawn, Romney continued to employ the same landscaping company – until today. The landscaping company, in turn, continued to employ illegal immigrants. I don't think Republican primary voters will respond directly to this, as they tend to close ranks on MSM hit jobs against their leading candidates. The more this is seen as a Globe-led crusade, the better for Romney.
But you have to wonder what Romney was thinking using the same company that got him in hot water the year before. You would think he would have had this kind of thing squared away before he became an active candidate. It's not like he's ever at the house overseeing these guys, but that's no excuse. This is exactly the kind of treatment any candidate can expect. Do we know, for instance, who's been tending the garden on Whitehaven Street or in Chappaqua? In light of this report, perhaps we should.
The other immediate results is that this gives retrospective legitimacy to Rudy's gutsy "sanctuary mansion" attack from the last debate. It was unconventional at the time, and the audience had a strong negative reaction to it. But debates aren't about what happens at the debate, but what happens in the spin afterwards. This has validated an initially controversial attack and given it a new set of legs.
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