It’s unclear why Mitt Romney is attacking Texas Gov. Rick Perry on immigration during tonight’s debate, when his own record is shaky and he could just as easily delegate the task to Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., or somebody else who can do so more credibly.
Romney tried to take advantage of Mike Huckabee and Sen. John McCain’s weaknesses on immigration last time around, but he fell into trouble because he was only a recent convert to a more hawkish position.
In a 2005 Boston Globe interview, for instance, he called the McCain-Kennedy proposal “reasonable” and “quite different from amnesty” and then attacked it during his first presidential run. He also attacked sanctuary cities, but multiple Massachusetts cities had sanctuary policies when he was governor and Romney didn’t raise a peep.
Romney’s immigration attack is especially odd this time around, because it undercuts his broader strategy of wanting to appeal to more moderate Republicans.
No doubt, Perry does have vulnerabilities on immigration. But Romney isn’t well positioned to exploit them.
