Last Friday’s David Brooks column on “The Real Rudy” contains some Giuliani quotes that are sure to make it into a Romney attack ad (if they haven’t already!). But I think Brooks overstates the extent to which Giuliani has tacked right on the immigration issue. Here’s Brooks:
Thing is, Giuliani may have opposed the Senate compromise immigration plan earlier this year, but he still supports some sort of non-amnesty amnesty for illegal immigrants who are not criminals and who come forward and register for a “tamper-proof ID card” once the “border is secure.” It’s Romney who opposes non-amnesty amnesty, though he was open to it back in 2006. The “Real Rudy” probably still agrees with most of the quotes in Brooks’s column. Which is to say: The “Real Rudy” is the, um, one stumping in New Hampshire. It’s just that he’s made a decision to emphasize the border enforcement-side as he runs in the GOP primary. If he’s the nominee, Giuliani probably will simultaneously talk tough on the border while also emphasizing, perhaps to a much greater extent, the benefits immigration brings to the United States.
