When Texas Gov. Rick Perry defended the Texas DREAM Act at the most recent Republican presidential debate—to the horror of the Tea Party—Mitt Romney saw an opportunity to frame himself as a champion of anti–illegal immigration policies and appeal to the most right-wing GOP primary voters.
It's a position he's running with. Over the weekend, Romney volunteers flooded Perry campaign events in New Hampshire with pamphlets that accused Perry of supporting policies that "attract and encourage illegal immigration."
But today Politico is reporting that Romney's opportunistic move to the right on the issue of immigration—"outflank[ing] Perry on the right among conservatives"—could backfire on him should he win the Republican nomination for president:
"Some strategists—and even some Romney supporters—are beginning to worry that he could damage himself as a general election candidate with the fastest-growing population of voters who are up for grabs: Hispanics."
Politico cites a former Hispanic-media aide to Presidents Reagan and both Bushes who believes Romney's "unfriendly" tactics will cost the candidate in the general election, pointing out that Hispanic voters will be crucial in swing states like Florida, Colorado, Nevada, and New Mexico.
Of course, if he were nominated, the former Massachusetts governor and prolific flip-flopper could just change his position. He's already done it once; Romney hasn't always been a hard-liner on immigration. He praised the 2005 immigration reform efforts led by Senators Ted Kennedy and John McCain, and he supported finding a path to citizenship for those paying U.S. taxes but not receiving government benefits.
Read the full story at Politico.