|
|
| |
| Fri, May. 16, 2008 |  |
 |
|
||
| |
When words and a record get in the way Wednesday, Dec 5, 2007 By David Sanders Sunday's noteworthy exchange between George Stephanopoulos and Mike Huckabee provided the kind of exposure of his gubernatorial record that Huckabee had hoped to avoid. Stephanopoulos, the host of ABC News' "This Week," wasted little time, asking Huckabee questions aimed at revealing whether or not his guiding principles, which led him while governor to support extending college scholarships and in-state tuition to the children of illegal immigrants, would lead him to support similar policies as president. His opponents have suggested he is soft on illegal immigration. Stephanopoulos asked the former Arkansas governor about Mitt Romney's attacks leveled against him in a new campaign mailer. "It says on amnesty, you support it; on sheltering illegal immigrants, you support it; public benefits for illegal immigrants, Huckabee committed to eligibility for state-supported college scholarships," he read. Huckabee rebuffed the charge, claiming he'd never supported amnesty or special benefits for illegal immigrants. Instead, he said, he supported a federal government that could secure the border. Then he defended his support for extending college scholarships to the children of illegal immigrants claiming that "you don't punish a child because a parent committed a crime or committed a sin." But Stephanopoulos cut him off. "Let me just stop you right there," he said, "because that's why you pushed a bill that did - would allow the children of illegal immigrants, if they went through an Arkansas high school, to get in-state tuition." Huckabee tried to steer the discussion back to scholarships, but Stephanopoulos interrupted him again, this time, informing him that he had a copy of the final bill (House Bill 1525) he'd supported as governor in 2005. That bill was devoid of the scholarship provision, but contained a provision that explicitly extended in-state college tuition to illegal immigrants. Yet again, Huckabee tried to go back to discussing details of scholarships, but Stephanopoulos wouldn't relent. "If an illegal immigrant, the child of an illegal immigrant, went through high school in Arkansas, they get the same in-state benefits as other Arkansas residents do, yet if a (legal) student was coming in from Colorado, they would pay higher tuition?" he asked Huckabee. Forced to answer, Huckabee claimed a difference: The child from Colorado hadn't been educated in Arkansas schools. He asked "if" a child had spent 13, 12 or five years in Arkansas schools, wouldn't he be better off going to college and "becoming a taxpayer" instead of not going to college and "potentially becoming a tax-taker?" He claimed that it was the fault of the federal government, not the state. Despite the problems with all of Huckabee's what-if scenarios, the bill he supported explicitly offered in-state tuition to any student, "regardless of immigration status," so long as they attended three years of high school in Arkansas and either graduated or earned a GED. So would he take the same approach as president? "How far would you extend the principle?" Stephanopoulos asked Huckabee as he grilled him on whether or not he supported extending Pell grants and subsidized student loans to the children of illegal immigrants: Huckabee: I'm not sure that I would support that, but that ... Stephanopoulos: Why not? Huckabee: There is a different program in Arkansas. Stephanopoulos: How is it different? Huckabee: Well, why wouldn't we give them the student loans? Stephanopoulos: If you don't think students should be punished ... Huckabee: Yeah? Stephanopoulos: ? then why shouldn't they get the federal aid as well as the state aid? Huckabee: Well, it's the difference between (being) punished and being rewarded. His logic capsized. Apparently for Huckabee, withholding college scholarships or in-state tuition from the children of illegal immigrants is tantamount to the state "punishing" students for the sins of their parents, but withholding Pell grants or financial aid from the children of illegal immigrants is tantamount to the federal government simply not "rewarding" these same students for the sins of their parents? He is trying to have it both ways. Stephanopoulos reduced Huckabee, who is often lauded for his rhetorical prowess, to the role of a verbal contortionist who tried to bend and spin his way out of unfamiliar territory. But when he forced Huckabee to project onto the presidency the logic and reasoning that guided him as governor, he exposed an incongruent position and an inherent weakness on an issue important to Republicans. ------- David Sanders writes twice weekly for the Arkansas News Bureau in Little Rock and is a host of the Arkansas Education Television Network's "Unconventional Wisdom." His e-mail address is DavidJSanders@aol.com. |
