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[Ramos] Mr. Axelrod, thank you so much for talking to us.
Thanks for having me.
Let me star with the economy. The unemployment is going up. Only 69,000 jobs were created in the last month.
What's, What's the problem?
Well, the problems is that we've come through a tremendous crisis in 2008-2009. We are still recovering from it.
We've had 27 months of private sector job growth, Jorge. But, there're. . . we have to be vigilant about it.
There are storm clouds from Europe that are pressing in our economy right now. And we are feeling the effects
of that. And so, we have to keep pressing forward with action. The President has proposed a series of steps, uhh. . .
to, to, to accelerate our economy, uhh...to put teachers and firefighters back on the job around the country.
To get construction workers to get back to work, rebuilding our country with a, uhh... Service and Transportation Act.
So, our roads and our bridges and, uhh... and, and all the things that we need to be working at. That will put
thousands of people back to work, uhh...He's proposed a tax credit for small businesses to hire
That will help to put people back to work. And the question now is, will the Republican Congress simply attack,
or will they act? Do they want to be part of the solution or are they going to be part of the problem?
Uhh...we need to work together to keep our economy moving forward.
But if the economy is gonna. . .If the election is going to be decided on the economy, this means trouble for
President Obama, isn't it?
Well, I think that the thing we need we ought to be concern in right now. . .about right now is not the politics of this,
but the economics of it. All over this country there are people who are concerned about the economy and they want
us to, uhh...keep...even though we are in the midst of an election, to keep moving forward.
Keep working at this problem. Look, we've a long way from the day that President Obama walked in the door
and the country was and the country was loosing 800,000 jobs, uhh...a month and, as I said,
27 straight months of growth, but we need to accelerate that growth and keep our foot on the gas pedal.
You have been criticizing Mitt Romney on his business record, uhh...President Bill Clinton just said that
Romney had a sterling business career. Who's, who's right?
Well, I don't think that we are contradicting each other. Really the question, Jorge, was is he the job creator that he, uhh...uhh...
projects himself as. He says his business career and his government career qualifies him as a job creator.
And the fact is that he was very good in making money for himself and his partners but it is often at the expense of jobs.
Uhh...That wasn't his goal and his partners have said it: "We were not about creating jobs. We were about creating wealth
for ourselves and our partners." Sometimes that meant going in and outsourcing jobs. Sometimes that mean, uhh...
loading businesses with debt, taking them to bankruptcy, where they would profit from the bankruptcy, and the workers
and creditors with, uhh...with...left holding the bag. And that would qualify as a sucess from the standby of the
balance sheet but that is not how you want to make national policy. Governor Romney made the same, uhh...
he made the same arguments when he ran for governor of Massachusetts 10 years ago. "I'm a business man,
I'm a job creator, I know how to move the economy forward." And, under his leadership, Massachusetts was 47th out of
50 states, uhh... in job creation. So, the only debate we're having is does what he believe really help us move
this economy forward. Is his theory the right theory? And I think that is the debate we should have.
Look at, uhh...his proposals. What he wants to do is simply go back to what we were doing before: 250,000 dollar tax cut
for every millionarie; higher taxes for people making 40,000 and, uhh...under, uhh...
Less rules for Wall Street, uhh...He wants to roll those back. We've tried this, Jorge, it was a disaster for the country
and we're still recovering from it.
Let, let me ask you...uhh...about immigration now. Do you think President Barack Obama has a Hispanic problem?
He broke a major campaign promise. He said he was going to present an emigration bill. He didn't.
Uhh... he has deported more immigrants than any other president of, uhh...the United States.
Why should Latinos vote for him again, if he didn't keep his promise the first time?
Well let's...let's be clear about the history here. The reason why... I was in the room, Jorge, when
the President called together all of those who had worked on immigration reform in the past,
in his first year as president and he said "I will lock arms with you Republicans and Democrats...uh...
to pass this bill." In that room where..uh..many of the people who were among the eleven who
supported comprehensive immigration reform under President Bush...uhh...but not one
of them was willing to step forward and say "We will work with you on this Bill" because it was
the policy of the Republican party to pander to the nativists...uhh...vote within their party.
And they would not, and they would not...[Ramos] He said he was going to pass an immigration reform.
[Axelrod] Jorge. . . [Ramos] He promised that. I mean, you know that he promised that.
[Axelrod] The challenge, the challenge, the challenge is, Are you going to pass a bill?
We put a DREAM, we put the DREAM Act forward. We got 53 Democratic votes for that.
More than ever before but we couldn't get but 3 Republican votes. We couldn't get the
60 votes we needed because on mass the Republican party walked away from it.
We are still working to get...uhh...those done and, I think, when the President wins in
November it's gonna send a strong message to those within the Republican party who think
an anti-immigrant...uhh.. position...uhh... is the right position for this country.
I think there are a lot of folks in the Republican party who actually know better, but
they are bridled by their leadership...uhh... who, who, who go the other way. And, Jorge,
let's understand, this is going to be a choice between a President who is pushing
for these things and...uhh... a man like Governor Romney who has Kris Kobach as his
Chief Immigration Adviser who saw the endorsement of Sheriff Arpaio and embraces him,
who vetoed the DREAM Act and said he would do it again. Who opposes comprehensive immigration
reform. So, anyone who votes on this issue and believes that...uhh... that is the right direction
I think is making a big mistake.
The polls show that President Barack Obama is going to win the Hispanic vote but, do you
think that might change if Mitt not...if Mitt Romney chooses Senator Marco Rubio as his running mate?
I think it would be an insult to the Hispanic community to chose Senator Rubio
if he thinks that that is somehow, if Governor Romney thinks that is sort of
get-out-of-jail-free card for all the things and the positions he has taken.
I don't believe that it changes...uhh... picking Senator Rubio wouldn't change the fact
that e vetoed the DREAM Act. That he..uhh...that he's got Kobach and may, in fact,
make him the next Director of...uhh... of Homeland Security. There's been rumors to that effect.
That he has embraced Sheriff Arpaio. I...I don't think that ...uhh...excuses his position.
Beyond that, the question is, Do we want to reverse all the policies that are so important to
the Hispanic community? Under the Health Reform the President passed, 9 million
uninsured Hispanics will get insurance. 150,000 kids are now getting help with college who
weren't before, because of the Pell Grants that the President embraced.
Governor Romney says he would rolled all of that back so, I think if people vote in self interest,
there is no question, no matter who is on the ticket...uhh...with Governor Romney,
that the choice is clearly to vote for President Obama.
So you think Marco Rubio will have no impact whatsoever in the election, in terms of the Hispanic vote?
I don't think Marco Rubio...uhh...will ex...exonerates Governor Romney
for the very, very extreme positions he's taken...uhh...on..uhh...on immigration
and for his bad economics. Uhh...when it comes to the interest of the...uhh...of the,
of the Latino community.
Mr. Axelrod, thank you so much for talking to us.
Jorge, good to be with you. Thank you.
Thank you so much.