Flip-Flop Express - Immigration Reform

via OpenLeft.com and Politico.com-

John McCain in 2006 on a route to citizenship for illegal immigrants:
"However, I do not believe the Senate should or will pass an "enforcement only" bill. Our experiences with our current immigration system have proven that outdated or unrealistic laws will never be fully enforceable, regardless of every conceivable border security improvement we make.... As long as this situation exists, without a legal path for essential workers to enter the country, we will have desperate people illegally crossing our borders and living in the shadows of our towns, cities and rural communities. That is not acceptable, particularly when we are fighting the war on terror.”

In fact, he worked with Sen. Ted Kennedy to reform immigration. Now, he says he'd vote against his own bill:

JANET HOOK: Sen. McCain, let me just take the issue to you, because you obviously have been very involved in it. During this campaign, you, like your rivals, have been putting the first priority, heaviest emphasis, on border security. But your original immigration proposal back in 2006 was much broader and included a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants who are already here.

What I'm wondering is, and you seem to be downplaying that part, at this point, if your original proposal came to a vote in the Senate floor, would you vote for it?

SEN. MCCAIN: No, I would not.

McCain's new stance is boarder security. When John McCain started running for president, he realized that a route to citizenship was not very popular with the far right, so he pivoted (flip-flopped) and said boarder security is now the most important thing. Forget a path to citizenship, we need to secure to boarders.

In June of 2008, John McCain held a closed door meeting with a group of Hispanic Republicans in Chicago in which he is reported to have privately said he is in favor of immigration reform:

Rosanna Pulido, a Latina who heads the Illinois Minuteman Project, told the AP. "He's having his private meetings to rally Hispanics and to tell them what they want to hear.... "Sure enough, his mantra at the meeting was comprehensive immigration reform. And there were cheers and applause whenever he mentioned comprehensive immigration reform.... He was telling one group of people one thing and the Hispanics another."