CNN (June 25, 2012)
O'BRIEN: Joining us this evening, Republican strategist and former Huntsman 2012 national Hispanic chairwoman, Ana Navarro is with us. And Van Jones as well, the former special adviser to President Obama, also the author of "Rebuild the Dream," which is also the name of the initiative that he co-founded.
Nice to see, both of you. Ana, I'm going to start with you. Who do you think is -- this is a win for, the Supreme Court decision?
ANA NAVARRO, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I think in the short term, it's going to give Obama a bump. I've been seeing the reaction in the Latino community today. And there is fear, there is outrage, by the section that is still there. And I think Romney needs to be stronger and more aggressive and engaging on immigration. I'm getting increasingly frustrated as a Republican Hispanic not seeing him engage.
There is absolutely no doubt that Obama broke his promise. There's no doubt that he's vulnerable on this issue. There's no doubt that it's his biggest liability with Latinos. But he will only be vulnerable if Romney puts on the gloves and engages. And he's got to do so unequivocally.
And for some reason, he's been unwilling to do so. So, you know, he dug himself into a hole during the primaries. He's got to proactively dig himself out of that hole. Telling us that Obama is bad is not enough. He's got to tell us that he's good and what his plan is. So I am very frustrated.
I am eager to here Mitt Romney do more, say more, and show some engagement and show himself as a real challenger to Obama on this issue --
O'BRIEN: He's been very -- he's been very, very vague. Let me read the tweet that you had today. It went like this. "I confess as a Republican Hispanic trying to put a positive spin on Romney immigration nonstatements. Well, let's just say it ain't easy."
When he does speak, he's been -- he doesn't really articulate an answer to what the people are asking. What do you want to hear him say?
NAVARRO: It ain't easy, Soledad. I've been -- you know, I've been at it now for a while. And that's it for me. I want to hear him say some specifics. It's very difficult to put a positive spin when he's not addressing some of the key questions. He has -- he's talking -- he's getting some very thoughtful and good proposals on fixing legal immigration and how that will affect the illegal immigration problem.
Well, let's be clear here. Saying that fixing legal immigration is going to solve the illegal immigration problem and solve the issue for the 11 million undocumented here is like saying we can fix the obesity problem by selling more lettuce. Well, it just doesn't happen that way. We need some very specific proposals.
O'BRIEN: All right. Van, let's talk about President Obama. In some ways, is this a lose-lose for him? He didn't reform immigration. As you heard just a moment ago he promised he would do. He had a window to do it. He also at the same time has had a large number of deportations. How big of a problem is this for him?
VAN JONES, AUTHOR, "REBUILD THE DREAM": Well, first of all, the outrage you just heard is the outrage I'm hearing all across the country from Latinos on every side of the political spectrum. The last time you had somebody running for president out of Massachusetts, he wrote a book called "Profiles in Courage." This guy is profile in cowardice. Where is Mitt Romney?
O'BRIEN: But I asked you about President Obama, sir.
JONES: Why is he running? Sure, fair enough. I think President Obama is -- has done the right things now. He has tried to work with this Congress on so many issues. They stopped him every time. They stopped him on the DREAM Act. They stopped him on the jobs bill. He's now showing real courage.
The -- you know who the real heroes here are? Those DREAM Act young people who have stood up. They said, listen, we are aspiring citizens. We want to be a part of this country. The president stood with them. Obama said they're looking -- not Obama, Romney said that the DREAM Act student who've taken the country's heart by storm are just looking for a handout. Now that is the -- the hole he dug himself into. He cannot hug and kiss the Tea Party and then try to hug and kiss the Latino community.
O'BRIEN: But you heard --
JONES: That's why he's hiding.
O'BRIEN: You heard just a moment ago, though, President Obama was basically saying, I didn't really deliver on my promises, and you know, and give me another term and I'll do it. That could be a tough sell.
JONES: Well, but here's reality. This president came in promising to be bipartisan. The other side said from the beginning their number one priority was to make sure he failed. So they made sure that he failed even on the DREAM Act. So now he says, listen, I'm a good smart student here. I've learned I've got to lead now on these tough issues. And he is doing it.
The young people have inspired him. They brought the best out in this president. He's bringing the best out in the country. Here's the problem you have with Romney. You've got a situation where Arizona has now become the Alabama of the new century. What Alabama was to black folks in the last century, Arizona has now become. This president is clear. He does not agree with the direction of Arizona.
Where is Mitt Romney? Mitt Romney is being a profile in cowardice. And he's losing Latinos now on both sides of the aisle over his cowardice.
O'BRIEN: Ana, I'm going to give you the last question. When you look at the polls, at the end of the day people don't say immigration is their number one issue. It's not even number two, and sometimes it's not even number three in some of the polls. To what degree is it really going to affect the race?
(CROSSTALK)
JONES: The way that it affects the race is --
NAVARRO: Of course it's not the number one issue, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Hold on one second, Van --
NAVARRO: I think she was asking me the question.
JONES: Sorry, sorry. Go right in. Go ahead. Sorry.
NAVARRO: Of course it's not the number one issue. Latinos are at 11 percent unemployment under Obama. You know that's going to take priority over immigration. What immigration is, is a trust issue. We want to know, are you with us or are you against us? It's a -- it's an issue where a candidate can establish a personal connection.
And I want to tell you something, Soledad. If we're going to be talking reality check here and keeping them honest, Obama is going to come in, if he wins a second term, as a lame duck president from day one into a Congress that is now a poisoned well because he took executive action as opposed to working in Congress. He had his best opportunity to pass immigration in his first two years when he had a Democrat Senate and a Democrat House.
Timing in politics matters. I'm not sure he's going to be able to do in four -- the second four years what he didn't do in his first or why we should believe that he can.
O'BRIEN: So we have one candidate who's not giving any specifics on his immigration plan when it comes to undocumented workers and another who you say can't be effective in the next four years. That doesn't leave the voters lots of choice.
NAVARRO: That's -- we've got -- I think you've got the choice exactly right. We've got one candidate, Barack Obama, who makes big promises, talks real pretty, and then doesn't deliver. And then we've got another candidate who talks without saying anything and really he's not making any specific promises. So for the Latinos, it's not much of a choice.
O'BRIEN: That's our final word.
Van Jones, Ana Navarro, thanks guys, appreciate it.
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