Carlos Gutierrez Expresses Shock Over Romney’s Gifts Remark

Adding to the list of folks on the right who have expressed disappointment in the now infamous “gifts” remark, Carlos Gutierrez, who served as an advisor in the Romney campaign, told CNN’s Candy Crowley that he was shocked. He then added that the far right wing of the Republican Party has moved the party to a place it doesn’t belong.

When asked about Romney’s argument that Obama performed well with Latino and African American voters, Gutierrez remarked, “I was shocked. I was shocked, and frankly I don’t think that’s why the Republicans lost the election. I think we lost the election because the far right of this party has taken the party to a place that it doesn’t belong.”

Gutierrez then explained, “…I don’t know if he understood that he was saying something that was insulting. The language, the attitude, the body language, that’s what Latinos watch.”

Romney made the “gifts” remark after losing the Latino vote to President Obama by 44% points. During the primary season, Mitt Romney continued to tack to the right on immigration by saying he would veto the DREAM Act, calling Arizona’s SB 1070 a “model” for the nation, and surrounding himself with advisors like Pete Wilson, who famously pushed anti-immigrant Proposition 187 in California, and Kris Kobach, the architect of SB 1070. The immigration issue is often used to gauge a level of respect with the Latino community, and when Romney made the “gifts” comment he referred to the DREAM Act youth as “children of illegals.”

About the Author

Adriana Maestas

Adriana Maestas is the senior contributing editor of Politic365.com. She has covered issues ranging from immigration and higher education to health care policy. Adriana holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California, Irvine and a master’s degree in public policy from Claremont Graduate University. You can find her on twitter: @LatinoPolitics