Falsehoods, exaggerations and stumbles

Summary
The CNN/YouTube debate among Republicans lacked any talking snowmen, but we did note a few false and misleading statements by the candidates.

• Romney claimed New York called itself a "sanctuary city" for illegal aliens. It didn't.
• Giuliani denied New York actually was a "sanctuary city." But the nonpartisan
• Congressional Research Service has classified it as such, based on immigrant-friendly policies Giuliani still defends.
• Huckabee claimed he would "abolish the IRS." He failed to mention that he'd replace it with another big tax bureaucracy.
• Huckabee said he had proposed to make children of illegal aliens eligible for Arkansas scholarships if they "had been in our schools their entire school life." Actually, the proposal required only three years in Arkansas schools.
• Giuliani was correct on two points: While he was mayor, New York snowfall went down and the Yankees won four World Series titles. He was joking, but his gag should remind citizens that it's a mistake in logic to give mayors, or governors or presidents, all credit or blame for what happens just because they're in office at the time.
• Romney, claiming to be a "true suffering" fan of the Red Sox, said the team waited 87 years to win a World Series. They actually waited 86.

Analysis
The Nov. 28 debate, which took place in St. Petersburg, Florida, was hosted by CNN and YouTube.com and moderated by CNN's Anderson Cooper. The candidates participating were former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani; former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney; former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson; former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee; Sen. John McCain of Arizona; and Reps. Duncan Hunter of California, Ron Paul of Texas and Tom Tancredo of Colorado.

"Sanctuary" Semantics
Romney and Giuliani accused each other of willfully providing "sanctuary" to immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally. Both men exaggerated, though we find their denials are more strained than their accusations.

Cooper: Governor Romney, was New York a sanctuary city?
Romney: Absolutely. Called itself a sanctuary city, and as a matter of fact, when the Welfare Reform Act that President Clinton brought forward said that they were going to end the sanctuary policy of New York City, the mayor brought a suit to maintain its sanctuary city status.

Romney is simply wrong on one point: New York never called itself a "sanctuary city." We find no instance where it did, and the Romney campaign has been unable to provide one.

However, a 2005 report by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service (updated in 2006) lists NYC under the general heading of "Sanctuary States and Cities" and says it is among those that follow "sanctuary policies." It lists the city among 32 that "utilized various mechanisms to ensure that unauthorized aliens who may be present in their jurisdiction illegally are not turned in to federal authorities." But unlike some other cities on the CRS list, New York has never "called itself a sanctuary city," and Romney was wrong to say that it did.

Giuliani also strained the facts when he flatly stated during the debate that New York "was not a sanctuary city." Obviously, the CRS disagrees. New York indeed had a policy, which Giuliani defended during the debate, that forbade city employees from giving federal immigration officials the names of illegal aliens unless the immigrant was suspected of other criminal activity or turning the person over was required by law. That protection was granted by a previous mayor through executive order 124 in 1989 and renewed by Giuliani. However the city chooses to characterize its policies, they fit the description of "sanctuary" applied by neutral experts.

Giuliani stretched the facts when he accused Romney of employing illegal aliens at his home, which the mayor called "a sanctuary mansion." And so did Romney when he said "I did not" have illegals working at his home.
Giuliani:At his own home illegal immigrants were being employed – (laughter, cheers, applause) – not – not – not being turned in to anybody or by anyone. ... So I would say he had sanctuary mansion, not just sanctuary city. ...

Romney: Mayor, you know better than that. ...