Democrats make the most of Romney’s Etch-A-Sketch problem [video]

Mitt Romney’s spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom thinks the makers of Etch-A-Sketch should “appreciate everything I did for them” by repopularizing their product when he used the drawing toy in a metaphor about transitioning from a primary to a general election campaign. [Watch the video below.]Fehrnstrom’s statement – “I think you hit a reset button for the fall campaign.... It’s almost like an Etch-A-Sketch. You can kind of shake it up and restart all over again” – gave life to the persistent knock on Romney that he lacks authenticity.

Now, as Democrats transition to general election mode, Etch-A-Sketch appears to be a term that’s not going to go away.

Speaking on a conference call with reporters Friday morning, a trio of Latino Democratic lawmakers made it clear that any effort Romney makes to pivot away from the hard-line stance he took on immigration during the primary campaign will be met with Etch-A-Sketch reminders.

“As much as Mitt Romney might try to Etch-A-Sketch away his extreme positions on immigration, the facts are separate things,” Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.) said. “And he’s going to have to live with not just the facts of what he’s proposed and said, but with the actual images, the actual recordings of him saying and doing these things.”

The call was focused on the recent endorsement Romney snagged from former Arizona state Sen. Russell Pearce, author of the controversial Arizona immigration law that will be reviewed by the Supreme Court later this month.

Romney has called the law a “model for America.” Pearce has said that Romney’s immigration policy is “identical” to his.

Becerra warned that in the primary campaign, Latinos “will see clearly through any effort by Mitt Romney to try to moderate his positions away from where he’s been.”

kim.geiger@latimes.com