Badger State Bus tour

>>> mitt romney is hoping to capitalize on governor scott walker 's win in wisconsin . when he visits the badger state for the first time since the recall election . wisconsin 's ron johnson is a romney liaison and joins us from janesville, wisconsin . good morning. thank you so much for being on the program.

>> morning, luke . how you doin'?

>> good. first question i want to get to has to do with immigration. governor romney said this yesterday on cbs.

>> would you repeal this order if you became president?

>> well, let's step back at theish you've. these kids brought in by their parents, there needs to be a long-term solution.

>> would you repeal this?

>> it would be overtaken by events, if you will, by virtue of my putting in place a long-term solution.

>> would you leave this in place while you worked out a long-term solution, or would you just repeal it?

>> we'll look at that setting as we reach that.

>> so senator johnson , governor romney would not say whether or not he would repeal this executive order . do you think this executive order issued on friday by president obama should be repealed?

>> well, first of all, luke , it's a real shame, because president obama actually had two years when he came into office where he had total control of the government. if he was really serious about solving the immigration issues as opposed to just making it a political issue, he could have done it in the first two years. plus senator marco rubio has really been doing some very good would she. he's been reaching out to democrats in the senate to come up with a dream act that actually would work. and rather than wait for that process to play itself out, president obama issued this executive order , which is a short-term solution. and unfortunately, what we really need is a long-term solution. so this is all about politics. it's very unfortunate. we could have actually worked toward a real solution in a very bipartisan way, because, you know, really, we want to solve this problem. but you really do need to do this legislatively, working through congress. president obama himself --

>> senator johnson -- obviously -- we're in an election year. and obviously any type of controversial issues aren't going to be taken up on either side. but the question is, would you support repeal of this executive order today?

>> well, luke , first of all, i disagree with you. if you actually had leadership, if president obama were showing real leadership, he would work with congress where there really is -- there's a gaining consensus to actually fix our immigration problem . there really is. but you have to do this legislatively, and that's a real shame that president obama is unwilling to work with members of congress to fix this problem.

>> okay. but i'm unclear on your position. would you support repeal of it today or no?

>> i think it's going to be a moot point, because i think as soon as governor romney is elected, we'll work toward a legislative solution. and i think events will just take over. and i don't think we're going to have to worry about repealing this. but -- >> yes, sir.

>> the bottom line is, we could work on the issue right now, because marco rubio has got a good proposal he's working on.

>> it will be interesting to see what he says about that when those plans come forward. i want to ask you about this. june 11 lpth, casey hunt from "associated press" wrote, quote, romney keeps secrets unless law says he can't. the republican presidential candidate refuse to say identify his biggest donors who bundle money for his campaign. he often declines to say who he is meeting with or what he is doing for hours at a time. he puts limits on media access to his fund-raisers and resists releasing his tax returns , making just a single year public after facing public pressure to do so. when you ran for senate in 2010 , you gave to the public five years of your tax returns . why shouldn't mitt romney make five years of his tax returns available to the public?

>> my understanding what governor romney has done, he's pretty well followed what past presidents in terms of presidential elections and that's a decision he has to make. and the vote kers decide, based on what information he produces. but the bottom line , we need to take a look at what this election is about. and it's really about the failed policies of this administration versus governor romney 's ideas about an opportunity society, putting america on a path of prosperity, utilizing the free enterprise system versus relying on growing government. that's really what i would like to talk about, luke .

>> senator johnson , you've been a liaison, obviously, for governor romney talking to conservatives within congress. some of whom have been very skeptical about governor romney , especially after that etch-a-sketch moment came a few months ago. do you feel comfortable that mitt romney would actually go through the cuts suggested in the ryan budget, which totals in the trillions of dollars over time ?

>> listen, i'm sure governor romney fully understands the financial problem this nation faces, and he's 100% dedicated to dealing with it, and leading on the issue, as opposed to what president obama has done, where he's basically a pundit. he's proposed four budgets now, president obama . he has yet to propose any solution for social security or medicare. his last two budgets were so unserious, they have gotten through three rounds of the united states congress . president obama has been unserious about facing up to our fiscal situation. governor romney , i think, is dedicated to actually leading on the issue. i'm 100% convinced he will.

>> all right. we'll leave it there. senator johnson from wisconsin , thank you so much for joining us. enjoy the rally.