California Insider

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Sacramento Bee Columnist Daniel Weintraub

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August 11, 2003

Is the immigrant anti-immigrant?

Up early for another east coast TV gig, (MSNBC 6 am Pacific), I see that the Sacramento Bee leads with the story on Democrats rapping Arnold for having voted for Prop. 187 in 1994. That was the initiative that sought to end most public services to illlegal immigrants. Democratic Party Chairman Art Torres hit him on that, and for having former Gov. Pete Wilson as his campaign chairman. "There is a famous phrase in our community, and that is, 'Judge a person by the friends that he keeps,''' Torres said.

Schwarzenegger spokesman Rob Stutzman said this:

"Arnold was proud that he came to this country as an immigrant and was able to realize all of his dreams. He believes that we must protect the rule of law and that all immigrants are protected from exploitation when the laws of the land are followed."

How is this likely to play politically? The Bee's Talev points out that nearly 60 percent of Californians voted for the ballot measure, most of which was eventually thrown out in the courts. And the fierce criticism showered on Wilson at the time was mostly aimed at his use of the issue as a tool in his reelection campaign and his blurring of the lines between legal and illegal immigration.

Illegal immigration has receded as a front-burner issue in California, but it remains a concern to many state residents, especially in the south. And illegal immigration hurts those at the bottom of the income scale the most, because their wages are depressed by competititon from people who will work for minimum wage or sometimes less. I doubt Arnold is going to make this a plank in his campaign. But being a candidate who passionately supports legal immigration while drawing the line at those who break the law to enter this country does not seem to me to be a losing position.

With Cruz Bustamante emerging as the Democratic alternative should Davis be recalled, Democrats will try to use the issue to keep their base in Cruz's camp. But it's just as possible that independents and moderates in both parties could be turned off if the Democrats mount an aggressive defense of illegal immigration.

As an observer, I think the most important development in the entire story Sunday was that Arnold's campaign responded immediately, didn't say they didn't know how he voted or that Arnold couldn't remember how he voted, and put out a positive statement in which Arnold defended his position. If they had done otherwise, the story would have been not only that he might have backed 187 but that his campaign was in disarray in its early days. As it was, my paper described the campaign as "scrambling" in the lead paragraph of the lead story Monday. If this is scrambling, watch out when they get their legs under them...

NOTE: An earlier version of this item said "more than" 60 percent backed 187. It was actually nearly 60 percent, or 58.93 to be precise.