State GOP Haunted by Ghost of Prop. 187

[Judi Lynn]

February 21, 2004

THE NATION
State GOP Haunted by Ghost of Prop. 187
A rift over illegal immigration threatens to unravel gains made in wooing the Latino vote.

By Michael Finnegan, Times Staff Writer


BURLINGAME, Calif. — A growing dispute among California Republicans over illegal immigration threatens to undercut the party's struggle to recover from the devastating Latino backlash against its support for Proposition 187, the landmark 1994 ballot measure.

The March 2 Republican primary has heightened tensions within the party as candidates up and down the ballot sharpen their rhetoric.

A conservative faction is in open revolt against steps that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and President Bush have taken on illegal immigration, moves widely seen as overtures to Latino voters. Schwarzenegger has signaled that he would sign a bill granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants and Bush has proposed legal status for millions of undocumented workers.

Led by U.S. Senate hopeful Howard Kaloogian, the conservative candidates see their harder line on illegal immigration as a potent appeal to voters in the primary. "What the president's proposal does is reach for paper towels while the flood into our country continues," he said.
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http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-gop21feb21,1,3790591.story?coll=la-home-headlines
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[Ferretherder]

1. To borrow from the latest McDonald's ad campaign,...

...'I'm lovin' it!'.