CA. Latino caucus calls Republican Immigration ads racist
/Accusing the Republican Party and business groups of stoking
"anti-immigrant, anti-Latino" fervor, the Legislature's Democratic
Latino Caucus on Tuesday urged Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to denounce
"racist" GOP campaign ads mailed during recent Assembly races. Members
of the 27-member caucus also called on the Republican governor to speak
out against a campaign to qualify a ballot measure that would deny
benefits - including driver's licenses - to illegal immigrants. "I
would hope that the governor will make a response to these (campaign)
tactics," said state Sen. Martha Escutia, D-Whittier, the new
chairwoman of the caucus. Escutia invoked the memory of Proposition
187, which she contends inflamed ethnic divisions in California and
drove voters away from the Republican Party. Schwarzenegger supported
the 1994 ballot measure, which was overwhelmingly approved by voters
but gutted by legal challenges. The mailers criticized by Latino
legislators were sent out during the final days of the recent election
campaign by JobsPAC, formed by the California Chamber of Commerce and
the California Manufacturers Association, and the state Republican
Party. The ads targeted four Democratic Assembly candidates - who all
won their races - and said they wanted to allow illegal immigrants to
obtain driver's licenses and other benefits. [more]