Posted on 04/27/2004 9:13:34 PM PDT by concentric circles
An initiative that would bar undocumented immigrants from obtaining driver's licenses and most public services failed to qualify for the ballot.
The "Save Our State Initiative" fell about 115,000 short of the 598,105 needed to qualify for the November ballot, organizers said Monday.
The initiative never got the support and funding it needed from the Republican leaders. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger never took a position on it.
Republicans were hurt at the polls for their support of a similar initiative in 1994. Proposition 187 was approved by 60 percent of voters but it was challenged in court and never took effect. The measure alienated many Hispanic voters from the Republican Party.
"...On Monday, he (Ron Prince) estimated the campaign had collected 483,000 - despite becoming a staple of radio talk shows and using the Internet to circulate petitions..."
"...We learned that even with the new technology, you still need professional signature-gatherers," said Prince, who raised less than $50,000 - not nearly enough to hire workers to circulate petitions..."
"...The GOP, he maintains, dismissed an issue that would have energized voters and increased Bush's chances of carrying the state..."
"...(He) vowed to mount a fund-raising drive to qualify the proposed constitutional amendment for the March 2006 ballot..."
I'll keep that in mind when the GOP asks for my support.
Save Our State Fails To Qualify
Vows to Fight On!
Ron Prince, Chairman of Save Our State, announced today the end of the petition drive to qualify a sequel to Prop 187 for the November ballot. Having collected just under 500,000 signatures from SOS volunteers, Prince acknowledged that "you can't get an initiative on the ballot in California today without enough money to pay for signatures". The campaign fell short of the 800,000 signatures necessary to insure qualification.
The principle reason cited by Prince for the Save Our State campaign's failure to garner more support for its ballot measure was "opposition from the Republican Party establishment". In 1994, Prop 187's landslide victory swept conservative Republicans into statewide offices. But today's "centrist party elites", as Prince described them, do not support populist causes. "A backlash will be felt in November', warned Prince. He said that Republican candidates will have a difficult time explaining to the voters why they wouldn't help prevent illegals from getting driver's licenses or welfare in California", the two main points of the initiative. Moreoever, the turnout of Republican voters won't be as large as it would have been if the SOS initiative had been on the ballot.
The other problem confronting the Save Our State campaign was a lack of funds. Unlike 1994, none of California's Republican leaders helped financially. Their opposition to the new version of Prop 187 discouraged other donors from helping the campaign.
As reported by the Sacramento Bee, (Sen. Gil) "Cedillo lauded the GOP for failing to support Prince's campaign."
The SOS Iniatiative was never aimed at any specific group of illegal aliens though opponents led by Sen. Cedillo and his supporters would have had Californians think so. That was pure propaganda in a blatant attempt to try and gain public support and sympathy. However, it was a big lie. In fact, Cedillo specifically addressed and represented one group of illegal aliens, while no politicans, and no organizations ever represented illegal aliens from any other point of origin. Nor was any opposition ever stated from any other group beyond Cedillo and his supporters. Actually, the intent of the SOS initiative is the same as it always has been, to deny licenses and benefits to ALL illegal aliens, and bring California into compliance with Federal Law.
The need for money to qualify initiatives for the ballot raises new questions about the initiative process itself. The original intent of the initiative process was to by-pass the political power of special interests that control the legislature and give the people direct access to the legislative powers. But the escalating cost of initiatives has effectively denied that access to the people. Grass roots organizations cannot, on their own, mobilize the resources necessary to bring important issues to the ballot.
The SOS effort to qualify an immigration reform measure for the ballot is a case in point. Despite a large response through talk radio and the resources of the internet, the campaign was not able to collect enough signatures. "With the kind of money that wealthy individuals or corporations can afford, this measure could have qualified within a few weeks with the kind of money that wealthy individuals or corporations spend on their pet projects", said Prince, adding that if it had been on the ballot, it would have passed by an even larger margin than before".
Today, we are back where we were at the beginning of the 20th century. "Special interests, and the politicians they can buy, ignore issues that are important to the people while promoting their own agendas, often in opposition to the public will and against the common good" said Prince. "The gap between the elites and the people has grown", he added, and "it will eventually threaten political stability if it is not reversed". The initiative process needs to be reformed to make it available to populist causes, not the private preserve of special interests.
Save Our State has learned from its mistakes in the campaign now ending, and it is re-organizing. We are now beginning a fund raising effort to pay for the necessary signatures to qualify a new measure for the ballot. "Illegal immigration hasn't stopped and neither will we", said Prince; "we will keep working to put this measure before the voters so they can finally have their say. In fact, we have just begun to fight!"
Save Our State wants to thank our biggest supporters, the talk radio hosts across California. Key political supporters we want to thank includes, Senator Tom McClintock, Assemblymen Ray Haynes, and Dennis Mountjoy, fmr. Assemblyman Howard Kaloogian, the Christian Coalition, and California Republican Assembly. Most importantly, we want to thank the tens of thousands of volunteers who sacrificed their valuable time to stand a post and gather the hundreds of thousands of signatures that were secured; and those Californians who donated their hard-earned money in support of our measure, which will eventually qualify for the ballot and be passed by the people of California.
Again.... We Have Just Begun To Fight!
What about permanent resident aliens, or even nonresident aliens such as foreign students or temporary workers? They get licenses/ID in CA legally. In a way, they are subject to US jurisdiction, while illegal aliens are not under any control of the US (since otherwise they should have been deported).
Finally, a statement that makes sense. This can provide the basis for stopping all this.
They get licenses/ID in CA legally.
Non-citizens in the US are here at the pleasure of the Federal government. They are under foreign and US jurisdiction. My guess is that a State license is thus illegal. It should be issued by the Feds with State permission. IOW, the State would test operator qualifications but the Feds should issue the documents. When a person becomes a citizen, they then automatically gain State citizenship by virtue of the 14th Amendment.
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