Posted on 10/25/2005 6:31:56 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO (AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday took his special election campaign before a hand-picked Hispanic audience that was more interested in asking him about amnesty and driver's licenses for illegal immigrants than his "year of reform" ballot measures.
Schwarzenegger's appearance in the capital studio of Spanish-language television network Univision was another step in his attempt to connect with voters two weeks before they decide his proposals to change state government.
He answered questions during a voter forum Monday night in Walnut Creek and has additional forums scheduled in Fresno and Los Angeles.
Critics immediately assailed the Univision session because it did not provide time for any of his opponents to speak. Univision's chairman, Jerry Perenchio, is one of the governor's largest campaign supporters, having donated more than $3 million to Schwarzenegger campaign committees since he took office two years ago.
"This amounts to a one-hour infomercial for the governor," said Roger Salazar, a spokesman for the Alliance for a Better California, the coalition of labor groups opposing the governor's ballot agenda. "It is nothing more than one of his biggest contributors providing him the opportunity to deliver his message on his terms."
The question-and-answer session will be broadcast statewide Saturday on Univision stations. The company controls two broadcast networks and is the nation's dominant Spanish-language media company.
In response to questions from a Spanish-speaking audience, Schwarzenegger said he opposes amnesty for illegal immigrants, criticized the federal government for failing to secure the borders and defended his veto of a bill that would have granted driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.
The governor said an amnesty program similar to the one the federal government undertook in the late 1980s would be ill-advised today.
"It just didn't work," Schwarzenegger said. "It backfired big-time. It sent the wrong message: You come here illegally, and then we go and give you amnesty. So then, the next million come and they say, 'Hey, we get amnesty, this is really terrific.'"
Schwarzenegger also said he favors a guest-worker program in which immigrant laborers could obtain work permits.
"Look, I'm an immigrant, so I know what it is like to dream about coming to America and then to get here and be able to make your dreams a reality," the governor said. "Of course, there are millions of people who want to come here. Let's help them, let's find a legal way to do it."
The governor also repeated his defense of his veto of a bill that would have provided driver's licenses for illegal immigrants. He said that issue is under federal jurisdiction because of homeland security requirements that have yet to be implemented at the state level.
"We can debate over this issue about what to do about the driver's license from here to eternity," Schwarzenegger said. "The bottom line is what we really need to do is work on the problem. What do we do with the undocumented immigrant? What do we do with the people who want to come to the United States? What do we do with employers who need workers from Mexico?"
The governor blamed the federal government for not doing more to resolve problems associated with illegal immigration, saying officials "live in denial and look the other way."
Schwarzenegger has been an outspoken critic of the federal government's failure to secure the border with Mexico and has sometimes angered Hispanic interest groups with his comments on illegal immigration.
He praised the Minutemen, a vigilante group of volunteers that began patrolling the border in Arizona last spring and criticized as divisive a billboard by a Los Angeles Spanish-language television show that advertised its market as "Los Angeles, Mexico."
Questions about California's relationship with its largest trading partner arose again in August when state Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez took a three-day trip to Mexico. He said the visit was needed to repair frayed relations caused by Schwarzenegger's support of the Minutemen, even though Schwarzenegger's administration said the two governments got along well.
In addition to immigration issues, the governor also tried to persuade voters on the four ballot measures he wants them to support Nov. 8: a new cap on state spending, a plan for redrawing legislative and congressional districts, longer probationary periods for new school teachers and restrictions on the use of union dues for political purposes.
The appearance was important for Schwarzenegger, not only to burnish his image with Hispanics but also because they represent a growing percentage of the California electorate.
The state's 12 million Hispanics are about a third of the population. Schwarzenegger won 32 percent of the Hispanic vote in the 2003 recall, but his popularity has tumbled in recent months with Democrats and independents. Recent polls show only about 17 percent of Hispanics approve of his job performance.
"I think this was a way to reintroduce him to the Latino voters that he knows he will need next year," said political expert Jaime Regalado, referring to Schwarzenegger's 2006 re-election bid.
Regalado, director of the Pat Brown Institute of Public Affairs at California State University, Los Angeles, said Hispanics are less frequent voters than other groups, especially in special elections. Schwarzenegger's appearance on Spanish-language television, he said, was unlikely to generate much new support.
Each of the 60 audience members was invited by Univision executives, who also screened questions beforehand.
No one representing the groups opposing the governor was invited on the show. That drew objections from the Alliance for a Better California, the umbrella group opposing the governor's initiatives. The group said it will ask Univision for equal time to state its case.
No one from Univision would comment about why the other side was not invited or the request for equal time.
While unfair, the decision to exclude the opposition from the program is probably not a violation of the Federal Communication Commission's equal time rule, said Robert Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies in Los Angeles.
Stern said the rule applies to candidates, while the Nov. 8 election includes only ballot measures. Schwarzenegger's candidacy for re-election is irrelevant because that vote is a year away, he said.
I'll bet this Salazar gets a ton of free coverage for his agenda in the MSM. All the pro-illegal immigrant and immigrant rights groups do. God forbid someone else have a voice.
It took courage to face a culturally biased audience and defend the unpopular positions he espoused.
His reported criticism of current federal posturing and of Reagan's misguided policy was also surprising in the face of the constant pressure Schwarzenegger must receive from the Republican Party to downplay the role they have played in the current crisis.
I don't think he gives a hoot what any faction thinks about him. Schwarzenegger's leading the way he represented himself while campaigning and isn't disregarding the difference between legal and illegal immigration. This may be a windfall, as he certaintly has nothing to gain from the contributions of the neo-slavers who seek his favor.
If Univision is allowed broadcast over the public airways in Spanish, then why is it mandatory that children pass Englsh classes in order to gradate from public schools?
Not to speak out against English literature, just wondering why the inconsistency ?
You can broadcast in Pig Latin if you can find a station willing to carry it.
I don't think that's an issue.
Incidentally, Perenchio makes contributions to pretty much every politician who breathes. As I recall, he gave $100k to both Arnold and Gray Davis' people for the recall election.
D
Me too! But which is the truth? He has been quoted for years, as recently as last month, as supporting some sort of guest worker or amnesty program. This is the first time I've seen him say he would oppose it.
[Los Angeles Times, September 24, 2005: "Schwarzenegger also said Friday that he supports a proposal by President Bush to create a guest worker program that would temporarily legalize millions of illegal workers."]
I'll try to catch the show on Saturday and see whether Chorneau's excerpted quotes match the tone of the discussions.
This was written by Tom Chorneau, a vigilante Associated Press Writer.
Money talks, political hacks listen.
Chorneau does have a recent history of antagonizing Schwarzenegger's policies and the use of quotes at the end of the sentences you posted:
" ...and criticized as divisive a billboard by a Los Angeles Spanish-language television show that advertised its market as "Los Angeles, Mexico."
from this piece does appear to be an attempt by Chorneau to confuse Chorneau's "background" comments as part of Schwarzenegger's actual presentation on the show.
This is a cop-out. The federal requirements passed AFTER SB60 was rescinded. Schwarzenegger signed the rescission of SB60 because without that promise he wouldn't have been elected in the recall.
"You can broadcast in Pig Latin if you can find a station willing to carry it."
Laugh, well they might as well broadcast in pig Latin, since US citizens cannot understand spanish;
but the problem with learning pig latin, Kids can’t be dismissed from English class to study pig Latin even if the English class is full of kids who don’t speak English and even if being in that class would be less as beneficial than learning pig Latin!
Somewhere in the FCC Charter, they are to over see public airwaves to benefit the citizens of this country, but how is it that broadcasting in Spanish serves this purpose, when the official language is English which is mandated for all US citizens to master by mandatory attendance in public school English classes?
No it is not an issue that keeps people awake at night, but it is an ironic conflict of interest between government agencies, the FCC and dept of education...
Arnold has always cut the line at any kind of enforcement or deportation of those currently in the state. While he wants to have the inflow stopped ("close the border") and has criticized the federal government for not enforcing the borders, he has always said that he wants to find a way for all those illegals currently here to remain here. That LA Times quote was just one of many.
If he has changed his tune, I'm all for it. One cannot avoid noticing the similarity to Pete Wilson's actions before his reelection. Deja vu?
Schwarzenegger also said he favors a guest-worker program in which immigrant laborers could obtain work permits."Look, I'm an immigrant, so I know what it is like to dream about coming to America and then to get here and be able to make your dreams a reality," the governor said. "Of course, there are millions of people who want to come here. Let's help them, let's find a legal way to do it."
Have your contributors do the same for you. Sheesh!
"as supporting some sort of guest worker or amnesty program"
===
The problem is that you and many others are unable to tell the difference between amnesty and a guest worker program. Arnold always made his position very clear, he reiterated it here and he does understand that there IS a difference:
"Schwarzenegger said he opposes amnesty for illegal immigrants, criticized the federal government for failing to secure the borders and defended his veto of a bill that would have granted driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.
The governor said an amnesty program similar to the one the federal government undertook in the late 1980s would be ill-advised today.
"It just didn't work," Schwarzenegger said. "It backfired big-time. It sent the wrong message: You come here illegally, and then we go and give you amnesty. So then, the next million come and they say, 'Hey, we get amnesty, this is really terrific.'"
Schwarzenegger also said he favors a guest-worker program in which immigrant laborers could obtain work permits."
Wrong. The problem is that you didn't read/understand what I wrote instead going into super-defense-attack mode. Read it again. I said "OR"--and I did NOT say they were the same. That would depend on the specific provisions of the guest worker program and whether it pardoned lawbreaking, or not.
However, anyone who is currently breaking the laws, and is then given a pass and not prosecuted for such violations, is indeed being given "amnesty", imo. I have no idea what Arnold's position is specifically on this as he rarely gives any details on anything, instead speaking in generalities and offering conflicting thoughts (hence I said "some sort of guest worker or amnesty program").
Main Entry: am·nes·ty Pronunciation: 'am-n&-stE Function: noun Inflected Form(s): plural -ties Etymology: Greek amnEstia forgetfulness, from amnEstos forgotten, from a- + mnasthai to remember -- more at MIND : the act of an authority (as a government) by which pardon is granted to a large group of individuals - amnesty transitive verb
Did you notice what nonsense that sentence is? He's saying that immigrants are laborers who need work permits so they can become guest workers. Immigrants do not need work permits, they may or may not be laborers. and since immigrants are here legally, they have no need for a guest worker program, either. Arnold, they're called illegal aliens for a reason!
Then there's this: "Of course, there are millions of people who want to come here. Let's help them, let's find a legal way to do it."
There already is a legal way to do it and thousands do it every year. He talks about "people who want to come here" as if they (illegal aliens) aren't here already.
He's correct when he says that an amnesty wouldn't work and that it would be wrong to send the message that we'll reward someone for being here illegally. Unfortunately, he follows that up by saying that he "favors a guest-worker program" which is simply another way of rewarding people for being here illegally.
OK, that's my mini-rant for today!
ping
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