Thread: Radio hosts pounce on Whitman's softening her tone on immigr

Radio hosts pounce on Whitman's softening her tone on immigration
John and Ken turn up the volume as the GOP candidate, who spent a fortune courting the right for the primary, now spends another fortune on her path back to the center.

By Cathleen Decker, Los Angeles Times

July 25, 2010


It doesn't take much to get John and Ken into a swivet — the radio duo's fan base was built on indignation — but this week Meg Whitman offered them more than enough with which to work.

Outraged over Whitman's new, more liberal tone on immigration, they filled the airwaves — and they have plenty to fill, with five hours on KFI every workday — with broadsides at the Republican nominee for governor. They mocked her statements as "garbage," read aloud their correspondence with a campaign aide they labeled a "weasel" and recounted old interviews to show her change in emphasis. They used the station's website to scream "Stop the Pandering" and urge listeners to barrage Whitman's campaign with phone calls and her Facebook page with criticisms.

By the end of the week, the voicemail attached to the number they had supplied was too full to accept any more calls, and Whitman's Facebook page was awash in supportive sentiments like "Here's a note for ya, Meg… Go away! Go run for Governor of Mexico!"

Hell, it turns out, hath no fury like radio hosts scorned.

It was easy to predict that Whitman, having slid to the right in the primary to attract GOP voters, would sashay back to the center now that independent voters and Democrats are in the mix. But never before in California politics has anyone spent so much money to create one persona, only to switch gears and head in a different direction. Because of money alone, Whitman's switch in tone seems that much more pronounced.

In May, for example, Whitman was airing an ad in which she was described as "tough as nails" on illegal immigrants by her campaign chairman, Pete Wilson, the former governor who pressed the anti-illegal immigrant Proposition 187 in 1994.

"Illegal immigrants should not expect benefits from the state of California," Whitman said in the ad.

Now, however, she has raised billboards in Spanish citing her opposition to 187 and to the recently approved Arizona law against illegal immigrants, the toughest state measure in the country. And her campaign circulated an article it said she had written for a Spanish-language newspaper chain in which she called for a "thoughtful conversation" to solve the issue and for a "fair and practical solution" for the millions of undocumented workers now in the country.

"If I'm going around saying that I'm going to be tough as nails on immigration, and then saying I'm against 187 and Arizona to the Spanish-language folks — that second message is that you'd rather have a warmer, more accessible climate" for illegal immigrants, John Kobylt, half of the radio team, said in an interview. "That's contradictory."

Whitman appears to have had fewer changes of position than of emphasis; in the primary campaign she talked tough on the airwaves but more quietly acknowledged her opposition to 187 and the Arizona law; now she is highlighting her opposition to 187 and the Arizona law and has quieted the tough talk.

In at least one instance, however, she has changed outright. In a plan released during the primary campaign, Whitman said that as governor, she would create a system under which "state and local law enforcement agencies conduct inspections of workplaces suspected of employing undocumented workers." Now, as the Sacramento Bee pointed out last week, her campaign says that the inspections would take place under federal purview.

The switch enraged John and Ken and like-minded conservatives because it was, in effect, a reverse Arizona: While that state was taking immigration matters into its own hands, Whitman was deferring to the federal government, which they see as unresponsive to concerns about illegal immigration.

Whitman's campaign team insists that she has remained consistent throughout. But details of her proposals can lead to confusion.

She has said repeatedly that she opposed 187 on the grounds that it punished children. "I don't think children should be held accountable for the sins of their parents," she said in a spring appearance in Redondo Beach.

But although she approves of illegal immigrant children attending elementary and high schools, she opposes allowing them to attend public colleges in California — even though each of those entities is supported by tax dollars.

"Higher education is a privilege, it's not a right. Taxpayers should have the protection of not having their dollars go to higher education for adults that are in the country illegally," said Whitman strategist Rob Stutzman. The distinction, he added, is that college attendees are adult.

"Once somebody is old enough, under their own power as adults, to take actions to correct their immigration status, they should do so," he said. Asked whether that meant that 18-year-olds should leave the country, he replied, "Under current circumstances, yes."

The stance put Whitman on a collision course with her own Spanish-language television ad. In it, she said, "Latino kids attending public schools in California today will be tomorrow's doctors, engineers, businessmen and teachers. I want them to have the opportunity to go as far in life as their God-given talent will take them." Asked whether Spanish-language viewers would understand that she was referring only to legal resident children, Stutzman replied: "Yes."

In her Spanish-language newspaper article, Whitman took pains to describe her position on immigration as quite similar to that of Democratic nominee Jerry Brown: "There is very little over which Jerry Brown and I disagree," she wrote. But they do disagree on the biggest question: what to do about the millions of undocumented residents currently in California.

Brown favors immigration reform that allows undocumented people a path toward citizenship. "We have to find a way to make legitimate people who are contributing to our society," he said during a call to John and Ken on Thursday.

Whitman opposes that but favors allowing a limited number of illegal immigrants to apply as guest workers; the rest would have to return to their home countries, Stutzman said.

The intent of Whitman's approach in the newspaper article and the billboards seems twofold. She hopes to convince both Latinos and white independent and moderate voters that she is not the sort of Republican they fled in past elections. Doing that would shift more of the campaign conversation to the economy, which Whitman's campaign sees as her strong suit.

The money that helped her win the nomination is now making that case for her, and even Kobylt acknowledges its strength.

"She has enough money to run two simultaneous campaigns regarding immigration, one aimed at English-speaking voters and a second one aimed at Spanish-speaking voters," he said. But he also promised to nag her over the airwaves until election day.

And he offered some advice to the candidate: "Don't get into a fight with two guys who have 25 hours to fill each week."

www.latimes.com

She has said repeatedly that she opposed 187 on the grounds that it punished children. "I don't think children should be held accountable for the sins of their parents," she said in a spring appearance in Redondo Beach.

But although she approves of illegal immigrant children attending elementary and high schools, she opposes allowing them to attend public colleges in California — even though each of those entities is supported by tax dollars.

"Higher education is a privilege, it's not a right. Taxpayers should have the protection of not having their dollars go to higher education for adults that are in the country illegally," said Whitman strategist Rob Stutzman. The distinction, he added, is that college attendees are adult.

"Once somebody is old enough, under their own power as adults, to take actions to correct their immigration status, they should do so," he said. Asked whether that meant that 18-year-olds should leave the country, he replied, "Under current circumstances, yes."

Meg, you're full of stupidity. What is wrong with you?! How can you approve of elementary and high school age illegal aliens attending American schools when they aren't even supposed to be in our country let alone in our schools burning up $10,000 a head or more per year? Is that how you run your Ebay business? You let people who aren't even supposed to be in your company roam through the halls, picking up paychecks, eating your snacks, littering in your trash you pay to haul out, sitting in your office, taking naps on your couch, robbing your library, wasting your time and the time of everyone in your company because they're "not old enough to have the power of adults" not to trespass on your company property?! Hey Illegals! Go squat at Ebay Headquarters and help yourselves to all Meg has and pays for! She's your new best girlfriend.

Need her address? Here it is, you can Google for directions:

eBay Inc. Headquarters
Whitman Campus
2065 Hamilton Avenue
San Jose, California 95125
(800) 322-9266

What is her solution to the illegal aliens who are playing such a critical role in bankrupting what use to be the richest state in the country? Is she going to propose putting millions of citizenship papers on E-bay and auctioning them off? Is that what this country is coming to, where citizenship is just a financial transaction and the only responsibility anyone has is to make another buck and pay the IRS part of it so some traitor in Congress can redistribute it. Give me a break.

She is another McCain in a skirt.

Thanks for the article....sent on to "my List"....most of whom are in California....

Originally Posted by SovereignMan

What is her solution to the illegal aliens who are playing such a critical role in bankrupting what use to be the richest state in the country? Is she going to propose putting millions of citizenship papers on E-bay and auctioning them off? Is that what this country is coming to, where citizenship is just a financial transaction and the only responsibility anyone has is to make another buck and pay the IRS part of it so some traitor in Congress can redistribute it. Give me a break.

She is another McCain in a skirt.

Yes she is. And what a shame. It almost leads one to think she didn't build her company and that someone else actually did the hard work of turning her notion into a successful financial enterprise.

THESE POLITICIANS MUST WORK JUST FOR AMERICANS. THOSE POLITICIANS MUST NOT WORK FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS. DO NOT VOTE FOR WHITMAN. IF SHE IS ELECTED, SHE WILL WORK FOR ILLEGALS JUST LIKE OBAMA AND MCCAIN. DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT VOTE FOR WHITMAN.

just gotta love what John and Ken have done for this country the past few years

And he offered some advice to the candidate: "Don't get into a fight with two guys who have 25 hours to fill each week."

I really love John and Ken. These guys are awesome!

Originally Posted by grandmasmad

Thanks for the article....sent on to "my List"....most of whom are in California....

Whats oiur other "choice"? Moonbeam.

This sucks. I warned everyone I know about her and this should come as no surprise. California is mired in a bunch of pandering do nothing candidates and Im so sick of it I could scream.

Originally Posted by immigration2009

THESE POLITICIANS MUST WORK JUST FOR AMERICANS. THOSE POLITICIANS MUST NOT WORK FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS. DO NOT VOTE FOR WHITMAN. IF SHE IS ELECTED, SHE WILL WORK FOR ILLEGALS JUST LIKE OBAMA AND MCCAIN. DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT VOTE FOR WHITMAN.

She is clearly a better candidate than Jerry Brown. But will she put and end to this madness?


From the L. A. Times
1. 40% of all workers in L. A. County ( L. A. County has 10.2 million people) are working for cash and not paying taxes.
This is because they are predominantly illegal immigrants working without a green card.
2. 95% of warrants for murder in Los Angeles are for illegal aliens.
3. 75% of people on the most wanted list in Los Angeles are illegal aliens.
4. Over 2/3 of all births in Los Angeles County are to illegal alien Mexicans on Medi-Cal, whose births were paid for by taxpayers.
5. Nearly 35% of all inmates in California detention centers are Mexican nationals here illegally.
6. Over 300,000 illegal aliens in Los Angeles County are living in garages.
7... The FBI reports half of all gang members in Los Angeles are most likely illegal aliens from south of the border.
8 Nearly 60% of all occupants of HUD properties are illegal.
9. 21 radio stations in L. A. are Spanish speaking.
10. In L.. A. County 5.1 million people speak English, 3.9 million speak Spanish.. (There are 10.2 million people in L. A. County .)

(All 10 of the above facts were published in the Los Angeles Times)

Less than 2% of illegal aliens are picking our crops, but 29% are on welfare. Over 70% of the United States ' annual population growth (and over 90% of California , Florida , and New York ) results from immigration. 29% of inmates in federal prisons are illegal aliens.

We are fools for letting this continue