Rhode Island GOP candidates criticized for endorsement

01:00 AM EDT on Wednesday, October 20, 2010

By Peter B. Lord

Journal STAFF Writer

State Democratic Party Chairman Edwin R. Pacheco Tuesday criticized two Republican congressional candidates, John J. Loughlin II and Mark S. Zaccaria, for seeking support from a national group opposed to illegal immigration. Pacheco called the group, Americans for Legal Immigration, a hate group backed by other hate groups.

The latest national criticism of the immigration group was published Monday on two websites, The Hill, which covers congressional news; and Politico, which provides a wide range of political news. The immigration group published a rebuttal on its web page Monday calling the charges a “false propaganda attack.â€