The Pete Wilson Playbook

Pete Wilson's eight year reign of terror as California Governor is fortunately long behind us, but it seems his failed political playbook is alive and well. In 1994, Wilson was trailing Kathleen Brown badly in the polls when an idea hit him: pander to the fears of old white men. Voila! Like a shot out of the blue, the unconstitutional Prop 187 materialized and as Wilson hoped, it helped turn out droves of white suburban males to support the measure AND his gubernatorial bid.

One problem...in 1994, Latino voter turnout was low. Prop 187's scapegoating of Latino immigrants changed that. Prop 187 was promptly declared unconstitutional, but by 1998, Latino voters were ready to punish Wilson. Unfortunately for them, but fortunately for California, Wilson was termed out. Their rage was re-directed towards Wilson's successor Dan Lungren...Lungren lost to Gray Davis by 20%. Four years later, the Wilson/187 legacy was completed with the total obliteration of the California Republican party. For the first time ever, Democrats won every statewide elected office from Governor down to Insurance Commissioner.

Why then would Schwarzenegger turn to the same race baiting and immigrant bashing that left his hapless party on life support? Well, for one, his staff is made up almost entirely of recycled Wilsonians. Two, Republicans don't learn the lessons of history. It was really no surprise when Schwarzenegger came out in support of the Minutemen. The obvious paralells to Wilson's re-election bid are plain for all to see. What isn't clear to Schwarzenegger and his desperate Republican supporters is that 2006 is not 1994. In 1994, Latinos made up only 9% of the electorate. That figure had doubled by last fall, and thanks in large part to Wilson and Prop 187, these new voters go Democrat by an overwhelming majority.

While no one would like to see Arnold out of the Governor's office and on the set of Terminator 4 more than us, we would prefer if it could come without the divisive racial politics of the Wilson years.