Reply #34: AZ: GOP eyes taking plan on illegals to voters [View All]

[rumpel]

East Valley Tribune.com

By Dennis Welch, Tribune
May 21, 2006
With state and federal governments at a standstill over illegal immigration, one Arizona lawmaker thinks he’s found a way to break the logjam: Bypass the governor and take the issue directly to the voters.

Republican operatives predict such a tactic could inject a muchneeded boost for their party in an election year.

Rep. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, known for his fire -breathing speeches on illegal immigration, has been working for weeks with members of his own party to forge a comprehensive immigration bill they could send to Gov. Janet Napolitano. But now he is pushing to place the measure on the November ballot.

“Why should I trust the worst governor in the nation when it comes to immigration?” Pearce said last week. “If I had my way, I’d send it straight to the ballot.”

Pearce, one of the Legislature’s top-ranking members, said the governor would never sign the proposal as it’s written. But he said he’s not playing political games by crafting something he knows she won’t sign. “I’ve been consistent on this for years,” he said. “I’ve even fought my own president on this.”

But many Republican consultants say the move could pay big political dividends as the party looks to unseat a popular Democratic governor and fend off strong challenges in U.S. Senate and congressional races.

With high-profile Republican gubernatorial candidates dropping out of the race, recent polling numbers show Napolitano enjoying a strong 60 percent approval rating. And in the U.S. Senate race, Democratic challenger Jim Pederson has closed to within 10 percentage points of incumbent Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., who held a 34-point lead in January polls.

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=66035