The politics of illegal aliens, Part I: the ghost of Pete Wilson

By D.J. McGuire | Tuesday, February 15th, 2011 | Policy

There is hardly any issue more certain to divide the rightosphere in Virginia than that of illegal aliens. Just my use of this term will cause some wailing and gnashing of teeth. For years, as this issue has ebbed and flowed (and it really has), those who take the antirestrictionist argument have appeared both more isolated and more strident (such as Shaun).

Please note: I said appeared. For much of the 1990s, views such as Shaun’s were quite common on the right. I myself was more sympathetic to them before 9/11/01 (and to be fair: Shaun and most of his critics generally agree on a toughened border; they disagree on what to do with the illegal aliens already here). As for the rhetoric, as strident as it may sound today, Shaun’s tone is actually quite mild compared to what even the Wall Street Journal (the oldest champion of open borders) would print on its editorial pages. I would humbly submit that half of the disconnect between Republican voters and Republican office-holders is that most of the latter were active in politics in some way, shape, or form during the 1990s, when this issue first burst upon the scene.

It may surprise many readers to see the above. While the 1986 amnesty has been ripped up one side and down the other for roughly 15 years, it was enacted nearly without controversy. Republican candidates for president looking to position themselves as the conservative alternative to then-Vice President George Bush the Elder used the INF treaty (Kemp, Du Pont, Robertson, Haig), Bush’s old comments against Reagan (ditto), and government spending (Dole plus the rest). None used the amnesty.

Illegal immigration did not become a major political issue until 1994, and the fellow who made it so had everything to do with its divisive nature on the right: Governor Pete Wilson.

At the time, Wilson was Republican squish whose first term as Governor was highlighted by a $7 billion tax increase (at the time the largest state tax hike in American history) and nearly endless battles with social conservatives in California. Usually, the fighting was virulent and vicious; Wilson seemed to make every political disagreement personal. His rants against pro-lifers led some to wonder if he was actually anti-Catholic.

By 1994, he had a primary challenger bashing him from the right, and approval ratings overall that were lower than Death Valley.

Then an initiative calling for California to stop spending on public services to illegal aliens hit the ballot – and Pete Wilson clung to it like a drowning man. He based his entire re-election on it, and more troublingly, he did little to nothing to combat those who used Proposition 187 (as it was known) rip Mexican nationals up one side and down the other.

At best, Wilson was a RINO using 187 to distract from his distastrous first term. At worst, he confirmed every fear conservatives (especially Catholic conservatives) had about him.

Prop 187 passed easily; Wilson crusied to a second term over Kathleen Brown (daughter sister of Jerry). Wilson even tried to run for president – with a campaign centered on illegal aliens and getting the Republicans to drop their commitment to pre-born Americans. Whatever Wilson’s actual views on Catholics, one could hardly come up with a campaign more offensive to them.

Wilson’s candidacy flamed out before the calendar even got out of 1995. He would never run for office again, but his legacy is still with us. No matter what one says on illegal aliens, anything even remotely restrictive brings up the ghost of Pete Wilson. President Bush the Younger established himself as Wilson’s foil on the issue – and found himself transported to the pole position for the 2000 GOP nomination practically on grateful Catholics alone.

Meanwhile, the issue slowly faded from view . . . only to rise again in the “aughts” due, in part, to 9/11/01. That however, is for another post.

Cross-posted to RWL

Tags: