Calif. candidate pushes tough immigration stand

Michael R. Blood
Fresno Bee
3/21/2010

LOS ANGELES — One of the Republicans seeking to become California’s next governor is promising to end taxpayer-funded benefits for illegal immigrants in a TV commercial that blames liberals for “doing too much for too many.”

The 30-second ad by Steve Poizner appears tailored to appeal to conservatives who will dominate at the ballot box in the state Republican primary in June. But Poizner, the state insurance commissioner, risks turning off Hispanics who make up about a third of the state’s population and are a growing force in California politics.

The ad, which begins airing statewide Tuesday, is Poizner’s latest bid to gain notice in a race in which he trails GOP rival Meg Whitman by a wide margin in polls.

Poizner wants to end state funding for non-emergency medical care for illegal immigrants and block illegal immigrants from receiving in-state tuition at state universities.

“We all know California is heading right over a cliff,” Poizner says in the ad, as a car teeters and then falls off a precipice. “Politicians have lacked the guts to tackle the problem.”

The article continues at the Fresno Bee.

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