The California Civil Rights Initiative on the ballot next week seems to be headed for passage. The latest Los Angeles Times poll has the anti-quota initiative ahead, 54 to 31 percent. The proposition is receiving strong support not only from Republicans and conservatives, but also from Democrats and liberals. What’s more, it barely trails among black and Hispanic voters.
But the ham-handed efforts of the California Republican party to capitalize on CCRI’s strength has some CCRI supporters worried. With Dole trailing by 20 points in California and various Republican officials down-ballot endangered, the state Republican party is now trying to hitch a ride on CCRI — having utterly neglected it early on when resources for CCRI were scarce. Indeed, prominent California Republicans spent quite a bit of time a couple of months ago distancing themselves from CCRI. But now the California GOP intends to advertise on its behalf.
Judging by the hapless first ad party leaders cut, they would be better served if they kept their hands off the initiative. Its centerpiece was a clip of Martin Luther King — a boneheaded idea, one that was opposed by the CCRI campaign itself and that offered the entire affirmative-action establishment an opportunity to wax indignant about this misappropriation of King’s legacy. The ad also linked CCRI to the 1994 anti-immigration initiative Proposition 187, thus endangering Hispanic support.
Meanwhile, efforts to get the Republican party simply to finance the successful, upbeat, and positive equal-opportunity message that had been devised by CCRI’s chief strategist, Arnie Steinberg, were rebuffed. And so there were several days of press stories about disarray around CCRI as California state GOP chairman John Herrington waffled on which ads would air and what they would say. Herrington’s defense of quoting Martin Luther King? ” A couple of people have said, ‘Would Martin Luther King support quotas?’ I don’t know.” Herrington adds: “The main thing is our intentions are kind. I am not trying to make it a racist-type thing.” Of course, this silly defensiveness wouldn’t have been necessary if he hadn’t insisted on a foolish ad in the first place. Republicans!
Bob Dole is to give a major speech on CCRI early this week. We only hope he makes the principled case against preferences and thereby helps the cause of the proposition rather than damaging it.
