Pete Wilson was protested yesterday by immigration and other liberal activists.  

Uhh, just in case you’re wondering if this is a 1994 déjà vu, it wasn’t Pete himself that was protested as much as it was a bronze likeness of him, dedicated yesterday afternoon in downtown San Diego.  The much anticipated statue unveiling was attended by some of the usual suspects…and I don’t mean Mayor Jerry Sanders, San Diego councilmembers, and members of the Board of Supervisors, although they were there as well.

The media seemed to be overly focused on the protesters who were decrying the dedication as unbecoming a "diverse, border city" to recognize Wilson.

Pete’s tenure as mayor is widely considered legendary, as he presided as a strong mayor years before the city charter mandated one, fostering a time in San Diego’s history when the city positively grew and prospered in ways unmatched before and — most certainly — since.  It’s safe to say that had he not subsequently become both a U.S. Senator and California Governor, a day of permanent statued recognition in San Diego would still have come for him.  Quite frankly, it’s somewhat surprising that Tony Gwynn beat him for the bronze, albeit it only by a few weeks.  Given Wilson’s mark on the city, the recognition is greatly deserved.

So, it’s important to keep in mind that although San Diego yesterday was commemorating Pete’s mayoral accomplishments, opponents of the statue were protesting the unveiling because of his career in the Governor’s office.  Wilson, of course, in their minds will forever be "to blame" for Prop 187, passed handily by California voters in 1994.  The measure would have denied health care, education and welfare benefits to illegal immigrants.  The courts subsequently ruled the measure unconstitutional based on it not being within the State’s purview to codify a "responsibility" of the federal government. 

Pete Wilson continues to this day to be reviled and labeled a racist by illegal immigration apologists because he had the audacity to say, in effect, "Feds, if you’re not going to do your job on immigration, then California is going to do it for you."  Nearly 60 percent of the voters agreed.  The courts did not. 

Thirteen years later, has anything changed as far as the feds doing their job?  What of the courts?  Perhaps it is 1994 all over again…or still.

In case you’re thinking that I have a long history as a huge Pete Wilson fan, most longer-term politicos might be laughing at the very notion.  It’s pretty clear that many conservatives had some significant differences with Gov. Wilson on several issues, usually of the social variety.  I still remember then-State GOP Chairman Frank Visco calling and yelling at me in ’89 or ’90 because of California Young Americans for Freedom’s response to the Party’s quasi-anointing of Wilson as the gubernatorial nominee, prior to the primary election even being held (ask Jeff Greene of Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries staff, if you want more details).

However, Governor Wilson’s position on Prop 187 did not make it on to conservatives’ "Proof that Pete is a Liberal" list.  In fact, to many, all may have been forgiven by his gutsy position on an issue that scared many other politicians away.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, August 26th, 2007 at 12:00 am and is filed under Blog Posts.