08/02/2013
Alan Wall and others at VDARE have speculated exactly where Andy Vidak stands on immigration based on a few opaque articles and his background as a farmer. Vidak’s position is not a mystery. Vidak supported amnesty when he ran for Congress in 2010 and 2012, and supported amnesty during his state senate run. According to the Hanford Sentinel
Vidak says he supports the immigration reform that has been proposed in the U.S. Senate that would open a path to citizenship for longtime local farmworkers who came to the U.S. illegally…“We have people … that can’t go back,” he said. “We need to have status for people here.” [Vidak looks to move from farm to Senate, Seth Nidever, April 29, 2013]
During a debate, he stated
I am very pleased to see the national consensus on immigration being reflected in comprehensive immigration reform in Washington. This is a federal problem and after more than 20 years of neglect, the federal government is finally developing a plan to repair a badly broken system that tears families apart. [Vidak, Perez on taxes, ag issues, Hanford Sentinel, July 18, 2013]
Sure enough, the media is touting his candidacy as the way for the GOP to win Hispanic votes. According to the New York Times,
These conservative Hispanics are “susceptible to Republican appeal on certain issues, but on balance fall more heavily in the Democratic camp,” said Nathan W. Monroe, a political scientist at the University of California, Merced.
To tilt the balance, Republicans have to embrace immigration change, said Blodgie Rodriguez, a longtime Republican and supporter of Mr. Vidak’s.
“Andy’s been very open about his position on the pathway to citizenship,” said Mr. Rodriguez, a real estate agent in Bakersfield. “The Republican Party has a lot to learn from him on taking a stance on the importance of immigration reform. Hispanics are traditionally Catholic and conservative, and that goes hand in hand with the Republican Party. There is no reason why there shouldn’t be more Hispanic Republicans.” [California Republicans, All but Endangered, See Hope in Local Race, Norimitsu Onishi, June 19, 2013]
Vidak is trumpeting his support for amnesty as the reason he won. As the Washington Times reports
“Immigration was also a big deal in my campaign,” Mr. Vidak said. “You can’t live here without knowing many people who have some sort of documentation problem that the federal government has done nothing about for 25 years.”
Interestingly enough, this is not what the grassroots who supported his campaign thought they were signing up for. The Times continues:
That is not quite the same message delivered on Mr. Vidak’s behalf by Mr. Allen, the GOP assemblyman who worked the district for Mr. Vidak for three weekends in near 100-degree temperatures, bringing “tons of volunteers” with him from all over California.
p>“A path to citizenship [for illegal immigrants] was not part of the message,” Mr. Allen said. “What mattered were the economic issues and that this was the first time these voters we visited talked to anyone from either party.”p>That “path to citizenship” disparity between the Vidak message and the one delivered by Mr. Allen and the army of volunteers does muddle the lesson the race holds for GOP candidates looking to break through elsewhere. [Hispanic win: ‘California can be Republican again’, Ralph Hallow, Washington Times, July 29, 2013]
Amnesty supporters will continue to point to Vidak of the example of how the GOP can survive the demographic destruction of this country.
This is a content archive of VDARE.com, which Letitia James forced off of the Internet using lawfare.