Most people don't believe in holding children responsible for the transgressions of their parents. Billionaire Meg Whitman is not one of those people--and it's hard not to see this costing her a fair share of the Latino vote as she quests to buy the Governorship of California.
Maybe she was trying to take a hard line to try to shore up her base after the revelation that she had employed an undocumented housekeeper for many years. Or maybe she just really is that heartless. Either way, the damage is done.
On Saturday, Spanish-language channel Univision held a debate in Fresno between Whitman and her Democratic opponent, Jerry Brown. Fresno, located in the so-called Central Valley of California, is one of the more economically depressed areas in the state--or, as Meg Whitman would say, it "looks like Detroit." During the debate, an accomplished student at the local state university asked Whitman about her position on the DREAM act, which would allow undocumented children like her a path to citizenship. Via Robert Cruickshank at Calitics:
The exchange in question came when Univision went to an audience member to ask about the DREAM Act. She was a student who graduated first in her class in high school and is now an honors student at Fresno State, triple majoring! in poli sci, Spanish, and Latin American Studies. As a former college professor myself, I can tell you that these are the students you dream about having in class, the ones that make teaching worthwhile.
She explained that she was brought to California by her parents at a young age - in other words, that she was undocumented. (Which is probably why she did not give her name.) Her question was whether the candidates supported the DREAM Act, to let students like her get an education and, I'm paraphrasing, "contribute to the economy here."
Brown's response was direct and solid: he supports the federal DREAM Act, would sign the California DREAM Act, and believes it is our moral obligation to ensure that all our children, whether undocumented or not, got the opportunity to succeed, including getting a good education in California public schools, UC and CSU included.
But it was Whitman's shocking response that, as far as I am concerned, ought to be a game-changer in this election. Here's how Calbuzz quoted Whitman:
Here is the challenge we face: Our resources are scarce. We are in terrible economic times and slots have been eliminated at the California State University system — I think they’re down by 40,000 students. Same is true at the ... the University of California system. Programs have been cut, and California citizens have been denied admission to these universities and I don’t think it’s fair to bar and eliminate the ability of California citizens to attend higher universities and favor undocumenteds.
Yes. She said it. She said that children of undocumented immigrants who have known no other country for their entire conscious lives should not be eligible to get an education at a state university. That their innate talent is worthless because of the faults of their parents. That our state should not be investing in children who have demonstrated a capacity to succeed despite the obstacles thrown their way. As Robert concludes:
For Whitman herself, like the rest of the California Republican Party, the undocumented are perfectly acceptable when they can be exploited for their cheap labor and living with the constant threat of deportation - but the moment they have anything approaching success, they're suddenly a threat to California and must be dealt with harshly.
Truly awful. Jerry Brown, on other other hand, would sign the California DREAM act and supports passage of the federal version as well. Look him up.