Buchanan Immigration Ad Met With Quick Criticism
By ERIC BAILEY, Times Staff Writer
SACRAMENTO--Reform Party presidential candidate Pat Buchanan brought his
culture war to California on Monday, unveiling a provocative television
ad that dives head first into the state's muddy political waters of
immigration, race and preservation of the English language.
 The 30-second commercial features a man choking on a meatball after
hearing on a news broadcast that English is no longer America's official
language. He calls 911 and then passes out while listening to a menu of
options for speakers of Spanish, Korean and other languages.
Buchanan said he believes immigration continues to resonate in
California six years after the state waged a bitter fight over
Proposition 187, the explosive initiative that won with 59% of the vote
in 1994 with promises of ending public benefits to illegal immigrants.
"In the long run, one of the great threats to this country is its
tendency to dissolve along the lines of race, ethnicity and language,"
Buchanan declared during a news conference at a Capitol-area hotel.
"The Mississippi River is like immigration--it's enormously nourishing
. . . but if it floods its banks, it can become a problem," Buchanan
said. "And that is what's happened here."
The ad is being aired this week in California and 11 other border
states, expanding to two dozen states next week, Buchanan officials said.
It will appear in every major California TV market, running primarily
during news programs. Campaign officials said they would spend millions
of dollars to broadcast the commercial, but they declined to be specific.
The airing will be limited--Buchanan is operating mostly on $12.6 million
in federal election funds he garnered as the Reform Party nominee.
Reaction to the ad was swift and harsh.
"I think it's pathetic our taxpayer dollars are being used to fund a
campaign of fear," said Art Torres, chairman of the California Democratic
Party. "English will remain our national language, and not even the
clicking of Pat Buchanan's heels will stop that."
Stuart DeVeaux, a spokesman for the California Republican Party, said
the ad demonstrates that Buchanan "doesn't understand the communities and
voters of this state. . . . That's why he's stuck at 1% in the polls."
Gabriela Lemus, national policy director at the League of United Latin
American Citizens, expressed worries that the commercial's message could
whip up anger against Latino immigrants and other newcomers.
"Given the amount of border violence we've seen, I certainly hope he's
not going to engender more of a xenophobic backlash," Lemus said. "He's
really doing this country wrong."
Buchanan, a former Reagan administration official who bolted the
Republican Party and captured the Reform nomination over the summer,
rejected such criticisms.
With his attack on lax borders, Buchanan said he is simply trying to
address bread-and-butter issues avoided by major party candidates who are
"programmed and scripted to stay away from controversy."
Buchanan said he wants to double the size of the U.S. Border Patrol
and improve barriers in high-traffic border towns. He vowed to crack down
on businesses that hire illegal immigrants and send back those who run
afoul of the law.
He also suggested that America needs to "pick and choose who comes and
from where, unless you want to have wide open borders." Buchanan favors
skilled workers with strong language skills, but vows an annual limit of
250,000 legal immigrants.
"Do you want to have a country or not?" Buchanan asked. "I question
the patriotism of people who say we ought to just throw open our
borders."
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Presidential Elections - 2000,
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