The event was put on by FAIR, under the direction of Western Field Director Rick Oltman, and opened with a fire-'em-up dinner. The first speaker was Sen. Tom McClintock, who spoke more strongly on the topic of illegal immigration than during his gubernatorial run in the 2003 recall election.
Sen. McClintock lauded Rick Oltman as the top pro-borders spokesman at hearings, referring to him as the much appreciated "cavalry."
The other politicians speaking were Assemblyman Ray Haynes, who is sponsoring the California Border Police Initiative, and Assemblyman Dennis Mountjoy, an old hand at supporting borders and sovereignty.
The next morning was spent visiting Democrats with the message that if the drivers license bill is passed out of the Assembly, the result would hand Arnold a political victory because he would be a hero with voters upon vetoing it.
At 11, we converged in front of the Governor's office to meet with two from his staff. The whole situation got more complicated when a troop of mostly hispanics wearing T-shirts reading "Licenses for All!" showed up, with Univision TV crew trailing behind. A professional Raza squawker threw a fit about "los Minutemen" for the cameras, following by loud shreiks of "racist" and "Si se puede," just long enough for a standard news segment. The Univisioners also interviewed Lupe Moreno (Latin Americans for Immigration Reform) and Andy Ramirez (Friends of the Border Patrol).
(One thinks at such moments that if the anti-border Mexicans applied their considerable energy toward retrieving their nation's enormous economic potential instead of whining to Americans, a decent country might be built.)
When we were finished, the consensus was that the lobbying had been very successful overall, due to smart planning and the efforts of everyone. Another day saving the country!
