Democrat Predicts Strategy of G.O.P. - New York Times

Democrat Predicts Strategy of G.O.P. - New York TimesAugust 6, 2005
Democrat Predicts Strategy of G.O.P.
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

EDINBURG, Tex., Aug. 5 (AP) - The Democratic Party chairman, Howard Dean, argued on Friday that Republicans would try to make immigrants the "scapegoats" in the next election.

At a rally here a few miles from the Mexico border, Mr. Dean garnered the loudest applause when he said Republicans would make immigration a pivotal issue in coming elections, as they did same-sex marriage and affirmative action in previous elections.

"Do you know who the scapegoats are going to be? Immigrants," he said. "In Colorado, the chairman of the Republican Party endorsed Tom Tancredo for re-election. That is morally reprehensible. The governor of California, a supposed moderate Republican, invited the Minutemen to visit California. We do not need vigilante justice."

Mr. Tancredo, a Republican representative, has angered Hispanic groups by calling for tougher immigration enforcement and for a proposal to tax some of the money immigrants send back to their home countries. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, in a radio interview in April, said the civilian border patrols known as the Minutemen "have done a terrific job."

Mr. Dean spoke at a rally on the eve of the Democratic National Committee's Hispanic Summit in San Antonio. Edinburg, 220 miles south of San Antonio, is more than 80 percent Mexican-American.

Mr. Dean also criticized President Bush, contending that he rebuffed President Vicente Fox of Mexico because of divisions over the Iraq war.