Outside the Stadium, the Name of the Game Was Politics and Protest

While tens of thousands of fans flocked to San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium on Tuesday to soak up the baseball experience of a lifetime, others came to talk politics and send George Bush a message.

About a hundred supporters of presidential hopeful Ross Perot gathered along the grass median lining Friars Road to poke pro-Perot signs in the air and urge game-goers to vote Bush out of office.

Meanwhile, members of a coalition opposing the North American Free Trade Agreement peddled their point of view, handing out an estimated 30,000 makeshift baseball cards bearing comic depictions of Bush and Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari and decrying the pending trade agreement. “Don’t Let Them Throw You a Curve!” the cards read.

Yet another contingent came to denounce the porous international border and call for stricter enforcement of U.S. immigration laws.

Bush and Salinas met Tuesday afternoon to discuss free trade before moving on to the stadium to watch some of the game. While those who picketed the game covered a large swatch of the political spectrum, none seemed pleased with the prospects of decreased trade barriers. All had a message for the President.

“We’re working for Ross while Bush is playin’ at the ballgame,” said Sid McSwain, who was handing out Perot bumper stickers he had purchased. “If (Bush) was really concerned he’d be in Washington instead of here, doing a free trade thing that’ll turn this country into a Third World nation. While he’s enjoying the game we’re working to put him in the unemployment lines.”

“Already there are San Diegans losing their jobs to maquilas, “ anti-immigration activist Bob Brown said, referring to maquiladoras, the border region production facilities that have both tempted free trade advocates and incensed its opponents. “I think the free trade bill, the way it’s set up, is going to hurt everybody.”

Those opposed to the free trade agreement say decreased trade barriers will send more jobs to Mexico, leading to higher unemployment here. It will also set the stage for increased environmental hazards in Mexico and an exploitation of the Mexican labor force, they say.

Brown was picketing with the anti-immigration contingent, whose signs and bumper stickers elicited a cry of “White racist scumbag!” from a passing baseball fan, but otherwise seemed to go unnoticed--at least until game time.

The Coalition for Immigration Law Enforcement rented an airplane that flew over the stadium after 7 p.m., towing a banner that read “Stop Illegal Immigration” and gave the group’s phone number. A group spokesman said he got a call from a stadium pay phone about 10 minutes later.

The issue of job loss generated less controversy.

“I think free trade is good as long as we don’t lose jobs,” said San Diego Perot supporter Stephen Burns. “But we’re losing too many jobs because of this supposed free trade.”

Ilene Huey, 60, of Santee came out with her 6-year-old granddaughter to set up their pastel-colored lawn chairs and stump for Perot. “We’ve been having a group of lawyer politicians running this country and running us into debt, so I say let a successful businessman try it,” she said. “He’s not saying much, but he’s not telling us lies, either. I read George Bush’s lips when he said ‘no new taxes,’ and that was a lie.”

While the dialogue among political activists was robust, closer to the stadium gates many fans were concentrating on other matters.

“Why don’t you get rid of that carnival over there and make some room for more parking,” a rowdy fan told a free trade protester, pointing to a stretch of parking lot taken over by tents. “Do something good for a change.”

“I don’t care,” said Jim Tenuto, 38, of San Diego after turning down an anti-free trade baseball card. “I mean, come on. I don’t need to come to a baseball game and listen to this. I read the newspapers. I’m well-informed.”

Tenuto also fully backs the free trade agreement, but said that’s not the point. “Even if I was against it, I wouldn’t want people here bugging me about it,” he said.

Some took a softer approach, but said the All-Star Game was a near-sacred opportunity to escape the hassles of everyday life.

“We’re here to enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime event,” said Steve Navarro of San Clemente, who came to the game with his wife, son and brother. “It’s a chance to not think about other things for a while.”

But in the current San Diego economy, the protesters’ bark of “Keep America’s jobs here at home!” turned a few heads.

“We both work at General Dynamics,” Barbara Irwin, 47, said of herself and her 27-year-old son, Jim Fine. “Their electronics division has already put jobs down in Baja. We’re worried about losing our jobs.”

Janet Gastil, who is running against Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Coronado), gathered at the stadium with other church, labor and environmental activists to pass out the anti-free trade baseball cards. She said about 60% of the ballgame-goers turned down the cards. Plenty of cards ended up as carpeting for the concrete stadium walkway.

“I find a remarkable apathy and a remarkable lack of knowledge,” Gastil said. “Some people say they don’t know what it’s about. What are they going to say when they lose their job?”