Racist Verse Stirs Up Anger in Assembly : Legislature: A Palmdale lawmaker distributes a poem mocking illegal immigrants. He calls it ‘interesting’ but his colleagues call it ‘outrageous,’ ‘unbelievable’ and ‘awful.’

A Palmdale assemblyman on Tuesday distributed a racist verse to fellow Republicans mocking Latino illegal immigrants in broken English--”we have a hobby, it’s called breeding”--and concluding that America is “too damn good for white man race.”

Assemblyman Pete Knight, a freshman, later defended the five-stanza poem, which he said came to him in the mail from a constituent. “What do you mean, ‘Take it wrong?’ ” Knight asked a Times reporter. “It is an interesting poem, one person’s point of view.”

Several GOP lawmakers reacted angrily after receiving copies of the verse at an Assembly Republican caucus meeting, a regularly scheduled private strategy session. They labeled it “awful,” “unbelievable” and “outrageous.”

“This is an unfortunate joke that does not reflect the consensus of the Republican caucus by any stretch of the imagination,” said Phil Perry, spokesman for the Assembly Republicans. “This is ugly. It smacks of racism.”

But members said that at the caucus meeting, there was no discussion about it. No one criticized the poem or the legislator who handed it out--Knight, a former Palmdale mayor and Air Force test pilot who came to Sacramento this year on a conservative anti-tax platform.

“I thought it was a pretty interesting column,” Knight said later, readily acknowledging that he distributed the doggerel and found it amusing.

He said he was surprised that anyone would be offended by it.

The verse, deliberately written with punctuation and spelling errors, spins a fantasy in which an illegal immigrant “gets treated regal” in the United States, uses welfare payments to buy a house, and says “thanks, American working dummy.”

“Write to friends in motherland, tell them to come as fast as can,” it reads. “They come in rags and Chebby trucks, I buy big house with welfare bucks.”

When the immigrant’s house is overcrowded with 14 families, the poem says: “Finally, white guy moves away. I buy his house and then I say, ‘Find more aliens, house I rent.’ In the garden, I put a tent. . . .

“Everything is mucho good--Soon we own the neighborhood. We have a hobby, it’s called breeding. Welfare pay for baby feeding. . . .

“American crazy--He pay all year. To keep his welfare running here. We think America damn good place. Too damn good for white man race. If they no like us, they can go. Got lots of room in Mexico.”

The poem was distributed as immigration, both legal and illegal, is becoming an increasingly divisive issue in the state Capitol, and as some lawmakers are seeking to blame illegal immigrants for much of California’s budgetary woes.

Gov. Pete Wilson has asked the federal government for $1.5 billion to help California cope with immigrants and refugees. Conservative Republicans are pushing several bills that seek to deny education, health care and other public services to illegal immigrants. Knight has not authored any of the bills but has voted for several.

None of the legislators contacted by The Times on Tuesday afternoon defended Knight or the distribution of the verse.

“Oh, Mr. Knight. Oh, Mr. Knight,” said Assemblyman Richard Polanco, a Los Angeles Democrat who heads the Legislature’s Latino caucus and has been opposing the Republican bills. “It is inaccurate. It is wrong. It is a ridiculous piece of trash.”

“It says there is a lot of ignorance,” Polanco continued. “We’ve got a long haul ahead of us in terms of building and understanding. It is sad that someone in the Legislature would see fit to pass it out.”

Many Republicans also said they were offended.

“Pretty awful,” said Assemblyman Paul Horcher, a Diamond Bar Republican, who found a copy of the poem on his chair when he arrived at the Republican caucus meeting.

“Unbelievable,” said Assemblyman Bernie Richter, a Republican from Chico who has been urging his party, with mixed success, to be more sensitive to minority concerns.

“It’s poor taste, insulting, outrageous,” said Assemblyman Charles W. Quackenbush (R-San Jose). “Nobody I’d be proud of would send something like that.”

All three Republicans said they did not know that Knight had distributed the verse. They said it was not discussed during the caucus because other issues occupied the agenda.