Bush Courts Latinos, Other Californians

Delicately repudiating the divisive tactics of the past, unofficial Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush sought the embrace of Latinos and other California voters Friday as he throttled up his post-primary efforts in a state that has lately turned its back on his party’s candidates.

In a speech in Los Angeles to the National Hispanic Women’s Conference and at every turn during his two-day swing here, Bush tried to forge a unifying image. He obliquely contrasted himself with former California Gov. Pete Wilson, he heralded efforts to reach out to Latinos and he expressed confidence that the majority of Californians who disagree with him on issues like gun control and abortion rights will find him a “reasonable person.”

But the fine line Bush is walking--appealing to Latinos and others who have recently spurned the GOP while holding on to his conservative base--was evident. In his Friday morning speech to the women’s conference, he took issue with Wilson’s handling of 1994’s Proposition 187, which among other things would have denied illegal immigrant children entrance into public schools.

“It’s so important to have leadership that tears down barriers, leadership that offers a future hopeful for everybody, leadership that rejects the politics of pitting one group of people against another, leaders that stand up and say we will not use our children, the children of immigrants, as a political issue in America,” Bush said.

His carefully calibrated remarks mentioned neither Wilson--a fellow Republican--nor the ballot measure, which was popular among Republicans but was struck down by a federal court. Later, while talking with California political reporters, Bush dismissed the question of whether Wilson had made a mistake by offending Latinos.

“That’s then,” he said. “It’s like people asking me about my dad’s candidacy. Everybody wants me to keep talking about the past. I’m talking about the future.”

A spokesman for Wilson defended the former governor’s actions, saying that Wilson had drawn an appropriate distinction between legal and illegal immigrants.

While shy about taking Wilson on directly, Bush was expansive when it came to his need to appeal to Latino voters--and by extension to get moderates, independents and conservative Democrats to give him a look. He called Texas, California and Florida--all huge states with significant Latino populations--”a pretty strong electoral bulwark.”

“We’d better nominate candidates who have the capacity to not only ask for their votes but to get their vote,” he said.

He also argued, as he has throughout the week, that his upbringing in Midland, Texas, gives him more of a cultural affinity with California than does Democratic nominee-in-waiting Al Gore’s inside-the-Beltway childhood.

“I was raised in the West,” Bush declared Friday. “The west of Texas. It’s pretty close to California. In more ways than Washington, D.C., is close to California.”

Bush’s trip to California was a none-too-subtle effort to convince both state Republicans and Vice President Gore that he intends to compete here for the fall election.

While the trip served that purpose, it also was meant to burnish Bush’s credentials as a “compassionate conservative,” the slogan he trumpeted until his primary battles with Sen. John McCain of Arizona forced him further to the right.

So the theme for this trip revolved around the issue of education, with its appeal to a broad swath of voters. Bush plowed little new ground, however: At one stop, at an elementary school in Martinez on Thursday, the governor spoke for a total of 90 seconds.

Besides appealing to those who share his views on education, Bush also laid the groundwork Friday for a pitch to voters who disagree with his views on other significant issues.

“I understand not everybody will agree with my politics,” he told the audience. “But you’ve got to agree with my vision that says this country belongs to you, and my leadership style that welcomes new faces and new voices in our country.”

Talking to reporters after the speech, Bush acknowledged that he is more conservative than the bulk of Californians, who favor gun control and abortion rights.

But, he went on, “I think people on gun control are going to find me to be a reasonable person,” picking instant background checks and trigger locks as two areas of agreement.

As for abortion rights, “I readily concede good people can disagree on this issue,” Bush said. “I think people can disagree. But I think there’s room for agreement on partial-birth abortion, on parental notification laws, and I think people will know I’m speaking from my heart based on my conscience.”

Times political writer Mark Z. Barabak contributed to this story.