PRESTOPUNDIT

Kevin Murphy scoop -- Is Bustamante after the illegal vote?

Here is Bustamante on Univision television:

"I could win solely with the votes of the immigrant communities. If every person in the immigrant communities went out and voted, I could succeed just with their votes. That won't be the case. But I think it's important for them to know that they have the power. In our political system, in a democratic system, the power is in the vote. If they don't want to make themselves heard, then they don't have to vote. But if they want to say that it's important to have someone in a position of power who has experience as an immigrant, who has an understanding of our lives, someone who can improve the life of our community, it's important that they get out of the house and vote."

Some things to note here. First, and most obviously, Schwarzenegger himself has "experience as an immigrant". So why wouldn't Schwarzenegger count in Bustamante's conception of the community of immigrants? Could it have something to do with the fact that Schwarzenegger isn't specifically seeking to put the interests of non-citizens ahead of those of actual citizens?

Second, Bustamante has never called aliens illegally in American anything but "immigrants" full stop -- in fact, Bustamante attacks the idea of distinguishing between citizens of America and non-citizens. So when Bustamante talks about the "immigrant communities", one of those communities is the illegals community.

Finally, it isn't going to far to say that what Bustamante is doing is calling upon all non-natives -- including non-citizens -- to rise up, take the power, and out vote native born Americans living in California. And it's hard not to see in this an echo of 1970s identity politics, with Bustamante putting out the call for something like a pan-foreigner "MECHa revolution" against the native born American population in California. And if this isn't the politics of division -- a call for political allegiance based on racial and national identity -- I don't know what is.

California Insider had the Bustamante on Univision scoop first -- according to Weintraub, "Cruz has played the race card". Read the whole thing.

And here is Fresh Potatoes take.