Arizona GOP fears reaction from Latinos

With thousands of people streaming across the Mexican border, Arizona voters are being asked to approve a variation of California's infamous Proposition 187, the anti-illegal-immigration measure that Gov. Pete Wilson rode to re-election in 1994, only to watch it destroy the Republican Party's chances of success for nearly a decade. Proposition 200 would deny services to illegal immigrants and require proof of citizenship to register to vote. If it passes Nov. 2, Republicans fear -- and Democrats hope -- the measure will have the same effect in Arizona that it did next door: drive the state's rapidly growing Latino minority into the Democratic Party's arms and give it a majority. Arizona's Latinos appear to be more opposed to the measure than other voters, and some are turning their ire on Republicans for supporting it. But even the GOP is deeply split. "I thought they would have enough guts to stand up against it,'' said Frank Morales, 48, a Republican from Tucson who teaches drug and alcohol prevention in schools. ``I see some people who are for it. It kind of hurts me in a way, because I thought we wouldn't be like that.'' [more ]