GOP Senate Hopefuls Show Solidarity on Most Bush Policies

Deja vu hit Toby Waldorf during Thursday night’s forum in Los Angeles for Republican U.S. Senate candidates.

The Brentwood Republican voted last year for Arnold Schwarzenegger for governor, opting for electability over philosophical compatibility. On Thursday, former Assemblyman Howard Kaloogian impressed Waldorf among the GOP candidates, but she wasn’t convinced a conservative such as Kaloogian could win with California voters.

“I want to cast my vote in the primary for the candidate who can beat [U.S. Sen.] Barbara Boxer,” said Waldorf, who left the forum leaning toward former U.S. Treasurer Rosario Marin.

Nearly 400 people meeting at the Skirball Cultural Center heard from the four major Republican candidates, together for the first time, who hope to win the March primary and defeat Boxer in November.

Sponsored by the Republican Jewish Coalition, the event touched on taxes, border security and workers’ compensation reform before veering toward the candidates’ views on Israel and tensions in the Middle East.

On that topic and nearly every other, there wasn’t much disagreement, with all four generally supporting President Bush’s policies. That made it tougher for voters in the audience, who faced the prospect of choosing style over substance.

“None of these candidates has the name that Schwarzenegger does, so people aren’t going to be paying attention” to the race, said Bernard Patrusky of Beverly Hills. “We’ll have to see which one of [the candidates] shines above the others.”

The only dissention was on Bush’s immigration plan to allow noncitizens to join a guest worker program for jobs that U.S. employers say they cannot fill with citizens. Kaloogian has been the most critical, calling the plan unenforceable and unworkable. Former Los Altos Mayor Toni Casey and former Secretary of State Bill Jones said they oppose any plan that grants amnesty for those in the country illegally.

Casey highlighted elements of her plan to confront illegal immigration, including enforcing border security and tougher employer sanctions; granting seasonal permits that require workers to return home within a year; and denying federal transportation money to states that give driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants.

Marin, who immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico at age 14, was the only candidate to support Bush’s proposal.

Jones, Marin and Casey promised to work with the Bush administration to press for federal reimbursement of California’s costs for services to noncitizens, estimated by state officials at about $4 billion a year. Kaloogian said Mexican President Vicente Fox needs to change that country’s policies, which he said encourage the exodus.

A recent Field Institute poll showed a majority of California Republicans have yet to settle on a candidate in the Senate race. Boxer won easily in hypothetical matchups with Jones, Casey, Kaloogian and Marin. Jones fared the best.