And tries to appease them via a community meeting attended by “hand-selected” Latinos. San Jose’s Mercury News reports:

Schwarzenegger began the meeting where he’d left off in a televised debate Monday night, touting his Nov. 8 slate of ballot initiatives as the remedy for a “broken system” of governing in Sacramento.

But a barrage of questions from the Spanish-language audience sent the governor into territory he’d worked to avoid since the campaign began: immigrant driver’s licenses, the state’s relationship with Mexico, his record of judicial appointments and social services for immigrants.

He and his advisors must be pretty naive if they think they cold put him in a room with nothing but Latinos (however hand-selected) and not get hit with Latino-related issue questions. And he’s still trying to live down that “close the border” comment he made — the one he attributes to a problem with the English language (which admittedly after over 30 years in this country, he seems to struggle with). Unfortunately for him, conservatives have taken it upon themselves to never let anyone forget this comment. They are emblazoning it on bumper stickers that say “Join Arnold. Close the Border”.

And he’s still trying to live down that “close the border” comment he made — the one he attributes to a problem with the English language…

The new bumper stickers and lawn signs were made by the California Republican Assembly, a conservative group headed by Mike Spence.

He said the signs and bumper stickers went over well at the recent Republican Party convention in Anaheim. “One of the Minutemen took them to the border.”

Oops. It’s going to take a lot more than community meetings and some broken Spanish added to his broken English to win the Latino vote. His own supporters are doing him a disservice via a grass roots campaign that seems designed to destroy him.

Via / San Jose Mercury News

Photo: Michael Maloney, San Francisco Chronicle