“You Don’t Need Papers For Voting.”

And with those words captured on audio tape, Francine Busby may have assured her own defeat. Busby is running against Brian Bilbray in a special election to fill the seat in the House vacated by Randy “Duke” Cunningham after his conviction. (Earlier post on Bilbray here).

If an election can turn on a sentence, this could be the one: “You don't need papers for voting.”

On Thursday night, Francine Busby, the Democratic candidate for the 50th Congressional District, was speaking before a largely Latino crowd in Escondido when she uttered those words. She said yesterday she simply misspoke.

But someone taped it and a recording began circulating yesterday. After she made that statement at the meeting, Busby immediately said: “You don't need to be a registered voter to help (the campaign).”

She said that subsequent statement was to clarify what she meant.

The recording, which was played yesterday on Roger Hedgecock's radio talk show, jolted the campaign.

Busby, a Cardiff school board member, is in a tight race with Republican Brian Bilbray, a congressman-turned-lobbyist, who has based his campaign on a tough anti-illegal-immigration stance. Busby has focused her campaign on ethics reform. The two are vying to replace Randy “Duke” Cunningham, who was jailed after pleading guilty to taking bribes.

Although Busby is backpedaling furiously, the words are what they are. Misstatement or not, she may have ended up galvanizing her opposition. You can bet that there will be additional scrutiny over who is voting as well. Bilbrays campaign has focused on controlling illegal immigration, Busby just handed him a club.

Other Links to this Post

1. The Sandbox — Saturday, 3 June , 2006 @ 3:00 pm

2. Blue Star Chronicles — Saturday, 3 June , 2006 @ 4:26 pm