IT IS AN ARTICLE OF FAITH among political journalists that Proposition 187, the 1994 initiative approved by California voters to deny illegal immigrants state benefits, was poison to the Republican party. Somehow the measure, though endorsed by 59 percent of voters and many GOP candidates, is bad politics. So it was inevitable that when Arnold Schwarzenegger ventured into the governor's race, the Los Angeles Times would blare: "Actor voted for the divisive '94 initiative, a move that could alienateLatinos. But analysts say it might help him with hard-core conservatives."

In the same spirit, another Times story noted the danger of Schwarzenegger's taking positions on immigration issues: "That risk was apparent Sunday when former Gov. Pete Wilson, a co-chairman of the actor's campaign, acknowledged that Schwarzenegger backed Proposition 187, the 1994 ballot measure that sought to curb public services for illegal immigrants."

The recall election should put an end to this nonsense. As the results of the recall confirm, Proposition 187, while clearly no killer for Republicans, instead pushed the Democrats into a corner. Their refusal to distinguish between illegal and legal immigration put them at odds with the California mainstream.

When Wilson aired a campaign ad in 1994 that showed illegal immigrants streaming across the border, Democrats were quick to attack him. The California Democratic party argued that it was racist to deny illegal immigrants state benefits.

The R-word didn't help Democrats keep Wilson out of the governor's horseshoe that year--Wilson defeated Kathleen Brown by 55 percent to 40 percent--but it defined a position

When he was elected governor in 1998, Gray Davis tried to straddle the 187 divide. Davis had opposed the measure when it was on the ballot, but he didn't want to be seen as thwarting the will of California voters. After the courts gutted the measure, Davis tried to craft a judicial compromise. This outraged Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, who denounced Davis. Thus began the rift that would prompt Bustamante to run in the recall election, despite party solons' efforts to keep Democratic officeholders out of the race.

Meanwhile, energized Latino Democrats started producing bills to help "undocumented" immigrants. Again Davis tried to appease the Latino corner without provoking anger from the majority. In his first term, Davis signed a bill that gave an in-state tuition tax break to illegal immigrants attending California colleges and universities, but he twice vetoed bills to allow illegal immigrants to obtain drivers' licenses.

The license vetoes hurt Davis with the Latino caucus. The Democrats' opposition to Prop. 187 had transformed the party. Under Wilson, many Latino legislators--including Bustamante--had supported a measure that required driver's license applicants to show proof of citizenship or legal residency. Now, Democrats were demanding that such laws be overturned--or else. Team Davis attributed a drop in his support from Latinos--an estimated 400,000 fewer Latinos showed up at the polls to vote for Davis in 2002 than in 1998--to his driver's license vetoes.