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Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez thinks Arizona's controversial new law targeting illegal immigration is "fundamentally flawed and fundamentally unfair" but he doesn't think boycotts to protest the law are the solution.
"I don't think you need to go boycott until you've exhausted all other kinds of remedies. I think boycotts are effective tools but ought to be used limitedly," he said this morning on MSNBC's "The Daily Rundown" with Chuck Todd and Savannah Guthrie.
Pérez, who was in Washington to attend President Barack Obama's State Dinner for Mexican President Felipe Calderón, said he sees "adequate pathways to remedies through the courts" because he thinks the law is unconstitutional.
The speaker weighed in on the GOP gubernatorial primary, calling Steve Poizner the "easier candidate to run against" in November.
The main reason? Republican rival Meg Whitman's bank account.
"Meg Whitman's already spent $64 million of her own money and willing to spend another $200 million," he said.*
The Whitman campaign was quick to interpret Pérez's 41-word observation about the race as an "endorsement" of Poizner that shows "Sacramento Democrats have a vested interest in protecting the status quo, including higher taxes, more spending and public employee union perks."
Pérez also addressed California's search for more federal dollars, saying it is important that the state "draw down all the federal money that's available to us to help stimulate our economy and get us moving forward."
"No, we're not going to need a federal government bailout, but what we do need is to make sure our partners in the federal government do everything they can to help us fund those programs that actually deserve federal money," he said.
* Whitman gave her campaign another $4 million this week, bringing the total for personal funds she has dropped into her bid to $68 million.
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