Latino evangelist backs Whitman, citing ‘exploitative’ use of housekeeper scandal by her opponents

The Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, an influential Latino evangelist, tells The Upshot that he is supporting the California gubernatorial candidacy of Republican Meg Whitman, who has lagged in Latino support. The reason: He believes political operatives have exploited people in the scandal over the immigration status of her onetime housekeeper.

"I saw Meg Whitman's opponents use the immigrant community as a tool of political expediency. And the immigrant community -- we are not tools. They in essence put out an undocumented woman and her family, jeopardizing her stay here in America. I find that to be morally egregious and exploitative," he said.

Jerry Brown, the Democratic former governor who is running against Whitman, has denied any involvement in Whitman's housekeeper's decision to sue her former employer. But he's hit Whitman hard over the issue.

Rodriguez heads up the country's largest Hispanic Christian group, which includes more than 30,400 churches. Along with other evangelical leaders, Rodriguez has lobbied Congress and President Obama for comprehensive immigration reform that includes a pathway to citizenship. He has warned the national Republican Party that by shunning immigration reform and entertaining proposals like outlawing birthright citizenship, they risk permanently losing a growing, socially conservative bloc of Hispanic voters.

Whitman's own position on immigration reform is a bit unclear. In 2009, she appeared to back a path to legalization for the country's 11 million illegal immigrants if they "stand at the back of the line, they pay a fine, they do some things that would ultimately allow a path to legalization." She then moved far to the right in her primary battle, running an ad where she said "no amnesty" as the ad was briefly framed in the background by the image of a border fence. Since winning her primary, she's walked a path somewhere in between those positions, saying it is impractical to deport 11 million people and she supports a guest worker program, but not directly endorsing a path to citizenship in immigration reform.

But Rodriguez says he thinks her position roughly aligns with the current immigration reform proposal in the Senate that includes a pathway to citizenship. His support could make a big difference among the roughly one-fifth of California voters who are Latino. Whitman aggressively sought Latino voters after her primary, but the accusations from her former housekeeper Nicky Diaz have hit her in the polls.

"We can't deny the fact that Meg has lost support in the Hispanic community as a result of the debacle," he says. "I am disappointed with the campaign pushing and advocating this idea that Meg Whitman exploits Latinos -- that's just silly putty. Hispanics should wake up and say, 'Hold on; we're not going to be manipulated by the right or the left.'"

Rodriguez says he thinks Diaz's claims that she was exploited by Whitman in her nine years of service are ridiculous. "What I hear from the immigrant community, here's the phrase I received: 'You gotta be kidding me.' For her to say, 'I'm being paid 20-something an hour,' and to say she's exploited? You gotta be kidding me."

Diaz said Whitman treated her like "garbage" when she fired her after Diaz asked for help to become a legal resident.

(Photo of Rodriguez: AP)