Call it signs of desperation or just down right hatred, but what the California Republicans have done now are new lows:

State investigators have linked a Republican campaign to letters sent to thousands of Southern California Hispanics warning them they could go to jail or be deported if they vote next month, a spokesman for the attorney general said.

“We have identified where we believe the mailing list was obtained,” said Nathan Barankin, spokesman for Attorney General Bill Lockyer.

He declined to identify the specific Republican campaign Wednesday, citing the ongoing investigation. The Los Angeles Times and The Orange County Register both reported Thursday that the investigation appeared to be focused on the campaign of Tan D. Nguyen, a Republican challenger to Democratic U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez.

The letter, written in Spanish, tells recipients: “You are advised that if your residence in this country is illegal or you are an immigrant, voting in a federal election is a crime that could result in jail time.”

In fact, immigrants who are naturalized U.S. citizens can vote.

So people who are immigrants can’t vote? That is news. Perhaps we should make this “new rule” proactive. Anyone who is of immigrant origins to the United States can not vote this election year. I wonder how all those American Indians will vote? I wonder if they still have hard feelings for the millions that Abramoff stole from them. I am sure they do.

This type of stunt is sadly not uncommon around the country. We really need new laws regarding these type of campaign tactics. I believe if someone is found guilty of doing something like this, or making false claims in their ads against their opponent, then they must pay their opponent the cost of the ad plus an additional amount to undo the wrong doings of these people. If campaigns start facing hefty fines like that, instead of the little slap on the wrists, then perhaps they will grow up and play by the rules. After all – what they are doing is a crime against our country.