Posted on 05/19/2006 1:24:24 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
HOUSTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush has long opposed making English the country's national language, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said on Friday, the day after the Senate voted to do so.
The vote came in an amendment to proposed legislation overhauling U.S. immigration law and directed the government to "preserve and enhance" the role of English. Opponents said it could affect the status of some multilingual services offered by government organizations.
Adding to the confusion, the Senate also adopted a softer amendment calling English the "unifying language" of the United States. Senators take both versions into negotiations over a final bill with the U.S. House of Representatives.
Gonzales did not directly address Bush's position on the controversial amendment because the Senate has not yet voted on the whole bill. But he said that Bush has in the past rejected such efforts.
"The president has never supported making English the national language," Gonzales said after meeting with state and local officials in Texas to discuss cooperation on enforcement of immigration laws.
He said Bush has instead long supported a concept called "English-Plus," believing that it was good to be proficient in more than one language.
"English represents freedom in our country and anybody who wants to be successful in our country has a much better chance of doing so if they speak English," Gonzales said. "It is of course a common language."
But, Gonzales said, "I don't see the need to have laws or legislation that says English is the national language."
While visiting Arizona on Thursday to press his plan to send up to 6,000 National Guard troops to the Mexican border spoke of the need to unite Americans.
"We've got to honor the great American tradition of the melting pot," Bush said. "Americans are bound together by shared ideals and appreciation of our history, of respect for our flag and ability to speak the English language."
Intervening in a recent furor over a Spanish-language version of the national anthem released by Latin pop stars, Bush said that the "Star-Spangled Banner" should be sung in English.
The United States currently has no official language and the amendment was showing signs of further inflaming an already incendiary issue, with Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada calling it "racist."
I've got 1157.
Unless it gets locked. Then I've got 315.
Rush is with it. He is absolutely flummoxed by these Republicans and this president.
You want in on the over/under for total posts?
Good weekend backatcha!
Ping people when you talk about them
Trial balloon is possible, but it's also more than possible that Reuters is up to their usual MO.
Sen. Inhofe made it clear on the Sebate floor yesterday that this was not an attempt to make English the official language of the US. Laws and regulations pertaining to the use of other languages would remain in force. If English were established as the official language of the USA, all government publications, docs, etc. would be printed in English as a matter of law. We've never had that in the US and there's no reason to go there now. Yesterday, Bush said that learning English was absolutely essential to success in the US. Snow said that he was in favot of the English language amendments that passed in the Senate. I would suspect that the AG was suggesting that the POTUS was against establishing English as an official language.
All this bloviating is just absurd. Whining, complaining, and bitterness on a beautiful May afternoon.
No, the liberal media controls the polls, and the liberal media wants the illegal invasion to continue. Therefore, Bush is destined to get a bump in popularity.
see my post #189
Schoolyard snitch bump
Hoikel Smoikel, Hoikel Smoikel
Ve von vell, so gib mit ein substantial yell.
Oi
Just now on John Gibson's Big Story, Judge Nap said the Senate did nothing new in these two days on English- effectively it was grandstanding.
If he was misquoted, don't worry. Tony will clear it up on Monday. There's not much damage that can be done with a quote like this over the weekend.
I've got 1157.
Unless it gets locked. Then I've got 315.
I'll give it a jolt:
THE DA VINCI CODE IS ABOUT TO OPEN ON BROADWAY AS A MUSICAL WITH AN ALL-LESBIAN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CAST. ALL FIREARMS MUST BE CHECKED AT THE BOX OFFICE PRIOR TO PERFORMANCE
Are you suggesting that Bush doesn't have control over his AG? Doesn't sound like you give the President much credit in terms of running a tight ship.
>>>"Now taking predictions for the final post count of this thread."
Now taking predictions for Bush's final approval ratings.
Its not a misquote people, this has been his stated position before becoming the President. See my post #189 for details.
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