Posted on 04/27/2010 8:24:26 PM PDT by Altura Ct.
(April 27) -- Tim James is betting his election that Alabama voters prefer what he calls "common sense" to "political correctness." The Republican gubernatorial candidate is running a provocative ad arguing that Alabama's driver's license exam should be given only in English.
"This is Alabama; we speak English," James says. "If you want to live here, learn it." The campaign spot has had more than 60,000 views on YouTube.
The son of former Alabama Gov. Fob James promises to do away with the 12 foreign languages the test currently offers if he is elected in November. In the ad, James suggests his goal is to save taxpayers money. "Maybe it's the businessman in me," he says.
In the blogosphere, though, many say the controversial ad is about far more than saving taxpayers money and contains coded political messages James hopes will strike a chord with Republican voters in the state.
The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder said it contains swipes against the federal government and President Barack Obama. Ambinder also noted that Alabama could lose federal funding if it offers the exams only in English.
"If the governor changes the rules, the state could lose billions of dollars in federal transportation funding," he wrote. "Conveniently, this allows James to hint at the prospect of a debate against Barack Obama's federal government, too."
Some say it is no mistake that the ad comes in the middle of an emotional debate over immigration reform.
The Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama said the ad would hurt the state's reputation. "Making the driver's license test available in English only is a bad move and inconsistent with the strong recruitment Alabama has done in the last 15 years to bring international business to our state," the coalition said in a statement Monday.
Ambinder said the "ethnic coding in the ad is unmistakable," and at The American Prospect, Tim Fernholtz said James was exploiting fear against Latino immigrants for political gain.
"Maintaining federal funding, keeping the roads safe, or even simple nondiscrimination don't seem to matter to James," Fernholtz wrote. "He'd rather exploit racial tension and hostility toward the national government to get ahead."
But James says the exams are a public safety issue. On his campaign website, he cited a 2004 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report that connected a 72 percent increase in work/traffic-related fatalities to drivers' inability to read road signs in English.
"It makes common sense to ensure everyone with an Alabama driver's license knows and understands traffic laws and traffic signs," he said. "Political correctness may endear you to the Rachel Maddow crowd, but here in Alabama, the safety of our people comes first."
Drivers license exams are currently offered in Arabic, Chinese, English, Farsi, French, German, Greek, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Thai and Vietnamese.
At the conservative blog Hot Air, the blogger "The Other McCain" had sympathy for James' position.
"C'mon, Farsi? Thai? in Alabama?" he wrote.
They do it here in Ohio, at least in Spanish. Why???
Yet another racist state heard from.
/sarc.
First Arizona. Now Alabama. I hope this somehow passes.
I love the sight of liberal heads exploding. Yes I do.
Well if my vote counts for anything...
He is right, the is America, this is Alabama, learn english.
TN is still pushing English only laws. Its only a matter of time that an immigrant sues the state for not providing traffic signs and signals in their language. Otherwise they wouldn’t have driven the wrong way and killed that family.
I hope that my adopted country United States of America remains a Christian, Englich speaking nation?
I don’t get it - why in so many languages?? The signs on the roads are IN ENGLISH!!! So, what good does it do to put the exams in different languages?
Dear Soon-to-be Gov James: Could you please call soon-to-be has-been Rubio and talk him into removing his head from his rear on this issue? Thanks!
If one cannot read English, how is one to read road signs?
It’s racist to make someone give up their native language.
That’s why we’re demanding you speak Spanish!
If we have to make road signs for every language where will we find all the timber for posts?
We're fighting back, folks. Expect to see this sort of thing escalate over the coming months. Our side is finally ripping the muzzle off.
Actually, I’m fairly sure a good number of folks in Britain would question the assertion that English is spoken in Alabama.
[ducking]
Sorry I couldn’t resist. I don’t feel that way, though I do wonder whether English is spoken in some parts of the North of England. Ever hear Geordie? Makes the deepest southern drawl sound like a BBC newsreader in comparison.
I’d love to see businesses with English only in their stores,on their products,and in their instruction manuals. If a customer refuses to learn English,then let him bring a translator with him,or go back to his native country and do business there.
Wasn’t it just a couple of years ago that Oklahoma passed laws requiring English only for election ballots and driver license tests? ....I believe that legal immigrants who become naturalized citizens are required to be able to speak and read English.
Yes, Newcastle in the North East of England said to be a cross between Scots and English dialect. I did get as far as Stevenson, Alabama and made myself understood. Drove down from Canada. I used a light London dialect however.
Joking aside, using multiple languages is all very quaint. It is however an incredible expense. This example may amuse because my adopted city weathered quite a storm ten years ago. The worthy city councilors often took too long in council to get through the whole Monday meeting. They(bless 'em) liked to hear themselves talk.
It was mentioned that being as bilingualism was now law in Canada, it only needed one person in the gallery to demand a French translation. One the expense of a translator and then a six hour meeting. Following that a double printing of all records, both in English and French. A resolution was passed "ENGLISH ONLY" at our city hall.
All hell broke loose. Stories of conventions being cancelled. A boycott of the city by visitors. A woman claimed she was leaving town. Others are now leaving, she claimed. The press printed the usual "bigot" charges. The same resolution had been found after the furore, to have been adopted by 73 different cities in our province. ENGLISH ONLY.
Let us all hope and using the language of the bard William Shakespeare, dialects and all. ENGLISH ONLY.
Good, it is about time.
I applaud him. Hey if people want to retain their culture and language, I have no problem with it. But if you want to suceed and excel in America, you have to learn english. That is all.
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