A Presidential Debate in Spanish?

For all the folks that thought I was picking on gays and lesbians with my post and thoughts on the Democrat debate that focused on gay and lesbian issues, I see that the Democrats held a debate at the University of Miami where the responses were translated into Spanish. I think this is wrong as well and for many of the same reasons but there is actually something a little more insidious with this debate format.

This clearly sends a wrong message to all those potential Hispanic voters out there who either want to hear the response in their supposed native tongue or can’t understand English. As hateful as it sounds, this country runs on English and most of the business that is transacted is in English and instead or prostrating themselves to Hispanic voters, the candidates should be encouraging those same “voters” to learn English and access all that America has to offer.

Do any of the Hispanic voters really think they deserve some sort of special conciliation due to their makeup of the country (15% according to the AFP story). But we see the fight for the newest voting demographic – the Hispanic vote. The debate will translated for the live broadcast on the Univision network and there was an interested quote early on in the AFP story attributed to Maria Elena Salinas, who was a co-moderator of the debate. She states that "The candidates will be speaking to the fastest-growing segment of American society. It's a sign of respect.." Uh no – it is a sign of decay in American Culture and a sign of political pandering and lastly it is a sign of disrespect for a segment of American population who should be getting a different message rather than one of divisiveness and balkanization. What I wouldn’t give for Bill Richardson, one of the Spanish speaking candidates to encourage everyone listening to learn English to improve their lot in life. He is a good example of what they should be hoping to achieve.

Final thought on respect – how many of those potential viewers respect the laws of our country and are here legally vice those that are here illegally? I would love the answer to that question as well.

Outspoken Roman out.