Tancredo Accuses RP et al of Pandering for being in Univision Debate

"And if you love a country, the least you can do is speak the FREAKING language. "

As mentioned many times before.. some of us speak a number of languages. I was born here... I have an interest in other cultures.. I don't see the big deal here. If you are somehow offended, flip the channel and go hand out more slim jims for Ron Paul.

"From a character standpoint, he's held in awe by all of us because of his high morals and ethics," Sipple said. "You just can't question any of that."

That about says it all.

Article is here: http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071210/NEWS...

Tommy, Tommy, Tommy!

You just dug the proverbial hole for yourself and nailed in that final piece of your casket.

There is a difference in "addressing" vs. "pandering." The difference is when Ron addressed the crowd and was boo'd for several of his responses, yet STUCK BY THEM. Pandering is what some of the other candidates (Dem and Republican) were doing there by trying to always go for the applause points.

Also, there were (I'm SURE) english speaking people there who heard the candidates original, english responses. They were simply translated into spanish for those who didn't understand their initial responses.

Now if Tommy T's comments don't incite some "blowback" then something is DEFINITELY up!

Ron Paul has enough moxy to actually go and speak out to the spanish speaking folks, even though he knows that his stance will not be too popular in that demographic. His approach on illegal immigration is sensible and logical. Those folks understand that the borders cannot just be left wide open. I think the other candidates are showing that they really don't understand these people. Ron Paul will tell them like it is and let them decide. I think he'll win over folks just because he has the guts to let people know where he stands and DOES NOT pander to anyone.

... ever heard of the first amendment, hombre?

Government can alter or change it's own proceedural rules of order to reflect an "english only" rule for all government records/paperwork, highway signs, etc, but it can not impose such a rule/law on the peoples liberty.

And newsflash Tommy not all foriegn language speaking individuals in the U.S are "immigrants". Some are tourists. Is Tom Tancredo suggesting that only english literate tourists come to America and spend money? (sarcastic rhetoric).

Not to mention people in Latin American countries were tuned in. It's never a bad thing to have other nations get a look at who might be inhabiting one of the most powerful offices in the world. Only a dumbass would've missed an opportunity to speak to the entire south western hemisphere of the globe. Only a dorkwad would've missed it purposely.

If Tancredo is held to his own standards he as President would never address other nations, or at minimum only those countries which he is fluent in the native language.

I think not, Tancredo. I believe it is you who panders to your constituency by bringing these accusations against your rivals, I believe it is you who views the '08 run as a game of chess rather than a soapbox for truth. Only Ron Paul has time and time again stood alone on his principles to speak truth to whomever will listen, and he runs in this race from the desire to relieve human suffering through liberty. Tancredo, however, like all the others besides Paul, is a slave to money and power, a slave to his own egomaniacal desires. It took man thousands of years to develop the philosophy of liberty, and its cost has not been small. But once it finally became the law of the land 200 years ago, all subsequent men could do was to pick away at it for their own benefit, unable to give anything to humanity, only capable of satiating their desire to leave an impact on the world, even if that meant meddling in peoples private affairs. Ron Paul understands this, and he seeks to create change, not to fulfill some delusional fantasy, but solely to remind us of who we are so we can once again restore the law of the land. Tancredo...do not degrade Ron Paul, you are not even on the same plane of existence. You frivolously seek comfirmation of your lifes meaning by attempting to imprint it upon others, while Dr. Paul recognizes you as the bane of man and the cause of his suffering for 6000+ years. Let Dr. Paul speak, spanish or english, and let everyone hear, because he understands the true nature of the human struggle and how we can finally put an end to most of it. I believe the other candidates are the "quixotic" ones, brashly attempting to fill emptiness with nothing.

and that is my rant, i hope it made sense.....

Going to a debate hosted by Hispanics is one thing. I have no problem with that. But to host the debate in another language in an ENGLISH speaking country is a little overboard. If you are speaking to voters then they are citizens, guess what, they speak English. Why are so many people trying to change the fabric of a another country. Why aren't we trying to make those in Mexico speak ENGLISH. Why aren't we trying to change their immigration laws since it is 10x more Harsh than ours.

Through my martial arts, I feel in love with Brazil. Since this is a country I respected and wanted to visit, I learned the language on my own. I studied the history on my own. I wouldn't dare try to make them host a debate and translate it to English for me or anyone else. You see, when you love a Country and really want to be apart of it, You don't sneak in illegally since you know, under the law, you can never become a citizen (expect for the U.S). You don't have act as an irresponsible parent and have kids in the country ( since under the law, you can be deported and break up you family. also the CITIZEN's will have to foot the bill to support your child financially which isn't fair.) You don't rally to change their laws for your benefit. You don't do things that will hurt the countries' citizens (welfare, education, low wages, closing of hospitals). You don't carry your flag through the streets while burning the American Flag. You don't act as if all the citizens are RACIST because they want the Laws of the Land enforced. And if you love a country, the least you can do is speak the FREAKING language.

I'm glad Ron stuck to his guns and didn't pander on his views. He was still for border security and for trading with Cuba. The fact that they booed him really shows alot about those who attended.

I understand the well intentioned idea of a national language. I also understand it has negative consequences.

First, I think it excuses us from any motivation to learn how to communicate with our neighbors effectively. Being able to understand our neighbors will improve relations with them politically and economically. Just from my experiance, when I travel to a latin country, I get the best deals and the most respect of my companions because I deal in the language. Being in a border state, to a lessor extent proves true here as well. In free trade and open markets, it is a real advantage to know how to communicate with your neighbors.

Second, I think it indirectly helps to discriminate. Having a basic knowledge of English is not the same as having the good-enough skills required to pass the language test. Most official documents are so complex that even native speakers have trouble understanding. My sense is that if a local community thought that having he documents also in foreign languages would help everyone in their community get a better understanding of the important issues at hand, then let the local governments address it. Why? Because people who don't know are easily taken advantage of whether it's because they speak broken English or because they do know English and are just plain stupid.

Don't fret though. Sociology says that someone who immigrates to the US will know a native toungue and probably learn to communicate fairly in English. Their kids will know both the native language to communicate with the parents and know English fluently because they've grown up emersed in it. The grandkids will only know English. That's why all us Americans with these last names that came from everywhere but here all speak English.

Seems like the best one to me!
But we have many dialects and some small towns all across this nation even speak olde dutch,french,german,etc.
We should all know English and Knowing how to wouldn't be a bad idea -it was universal among the natives of this land because they also spoke many different languages but they could all sign to each other and understand each other.Army vets as I'm sure most others also have hand signals,etc to communicate but everybody was expected to know and understand english.What is so controversial about having american english with all of it's imperfections?
My ancestors came here and learned it and assimilated into the new found freedom of america ,so should all new immigrants .
You can speak 50 languages if you want but I really only know and understand english.

Let me see if I understand his position.
He thinks that if someone does not speak english *at this very moment* then they have no right to be included in the American process? Or perhaps, that if someone is more fluent in Spanish then English, that you should not present your positions to them in Spanish because that woud somehow make you un-American? I know many people who speak English, but are more fluent in Spanish and for 'in-depth' discussions about things that are important, they prefer to speak in Spanish. Does this make them less American? Are they lower class citizetns that have no rights? Is helping people understand the issues and thier positions on them, perhaps by speaking thier native language, pandering?
Perhaps Mr Tancredo might wish to pick up a dictionary and look up the definition of pandering.
Please, someone, help me understand Tancredo's position on this - is he truly an isolationist, or am I missing something?

I wonder where is tancredo lastname came from?
it looks like italian or spanish.

american born to cuban parents, are bilingual. In Miami the spanish is the mean spoken language and it is a prosperous city.

Leave it up to the local communities.