So. Vilsack made English the official language of IOWA???

[Bluebear]

Yeah, that seems to be a great piece of necessary legislation on his resume. What with all those damn Spanish speakers trying to take over Davenport and all. Terrific legacy, Governor. :eyes:

Somehow this is all I need to know about him as a Presidential candidate.

[JVS]

1. The fucking Swedes were getting out of line

[Bluebear]

4. Ya, you betcha! nt

[JVS]

5. Skol

[Jackpine Radical]

28. Ja, skål pro fisken.

Min hals er tør.

[wtmusic]

31. Aw, knock it off you guys

take your funny letters and beautiful women and go home. :P

[Tesha]

32. Inkee-dinkie doo, ki durkee du Børk Børk Børk!

http://www.google.com/intl/xx-bork/

[jgraz]

2. Yep, I don't understand why Rachel Maddow is so hot for this guy

[marmar]

7. Yeah, I don't get it either...

A milquetoast middle-of-the-road Dem? No, gracias.

[SoCalDem]

3. Another 50-something white guy out to grab the brass ring

a future "also-ran"..

[dsc]

6. I am not defending the measure but

Iowa has far more immigrants that you would think. Slaughter houses have nearly entirely immigrant workforces and Iowa has many, many slaughter houses.

[Bluebear]

9. The whole country is made up of immigrants

I'm sure Iowa has many. I don't know why Vilsack felt it necessary to make this law.

[Critters2]

22. He didn't "make the law" Governors don't make laws

They sign the laws the legislators (you know, the lawmakers) make. He shouldn't have signed it, but he didn't create it. A Repug legislature did.

[Tesha]

33. Yeah, he just didn't have the 'nads to veto it. He's just a DLC collaborator. (NT)

[Bluebear]

34. He "made it law". By signing it. Is how I meant it. nt

[melissinha]

12. not to mention the corn fields

I had Mexican friends that have done both corn and meat packing in Iowa.

I wonder if this particularly brought forward by Vilsack himself though.

[Critters2]

20. It wasn't

The main proponent was then State Senator, now US congressman Steve King (R-Hell). He used the issue to build his career--he's in Washington as a direct result of the scare tactics around immigration. I've never been clear why Vilsack signed the law. He acted as if his hand was forced, but he could have vetoed it or pocket-vetoed. It might have been overridden, but at least it wouldn't be on his resume forever.

I was perplexed at the time, and I still am.

[EFerrari]

23. So, you're arguing that more people than we think will be discriminated

against by this bill? :shrug:

[proud2BlibKansan]

29. And how does this legislation make that situation any better?

[Morgana LaFey]

8. My impression of him --

he's a mealy-mouth, milquetoast, servile (to the DLC) opportunist. I saw someone deliver a stirring defense of him recently, but after seeing this, that apologia means nothing.

[JetCityLiberal]

14. Bingo

Morgan LaFey nails it.

[wtmusic]

10. Are there *any* implications to this law, except being a symbolic

handjob to Republicans? :shrug:

[BrotherBuzz]

11. An argument might be made that it could save money...

by eliminating duplicate printing, or something. Interesting, this was a subject dear to the late S.I. Hayakawa, a one term Republican US Senator from California. It didn't garner much attention back then, either.

[Critters2]

21. It has so many loopholes that it means nothing. It was purely symbolic.

[EFerrari]

24. Well, ballot access, for one. Any government form? n/t

[wtmusic]

35. There is a list of exceptions you can drive a truck through:

"4. This section shall not apply to:
a. The teaching of languages.
b. Requirements under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
c. Actions, documents, or policies necessary for trade, tourism, or commerce.
d. Actions or documents that protect the public health and safety.
e. Actions or documents that facilitate activities pertaining to compiling any census of populations.
f. Actions or documents that protect the rights of victims of crimes or criminal defendants.
g. Use of proper names, terms of art, or phrases from languages other than English.
h. Any language usage required by or necessary to secure the rights guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America or the Constitution of the State of Iowa."

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/JWCRAWFORD/ia.htm

Seems 4(h) would allow printing of multilingual voter information, but I don't know if this is the case...:shrug:

[Critters2]

36. Yeah, I know that at least voting instructions, if not ballots, are

printed in Spanish in some counties. This law assuaged crazy RW'ers like Steve King, while having absolutely no effect on Spanish-speakers (except, perhaps to make them feel unwanted).

[melissinha]

13. Back up! He signed it but wanted $$$ to help immigrants get ESL

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2002/2/26/164010.shtml

FIRST this was done in 2002,
Vilsack has criticized the bill as lacking substance because it provides no funding to teach English to those for whom English is not their first language, but has nevertheless indicated he will sign the measure.

"We all agree that everyone who lives and works here should be proficient in English because it is the language that unites us, and it is the language of opportunity," Vilsack said in a statement. "But the true test is whether the Legislature stands by its commitment to provide the resources to help people actually learn English. Without that commitment, this is a symbol without substance."

To accommodate Vilsack, a companion bill provides $1.4 million for English as a Second Language classes in the 2003-04 school year. That bill still must win Senate approval.

[Bluebear]

16. Back up nothing, he signed it into law. And what do you mean "this was in 2002"

Is that too long ago to be considered part of his record?

[RB TexLa]

17. guess what, they are free human beings, if they want to speak Spanish they can!

Or whatever language a person choses to speak.

[EFerrari]

25. "We all agree that everyone who lives and works here should be

proficient in English" carries what Constitutional force?

Anyone know?

:)

[RaleighNCDUer]

15. Pandering piece of garbage.

If anyone knows that it is unnecessary it should be him. Is Vilsack an anglo name? It's not been that long since english speakers were the minority in Iowa - settled by Germans, Scandavavians, Slovaks, Czech -- whole towns spoke continental languages as their primary language. And today they all speak english. And nobody had to pass a law to make it happen.

[Obamarama]

18. Does that mean all those Amish folks can't speak German anymore?

[bullwinkle428]

19. Yeah, I live here and cringed when that legislation was passed. It was clearly

pandering to the right-leaning voters. Needless to say, he ain't getting my support in the '08 caucuses!

[wtmusic]

30. I was talking to an '08 Dem House candidate who is very impressed

by Vilsack. Any other reasons you don't like him, besides the English-language bill?

[Critters2]

26. Here are the exceptions to Iowa's "English only" legislation

4. This section shall not apply to:
a. The teaching of languages.
b. Requirements under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
c. Actions, documents, or policies necessary for trade, tourism, or commerce.
d. Actions or documents that protect the public health and safety.
e. Actions or documents that facilitate activities pertaining to compiling any census of populations.
f. Actions or documents that protect the rights of victims of crimes or criminal defendants.
g. Use of proper names, terms of art, or phrases from languages other than English.
h. Any language usage required by or necessary to secure the rights guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America or the Constitution of the State of Iowa.
5. Nothing in this section shall be construed to do any of the following:
a. Prohibit an individual member of the general assembly or officer of state government, while performing official business, from communicating through any medium with another person in a language other than English, if that member or officer deems it necessary or desirable to do so.
b. Limit the preservation or use of Native American languages, as defined in the federal Native American Languages Act of 1992.
c. Disparage any language other than English or discourage any person from learning or using a language other than English.

[proud2BlibKansan]

27. Yuck

He lost me then.

[Critters2]

37. I find it less troublesome than voting for an illegal, unnecessary war

like a good many Dems who want to be president did. (and for the same reasons--political pressure and a lack of personal courage).