Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008
Mitt-ers of Honor
And Mitt Romney follows Rudy Giuliani into the “English-only” hypocrisy goo. From ThinkProgress:
Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has released a new Spanish-language campaign ad in Florida entitled Mi Padre (My Father), featuring Romney’s son, Craig. Craig encourages voters to “get to know my father, Mitt Romney.” Romney himself then chimes in with: Soy Mitt Romney y apruebo este mensaje (I’m Mitt Romney and I approved this message). Watch it:
[Video of Romney TV ad]
It’s interesting that Romney is so interested in reaching out to Latino voters in Spanish. In the past, he has been stridently English-only:
“English needs to be the language that is spoken in America. We cannot be a bilingual nation like Canada.” [3/07]
“You strengthen the American people by securing our borders and by insisting that the children who come legally to this land are taught in English.” [3/2/07]
You’ve got to love the way Gov. Romney cites Canada as an example of why being a bilingual nation is a bad thing. Frankly, I’m amazed that he didn’t exploit the fact that Canada’s other widely-spoken language is French.
And as an added bonus, Romney then steps into the generation gap goo:
“Who Let The Dogs Out” is not exactly a new reference. In fact, it’s just what a clueless white guy would say in front of a bunch of black people to try and “relate”. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Mittens Romney, and a supremely awkward moment on the campaign trail.
As he posed for a picture with a group of young people, the typically old-fashioned Romney was relaxed enough to quote from a popular hit single from a few years back.
“Who let the dogs out?” he called out, as he stood there beaming in his shirt and tie. “Who! Who!”
Nice. Classy-with-a-K. And way to remind people of your past dog issues, Mittens.
