Posted on 05/19/2006 1:24:24 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
HOUSTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush has long opposed making English the country's national language, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said on Friday, the day after the Senate voted to do so.
The vote came in an amendment to proposed legislation overhauling U.S. immigration law and directed the government to "preserve and enhance" the role of English. Opponents said it could affect the status of some multilingual services offered by government organizations.
Adding to the confusion, the Senate also adopted a softer amendment calling English the "unifying language" of the United States. Senators take both versions into negotiations over a final bill with the U.S. House of Representatives.
Gonzales did not directly address Bush's position on the controversial amendment because the Senate has not yet voted on the whole bill. But he said that Bush has in the past rejected such efforts.
"The president has never supported making English the national language," Gonzales said after meeting with state and local officials in Texas to discuss cooperation on enforcement of immigration laws.
He said Bush has instead long supported a concept called "English-Plus," believing that it was good to be proficient in more than one language.
"English represents freedom in our country and anybody who wants to be successful in our country has a much better chance of doing so if they speak English," Gonzales said. "It is of course a common language."
But, Gonzales said, "I don't see the need to have laws or legislation that says English is the national language."
While visiting Arizona on Thursday to press his plan to send up to 6,000 National Guard troops to the Mexican border spoke of the need to unite Americans.
"We've got to honor the great American tradition of the melting pot," Bush said. "Americans are bound together by shared ideals and appreciation of our history, of respect for our flag and ability to speak the English language."
Intervening in a recent furor over a Spanish-language version of the national anthem released by Latin pop stars, Bush said that the "Star-Spangled Banner" should be sung in English.
The United States currently has no official language and the amendment was showing signs of further inflaming an already incendiary issue, with Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada calling it "racist."
President Bush speaks alongside Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in Washington March 16, 2006. Bush has long opposed making English the country's national language, Gonzales said on Friday, the day after the Senate voted to do so. (Jason Reed/Reuters)
WTF?
The reason Bush is so unpopular is that he's governing from the left.
Well, this should be interesting......
The new touchy feely Teddy Kennedy approving pc Bush is revolting.
Cuz he has such a hard time speakin' it.
I'm starting to oppose Bush more and more these days.
Now taking predictions for the final post count of this thread.
Did you happen to catch any of Rush today? He spoke very harshly about the leadership that we have today. It was not kind.
Bush needs to git a grip. He refuses to listen to the American public. Is he that blind and deaf, or is it he simply doesn't give a rat's @$$?
(Denny Crane: "Every one should carry a gun strapped to their waist. We need more - not less guns.")
"Well, this should be interesting......"
Yeah. I'm going to start speaking only French.
On second thought, that might get me in trouble...
If Clinton was the first black president, W is the first Mexican President..
Ridiculous!
What a revoltin' development.
Ouch. Good one!
Nothing to see here. Move along. Bush opposes abortion, gay marriage and stem cell research. That's all conservatives should care about.
Now that's something I would have never thought I'd say.
Never trust a Yalie. Look at how out of touch his father was. They truly are elitists.
it's part of his strategery to outfox Fox.
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