Klobuchar no longer thinks English should be the official language of the U.S.

[dflprincess]

Just heard this on the local news (WCCO, Channel 4, CBS) but they don't have a link of yet.

That Amy ever believed this is, I hate to use the word, concerning. I suppose she was pandering to rural Minnesota when she voted for it - or maybe she's pandering now.

https://apnews.com/5c18eac85b0448b262b8dc6e8c6bbe17

Democratic presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar says she no longer believes English should be the national language of the U.S., disavowing a vote she took more than a decade ago as she tries to build support in a state where Hispanics make up a critical constituency.

Campaigning in Las Vegas, the three-term Minnesota senator said Friday that she has changed her stance since voting for an English-language amendment in 2007 and has “taken a strong position against” it. She also blasted President Donald Trump for using immigrants as “wedges” and said as president she would work with Republicans to achieve comprehensive immigration reform.

Klobuchar’s record on immigration is under scrutiny after her third-place finish in the New Hampshire primary this week revived her campaign and sent her on to Nevada’s Feb. 22 caucuses with fresh momentum. After focusing much of her campaign on the first two voting states — Iowa and New Hampshire, both predominantly white — she’s now navigating a much more diverse electorate, where some of her moderate positions and willingness to vote with her Republican colleagues could be a liability.

Klobuchar was one of 17 Democrats to support a 2007 amendment that would have reversed President Bill Clinton’s executive order requiring federal agencies to provide materials in languages other than English. It passed 64-33, but the larger immigration bill died...

More at the link

[Nitram]

1. She used to think English should be the official language? That's one point against her.

It suggests a very narrow view of who an American is. I'm glad to know this.

[dflprincess]

3. I had forgotten about it.

If I believed that she had really had a change of heart and was sorry for her past attitude I could ignore the past vote. But I think her voting for it was something she saw as expedient and I believe this she sees this new position as also being expedient. And I wonder who else she'll throw under the bus if she thinks it will help her career.

[Nitram]

4. Well put. I just can't believe a stance like that doesn't reveal deeper problems.

It is ver similar to an anti-flag-burning stance. Meaningless except in a right-wing kind of way.

[cwydro]

25. What should be our official language then?

[stopdiggin]

26. we don't need one. that's the point. (nt)

[Laelth]

33. Official documents must be written in SOME language.

Should it be required that Courts and Clerks and government offices around the country accept, and then process, all formal, legal documents even if they are written in Russian? Chinese? French? Catalan? Portugese? Italian? Urdu? (You get my point.)

What you suggest would be a national boon for translators. That I admit. As it is, this is currently a state-by-state issue. Some states (like Texas) accept official documents in both English and Spanish, and that makes sense in Texas. Does it make sense in Maine? Should Maine be required to have Spanish translators in all of its offices? What about Russian? Certainly you can see the problem.

The "official language" question is far more complicated than most people will admit.

-Laelth

[stopdiggin]

40. disagree

it is complicated only by the people who are listening to Rush Limbaugh.
Please show me the national crisis that "Courts and Clerks and government offices ..." are currently dealing with under conditions that prevail at this moment.

Should Maine be required to have Spanish translators in all of its offices? What about Russian?

Nope. And furthermore .. nobody is saying that they do.

It's a non-issue, manufactured by nativists and bigots

[totodeinhere]

2. I agree with her current sentinment on this issue. However, i'm not sure if it will be

a winning issue in swing states in November.

[judeling]

5. Yep she did

One of her early votes. It was totally the result of a Midwest/Minneapolis naiveté. If you have lived here you understand just how welcoming to refugees and immigrants the Metro area was. Just didn't see how that could be used against them in other places.

But she has that knocked out of her.

[dflprincess]

8. Minneapolis naivete?

Spare me.

I have lived here most my life and I am aware of how welcoming we have been. Her vote then had nothing to do with being naive and everything to do with what she saw as political expediency. Just as her change of heart is what she thinks is expedient now.

"Naive" is not something I would ever call Amy.

[tishaLA]

39. Yeah, she's one of those naive Yale undergrad, Chicago Law-educated

hayseeds!

[Hoyt]

6. Give me a break, Warren is for Economic Patriotism. That means she thinks of

poor foreign workers as scabs.

I think English should be what anyone who expects to do well in USA should aspire too. If I move to Mexico or France, I’m going to try to learn the language to avoid a lot of difficulties. Don’t think she’s saying people who can’t speak English should be deported. I’d be disappointed in that.

[stopdiggin]

28. "English should be what anyone who expects to do well in USA should aspire too."

Respectfully, that is not what this issue is about.

A lot of our wonderful "nativists" brethren would like to prohibit the government from transacting in any other language. In other words no interpreters, no signage .. no publications or instruction available in another format.

So, we should do away with the the teacher that is "signing" the Christmas program for the deaf? Or doing the same in a courtroom? Not an "official" language after all.

In almost every case immigrant communities do adopt and adapt. And by 2nd generation it's almost never an issue. In fact, the whole "language" thing is largely a manufactured "issue."

[Hoyt]

31. Like I said, I don't think that is what she was referring to. Do you?

[stopdiggin]

35. Yes. I do.

I think the "official language" amendment was a manufactured issue .. aimed at exactly this crowd. Why else? What national problem was being addressed?

And, further .. intelligent woman that she is, I suspect that Klobuchar understood it in exactly those terms.

[mr_lebowski]

7. The USA has an 'official language'? Huh ... I did not know that (nt)

[dflprincess]

9. It does not

because the efforts to make English the official language have always been defeated.

[lunasun]

16. The United States has never had an official language at the federal level in its history

At the state level there are for instance California
English is the official language of the State of California

[not_the_one]

10. Two immigration issues I feel strongly about...

We should NEVER accept open borders. That should be obvious, given what Europe is going through. There are terrible situations the world over. Allowing everyone who wants to come here, at will, is not the answer, not an option.

People want to come here for a reason. Those reasons are the result of the unique experiment that we are engaged in. For us to achieve our goal of common will, passion and purpose, we need to have common communication. That is basic.

English should be the official language. If you want to come and live here, learn the language. It is the least you can do. If I move to another country to live, I will learn to speak their language. Language is what cements a country together. There are many examples of long held animosities, lasting hundreds of years, that are stoked and fanned by language barriers.

Voting, and all official notices, applications, etc, should be in English. You want to participate in our society, make the effort to learn the language. At some point English must be learned. Bilingual education may help (when does it stop, should it be all 12 grades, then must all colleges provide bilingual teaching, why just 2 languages, if you want to be fair?), but every school doesn't have the resources to provide that.

If you are in New York City, you may see public transit signs in 6 to 8 languages. That's cool, but they are a novelty. It is unrealistic to expect everything to be done on that level.

If you are a citizen, don't expect a document in every language, for your convenience. If you want CONVENIENCE, learn the language.

I am not flexible on those two issues.

You may now flame away. I have my asbestos jock strap on. (THAT is another issue. Jock straps should NOT be made of asbestos. They itch.)

[jberryhill]

22. Yeah, who do those Hawaiians think they are!

People speaking Hawaiian, Navajo, and who knows what else, shouldn’t have come to this country if they weren’t going to speak English!

Do you have any idea how absolutely stupid your point sounds to people who speak the languages that were here before English arrived?

[not_the_one]

23. Sorry, I don't understand a thing you are saying.

I don't speak Neanderthal.

You know exactly the point I am trying to make.

We can have a working, functioning society, based on commonalities, or we can have groups at odds with each other. A common language helps the former to overcome the latter.

[jberryhill]

27. How does Switzerland manage?

No doubt this is why Switzerland is riven with strife.

I do just fine without worrying about my “commonalities” with you.

The US has functioned fine without an “official language” and with a First Amendment.

[Laelth]

41. Switzerland has three official languages (German, Italian, and French).

All government offices and all court clerks must both print all official, state documents in all three languages and must also accept and process all submitted, state documents in all three languages. Every government office must have someone who can translate all three languages. All Courts must be able to hear arguments in all three languages.

It's a pain in the derriere, and it's very costly, but Switzerland seems to make it work. Canada only requires two (French and English), and even that is difficult for the system to manage.

-Laelth

[stopdiggin]

32. you're ignorance is showing. or maybe it's the jockstrap

Have you considered the (rather large and notable) neighbor we have to our north?

the examples of bi-lingual functionality in societies ...
Oh, never mind ...

That's some strong kool-aid you been sippin' on there son. You might want to consider another flavor.

[tirebiter]

11. It is by default the language of business

That’s due to the market. It will eventually be Chinese.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

13. I suspect it will be a very long time before the language of business becomes Chinese.

For one thing, which dialect of Chinese? For another, their writing system.

[Laelth]

37. No. English has won the global-language battle.

I can't imagine any scenario in which English could fall from its current perch as the "global" language. French was the European "lingua Franca" for a while, but this battle is long over, and English won. The Swedes are required to take 10 or more years of English in school. Most national education systems require education in English. English is now the world's dominant language, and I don't think this is going to change (in many ways due to the global success of American movies, television, and music, not to mention the fact that we have the world's greatest economy and greatest military. Plus aviation is in English, as is the internet.) ... for better or for worse.

-Laelth

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

12. I'm pretty sure this country doesn't actually have an official language.

Although it is very helpful that there is one language that is the main one used.

Which is not to say that other languages shouldn't be honored and respected. But it helps a lot if most things are in one language. Yes, translations should be provided.

And at the risk of being slammed, I don't think that ballots for voting should be in any other language than English. If you become a citizen, don't you have to pass some kind of English proficiency exam? And if you were born here, you sure as hell should be fluent in English.

I live in Santa Fe, NM. I hear Spanish all the time, and I regret that my Spanish skills are so limited. It's mildly annoying that I cannot understand the cleaning ladies when they chat with each other in Spanish. But that's my problem.

I love exercising my limited foreign language skills. I occasionally come across French speakers (my best other language) and just love speaking to them in French. I have a close friend who is multi lingual, and when he visited me recently every time I turned around he was speaking to someone in another language: Italian, German, Bahasa Malay, among others. And this was in New Mexico. So don't accuse me of being a monolingual who demands that everyone else speak English. I'm only sorry my own other language skills are so limited.

I honestly feel sorry for the very many here who only speak English. Someone once described Americans as "world class mono-linguists" and alas, that's all too true.

[lunasun]

17. Well I would not want to demand that Navajos for example be forced to not use their first American

Native language for instance when voting and they are born here
But these voting ballot issues are already really well covered at federal level in voting rights act
And rightly so at that level imo versus states or random hamlets that would have that slant of you need to vote in English only here

https://www.justice.gov/crt/about-language-minority-voting-rights#provisions
Legal Requirements

The language minority provisions of the Voting Rights Act require that when a covered state or political subdivision provides registration or voting notices, forms, instructions, assistance, or other materials or information relating to the electoral process, including ballots, it shall provide them in the language of the applicable minority group as well as in the English language.
Covered Jurisdictions

Covered jurisdictions are determined by the Census Bureau based upon a formula set out in the Voting Rights Act. The most recent determinations for Section 203 were made on December 5, 2016.

Covered language minorities are limited to American Indians, Asian Americans, Alaskan Natives, and Spanish-heritage citizens - the groups that Congress found to have faced barriers in the political process.

Section 203 Coverage Formula

A jurisdiction is covered under Section 203 where the number of United States citizens of voting age is a single language group within the jurisdiction:

Is more than 10,000, or
Is more than five percent of all voting age citizens, or
On an Indian reservation, exceeds five percent of all reservation residents; and
The illiteracy rate of the group is higher than the national illiteracy rate

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

21. Thank you for that information.

I do live in a state with a lot of Native Americans, and so I'm somewhat sensitive to this issue.

I also lived in Minnesota in the early 1980s, and there was a case of a man who'd murdered someone, and despite the fact that he'd grown up in that state, had never learned English. I think his language was Norwegian, but I don't want to be definite on that. The point is, that he'd been born here, had grown up here, had gone to school here, and had never learned English. To me, that's shocking.

But that was some 40 years ago. Even then I was appalled that someone could have been born here and educated here without ever learning English.

I don't want to seem as if I'm denigrating other languages, but living here you really, really need to learn English.

Please don't get me wrong. I love other languages. I'm happiest when I come across a French speaking person that I can chat with. As indicated above, a good friend of mine will always find people to speak with in any of the several languages he knows.

A side note. I used to work at the local hospital on the information desk. I became certain that, given enough time, I'd learn to recognize the specific accents of the different Pueblos here. Alas, I'm not really very good at such things. I can't always tell the difference between an English or an Australian accent, for instance. But I'm sure someone with a better ear than mine would have learned the difference between the accents of Acoma or Isleta or Sandia or any one of the other 19 Pueblos of northern New Mexico.

[MoonlitKnight]

14. For those with a record

There is a record that you can check.

Compare Senator voting records here. You can compare any two.

[link:https://projects.propublica.org/represent/members/K000367-amy-klobuchar/compare-votes/C001035-susan-collins/115|

[lunasun]

15. Thanks this is a good compare tool

[Chemisse]

18. Smells fake to me!

[Frasier Balzov]

19. Is this like BHO evolving on same sex marriage?

I'm pro evolution.

[krissey]

20. Working hard to trash Klobuchar and just not on par to outrage, for sure.

[Dietz]

24. She was certainly VERY wrong on that. But she has learned

Warren was a Republican who turned around by looking at bankruptcy cases. I am very impressed by that turn around. It speaks for the integrity of a person that she can change her mind when presented with facts. I feel the same about Klobuchar and the English only amendment.

[BusyBeingBest]

29. Meh. She's a product of her state and constituents, and wasn't always able to

rise above that. Such is the past of a politician. Look at Joe Biden and credit card companies.

[JohnnyRingo]

30. And Bernie will legalize weed.

I expect Biden to pull out the stops and announce he's for rescue pets.

I don't want to call it pandering, but these are very thick limbs they're crawling out on, at least for a democrat.

[AngelicaHora]

34. This is such a non-issue

She says she was wrong and has changed her stance. That's good enough for me. We won't get anywhere if politicians aren't allowed to change their mind.

I'm more concerned by the Telemundo drama where she couldn't name the president of Mexico and cut the interview short in anger.

[tishaLA]

36. "some of her moderate positions...could be a liability"?

Is the AP suggesting that embracing the radical step of establishing an official language in the US after 240 years without one is moderate?

[jberryhill]

38. Bingo

There’s no reason we need one. Early on, just as many people spoke German. Prior to the war, we had German schools, newspapers, etc.. it wasn’t a crisis then and it’s not one now.

It’s just a non-issue that stirs up boneheads.