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Friday, December 7, 2007
Tancredo: “A Spanish debate has no place in a presidential campaign”
GOP presidential candidate Rep. Tom Tancredo released a statement Friday explaining why he was boycotting the upcoming Republican debate hosted by Spanish-language network Univision.
“It is the law that to become a naturalized citizen of this country you must have knowledge and understanding of English, including a basic ability to read, write, and speak the language,” Tancredo said. “So what may I ask are our presidential candidates doing participating in a Spanish speaking debate? Pandering comes to mind.”
In addition, he said: “America has been a melting pot of people from all over the world but it can not survive as a nation if our immigrants do not assimilate. A common language is essential to that goal. Bilingualism is a great asset for any individual but it has perilous consequences for a nation. As such, a Spanish debate has no place in a presidential campaign.”
At the debate Sunday in Miami, Fla., candidates will answer questions in English and their answers will be translated for Spanish-speaking viewers. All other Republican candidates are attending.
Democratic presidential hopefuls participated in a similar debate in September.
Tancredo is shown here at a debate hosted by CNN and YouTube.