Hypocrite Newt Gingrich Calls for English-Only Nation, Runs Spanish Ads

At his fiery theatrical performance in the South Carolina debates, Newt Gingrich drew applause from the socially conservative crowd when he called for English to be the official language of the United States government. Such an act would require the repeal of the Voting Rights Act, which requires foreign-language ballots in voting jurisdictions where minority languages predominate. Gingrich also opposes the use of foreign languages in naturalization proceedings, and has called for allowing employers to require their workers to speak English only. He defends these positions by stating that English is the language of commerce, and that young Hispanics would have a better chance of obtaining a job if they spoke English.

But that hasn't stopped Mr. "English-Only" from spending thousands of dollars on Spanish-language advertisements or hiring spanish-language radio voice-overs for those ads.

Preparing for the Florida Primary, Newt is overtly courting the Cuban ex-patriot media market in Miami by running the following Spanish-language ad (Click link at end of post to hear the radio ad), which I translate (roughly) as follows:

"Barack Obama's lack of experience has resulted in the failure of our economy. He promised us more money. We have less. He promised us more employment. We have no employment. He promised to save our houses. We continue to lose our homes. We should not make the same mistake. This Jan. 31, vote for Newt Gingrich, the unique candidate with experience, leadership and an economic plan to heal our country that we love so much."

Then Newt chimes in:

"I'm Newt Gingrich, and I approve this message."

The Republicans have been tripping over themselves dividing the American populace, and seeking conservative votes at the expense of the poor, those receiving food stamp assistance, immigrants, and gays. Gingrich called Obama the "Foodstamp President," proposed janitorial work for poor young students, referred to Spanish as the language "of the ghetto," and opined that the poor have no work ethic. To cheers, he called for an English-only nation and has made fun of Mitt Romney's ability to speak French. But Newt forgets that Spanish was spoken in this country before English was - in fact, it was first spoken on this continent in St. Augustine, in the current Primary state of Florida (which is Spanish for "floral land"), in 1565 - more than four decades before English-speaking colonists arrived at Jamestown.

I'd like to give Newt credit for attempting to reach out to Spanish-speaking Americans with this ad; but his record of using minorities as throw-away talking points to win the affection of red-meat conservatives, and his brazen hypocrisy at calling for an English-only nation at one debate while simultaneously running spanish-speaking ads in anoter state, only further cements his place in history as an unethical liar.

CLICK ON THIS LINK TO HEAR THE AD:

Spanish Radio Ad

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