The inside scoop on the low point of the Vilsack years: signing English Only. Turns out it was fully vetted by the consultants:
Under Plan A, Vilsack would sign the controversial legislation on a Friday and provide only a written statement to minimize press coverage. The governor was also advised to "stay away from the media in general for the weekend, ensure (the) schedule is cleared of potentially confrontational events."
"We shouldn't ever join what is perceived as a hostile act toward the immigrants we, ourselves, are trying to recruit. It would be read as a retreat from a position of courage and character — a surrender, really," said Axelrod in a March 2001 e-mail to Cacciatore, then Vilsack's chief policy adviser.
"As I said on the phone, I'm not into political suicide. But capitulation, too, would have a terrible price," said Axelrod.
Vilsack was forced to take a position the next year when the Legislature completed action on an official English bill. GOP leaders made it more palatable to the Democratic governor by promising to include $1 million in the state budget for classes teaching English as a Second Language to newcomers.
After Vilsack was re-elected, he convened a group of Latino leaders and expressed regret about signing the legislation
None of this is shocking, of course. I'm a big boy and I've been in this ball game 15 years, long enough to be at least a little cynical. But I hope someone, somewhere, was making the counter-argument that English Only was just plain wrong and mean.
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