Gov. Romney Correctly Challenges
Democratic Legislature’s Arrogance

        Massachusetts’ Republican Governor Mitt Romney is right about one thing; the Democratically controlled state legislature is so insular and arrogant that even election mandates mean little when they run contrary to favored lobbying interests.
        Almost 70% of the voters who turned out last year supported Question 2 on the ballot, requiring English language immersion and ending bilingual education. But recently the legislature, apparently bowing to pressure from the Mass. Teacher’s Association, (MTA), the powerful teacher’s union, has found several ways to soften the mandated changes.
        Exemptions are now provided for several bilingual programs, the most controversial of which is undoubtedly the so-called ‘two-way’ programs that allow students to learn each other’s language. Specifically, this is supposed to mean that children who are English speaking would learn another language, probably Spanish, at the same time children who speak Spanish, or another language, learn English.
        That this is problematical seems obvious. The idea of English immersion is simple and clear; that is, all children in American schools will speak the common language of America, which is English. In this manner, not only will equal opportunity be fostered, but the balkanization of the society into closed cultural groups separated by language will be prevented. In short, the ‘melting pot’ will continue to function by and through the common tongue.
        "English immersion passed by an overwhelming majority," Gov. Romney stated. "To then create loopholes large enough that (they) can be used to abuse that direction is wrong, and it is arrogant."*
        The voters overwhelmingly came to understand the need to eliminate bilingual because it was clear it left immigrant children outside the mainstream. The legislature has decided it knows better.
          It doesn’t. And the next time the Massachusetts Democratic Party leaders meet to try to figure out why voters elected a Republican governor, they may want to remember how their unilateral actions look to the people who cast their votes.

* As quoted in The Boston Globe, July 16, 2003.