Is it just me or is this really a big waste of time? What does being able to speak spanish have ANYTHING to do with choosing the best person to be our governor and run the state of Texas?! Is this some sort of Latin macho thing to show whos got the BIGGEST COJONES by speaking the better spanish than the other? Well, I don't like it one bit... This is all Ricky Martins' fault you know! Democrats divided further over debate Sanchez criticizes Morales for planning to use English during Spanish segment By R.G. RATCLIFFE Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau AUSTIN -- The Texas governor's race will make national history tonight as the leading Democratic primary candidates, both Hispanic, debate twice on statewide television -- first in English and then in Spanish. WEBCAST TONIGHT Debate Webcast here starting at 7 p.m.: Two Democratic governor's candidates, Tony Sanchez and Dan Morales will conduct two televised debates tonight, one in English at 7 p.m., and one in Spanish at 9 p.m. In addition, three of the five Democratic U.S. Senate candidates -- Ken Bentsen, Ron Kirk and Victor Morales -- will debate at 8 p.m. The debates also will be televised on KUHT-TV, Channel 8; and the Spanish debate will also air on Univision cable network. The event is the first anywhere in the country in which the candidates will be questioned in and will answer in Spanish in a major statewide forum. Democratic U.S. Senate candidates will debate in English between the English and Spanish gubernatorial debates. Even on the eve of the historic gubernatorial event, former state Attorney General Dan Morales and Laredo businessman Tony Sanchez, who have argued over debates throughout the campaign, bickered over just how Spanish the Spanish-language debate should be. Despite the sponsors' intent to have a completely Spanish debate, Morales said he intends to answer questions first in Spanish and then in English. Spanish is not Morales' first language. He accused Sanchez of running a "race-based" campaign and of dividing voters by race because Sanchez agreed to do one debate in English and one in Spanish. "The fact of the matter is that the vast majority of the citizens of our state speak English," Morales said. "That also applies to a significant number of Hispanic Texans." Sanchez, who grew up speaking both languages, responded that Morales was trying to renege on his promise to debate in Spanish. Sanchez said he will speak only Spanish during that debate. "I am a man of my word," Sanchez said. "Mr. Morales has decided to change the rules the day before the debate. We expect all parties to keep the original agreement." Morales said Sanchez is trying to hide his lack of knowledge about state government in a Spanish debate that few voters will understand. Morales said a Spanish debate is appropriate but that the two should have had more English-language debates. "It is critical that we not engage in any practice which would have the effect of polarizing one region or one ethnicity in our state against another," Morales said. It has been estimated that 1.3 million Texans will vote in the Democratic primary, with about 32 percent of them Hispanic. Sanchez said a Spanish debate is a sign of the state's diversity. "I am proud to be bilingual and bicultural," Sanchez said. "We have an opportunity to make history, and for Mr. Morales to go back on his promise is an affront to Texans of every background." Antonio Gonzalez, president of the Los Angeles-based Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, said the Spanish debate is "a big step forward" and represents inclusion in the democratic process for Hispanics. Gonzalez charged that Morales' complaint was a campaign tactic designed to appeal to conservative primary voters who may object to a Spanish debate. He said Morales will have trouble defeating Sanchez among Hispanics so he is looking elsewhere in the primary for support. "Morales is not a racist. It's just a tactic to get some free media, and it's in poor taste," Gonzalez said. The gubernatorial contest itself is unprecedented in Texas because the Democratic nominee almost certainly will be Hispanic -- either Morales or Sanchez. They and two minor candidates are seeking the nomination to take on Republican Gov. Rick Perry, who is unopposed in his party's primary. Perry has been studying Spanish, but spokesman Kathy Walt said he will not agree to a general election debate in Spanish. "His Spanish is not at a level where he would conduct a debate in Spanish," Walt said. The English debate is scheduled for 7 p.m.-8 p.m., and the Spanish debate for 9 p.m.-10 p.m. The three top Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate will debate from 8-9 p.m. They are U.S. Rep. Ken Bentsen of Houston, former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk and 1996 Democratic Senate nominee Victor Morales. Individuals who want to submit questions for possible use in the debates may send them by e-mail to debate@kera.org. The debates will originate from the studio of KERA-TV in Dallas. In Houston, all three debates will be broadcast live on KUHT-TV Channel 8. The Spanish debate will repeat at 10 p.m. on KXLN-TV Channel 45, the Univision network station. On radio, KPFT-FM, 90.1, and KLAT-AM, 1010, will air the Spanish debate live. The debates are sponsored by KERA, Texas Monthly, The Dallas Morning News, the Texas Association of Broadcasters, WFAA-TV, Univision affiliate KUVN, the Hispanic Broadcasting Corp. and the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas. Two Democratic candidates, John WorldPeace of Houston and Bill Lyon of Waxahachie, were excluded from the gubernatorial debates because they could not demonstrate public support, debate organizers said. WorldPeace had sued to stop the debates. He claims he was excluded on the basis of race. WorldPeace on Thursday said the Spanish debate will erode general election support for either Morales or Sanchez. He said immigrants of every nationality learn English when they come to the United States. "Now we have Hispanics who feel they do not have to do what all other immigrants and their descendants have done," WorldPeace said. "It is an affront to white America." A poll in today's El Paso Times indicates that there is some possibility that English-speaking voters will hold the Spanish debate against Democrats. Of 300 El Paso residents interviewed, 53 percent opposed the Spanish-language debate, while 43 percent supported it. A narrow majority of the Hispanics interviewed supported the Spanish debate, but 68 percent of the non-Spanish-speaking residents interviewed opposed holding a Spanish-only debate. Gonzalez of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project said the Morales and Sanchez campaigns have told him they fear "blow-back" from the Spanish debate. But he said he does not think that would hurt either candidate in the general election. "Anybody who is upset about the Spanish debate isn't going to vote for the Hispanic candidate anyway," Gonzalez said. "That's a vote for the other column." The closest thing in the past to tonight's Spanish debate was a 1998 open-primary gubernatorial debate in California. The candidates spoke English, and their answers were simultaneously translated into Spanish in the studio for a statewide television audience of Spanish speakers. Other televised debates have been translated into Spanish, but the California debate is the only one known to have been set up specifically for Spanish-speaking viewers. New Mexico had a history of Spanish-language debates until the 1930s, when there was a shift to English, said Liz Carrasco, spokeswoman for the New Mexico Democratic Party. Carrasco said there never has been a televised Spanish-language debate for a statewide office in New Mexico. New Mexico is the only state in the U.S. with a majority Hispanic population.
I think its cause there are some eligible voters who don't speak english or very little english. Because they don't understand what is going on, they choose not to vote. Morales and Sanchez know that they will need to get these people to vote not only in the primary but also in the general to beat Perry. Is Texas a Republican state? Maybe, maybe no.
Texas is very Republican. I've seen debates before on Univision with a tranlator over the voices, no big deal. Anyhow, they speak english at the state Capitol don't they? Its just cuz we have SANCHEZ and MORALES, aye chihuahua!!! Its the Limited Edition Hispanic Bilingual debate. I feel sorry for Morales who doesn't speak good Spanish agreeing to this idea. He may very well be the better man but just because his spanish ain't up to par, he may very well loose the hispanic vote. These are "race-based" ideas.
