Thu
Jan 22 2009
11:10 pm
English won't be lonely in Nashville
By: mjw

Amazingly, Nashville has rejected the English First referendum by a solid margin (41,752 to 32,144). I thought sure that one would pass, although maybe the difference was that it was a city referendum rather than a county-wide one.

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Rachel's picture

Good for Nashville! I

Submitted by Rachel on Thu, 2009/01/22 - 11:14pm.

Good for Nashville! I really thought this would pass. Maybe we're all listening to the better angels of our nature these days.

S-townMike's picture

It's Metropolitan Nashville & Davidson County

Submitted by S-townMike (not verified) on Fri, 2009/01/23 - 1:42am.

We have a consolidated govt. (since 1963), so the election was county-wide. We use the terms "city" and "county" interchangeably here.

One theory floating around right now is that the difference is that this was a special winter election instead of a November one.

mjw's picture

Hmm.

Submitted by mjw on Fri, 2009/01/23 - 12:56pm.

One theory floating around right now is that the difference is that this was a special winter election instead of a November one.

Hmm. Usually, special elections draw out the wing-nuts and staunch Republicans, which I would have thought would benefit the English First side. Possibly the staunch Republicans were of the good/small government variety that didn't like spending money on the referendum much less rewriting policies, procedures, forms, etc.

Or maybe there's less anti-immigrant sentiment among middle-of-the-road Republicans than Tom Tancredo thinks.

David Carlton's picture

Actually, the most affluent

Submitted by David Carlton (not verified) on Fri, 2009/01/23 - 7:18pm.

Actually, the most affluent and Republican parts of Metro [as we call it--city and county combined] turned out heavily against it--mainly because it was seen as a potential embarrassment to the city and as bad for business. They joined with liberal enclaves like the area just south of Vandy [which voted 9-1 against] and East Nashville, and African-American voters [though the latter turned out in fewer numbers]. White middle-class areas in the north and east voted strongly in favor, but didn't turn out as heavily as the opposition strongholds. Neighborhoods heavily impacted by immigration split.

WhitesCreek's picture

My theory is that the bill

Submitted by WhitesCreek on Fri, 2009/01/23 - 8:02am.

My theory is that the bill got defeated because it was so incredibly stupid. Had it passed, my understanding is that among other things, officers would not be allowed to question a suspect in spanish.

With so many real serious problems that need our attention, we are being diverted away by hot button issues that don't mean a thing. Gay marriage, abortion, English only...Why spend time on that when we could be investigating slumlords and the coal lobby?

jcgrim's picture

who is behind english only?

Submitted by jcgrim on Fri, 2009/01/23 - 8:59am.

jcg
Who was behind funding English Only? Prior to the deadline a staff member from English Only called the election commission to inquire about the cost of penalties for failing to meet the filing deadline. Crafton's group missed the deadline. This quote from The City Paper, Jan 15 suggests Crafton has some sources he doesn't want the voters to know about:

"Although Bellevue Councilman Eric Crafton and other leaders of Nashville English First have been extremely accessible to local media throughout the English Only process, multiple phone calls were left unreturned on the issue of meeting today’s disclosure deadline. Crafton told The City Paper he was merely the spokesman for Nashville English First and not responsible for issues like disclosing campaign contributions and expenditures."

Is it possible he's being funded by a hate group? The Jan 15 article continues:

"Last year, Crafton acknowledged Nashville English First had been supported by the advocacy group Pro English. The group was founded by Dr. John Tanton, who is allegedly tied to hate groups according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, an Alabama-based non-profit that tracks hate crimes nationally."

Congratulations to Nashville residents who defeated this nasty piece of garbage masquerading as "legislation"

gonzone's picture

Pay The Bill

Submitted by gonzone on Fri, 2009/01/23 - 10:28am.

Crafton and his hate group backing this bill should have to pay for this special election, not the good people of Nashville who soundly rejected this politics of persecution. I understand it cost several hundred thousands of dollars and no town needs to be spending that kind of money with our current economic situation. Perhaps the city could sue for reimbursement? :-)

"The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."

Andy Axel's picture

Who was behind funding

Submitted by Andy Axel on Fri, 2009/01/23 - 12:19pm.

Who was behind funding English Only?

As I'd stated in a Tennviews entry about the "Nashville English First" campaign, even Crafton didn't put his name out front as being a backer of the initiative when he sent out the mailer. His name wasn't posted on the website.

This was all part of an astroturf campaign to overturn the wise decision made in the Metro Council - don't bother with this English-only nonsense. This campaign was all about Crafton being in a pout because he didn't get his way; he invented this referendum as a means to put his pet project out in front of the voters. Rather than making a name for himself, he showed up as a world class jackhole.

But as we all know about Tennessee politics, sanity and literacy aren't prerequisites for holding office at any level...

____________________________

Dirty deeds done dirt cheap! Special holidays, Sundays and rates!

F-Stop's picture

Does anyone else notice that

Submitted by F-Stop on Fri, 2009/01/23 - 7:19pm.

Does anyone else notice that the most fervent backers of English-only referendums like this one don't have a strong command of the English language?

"Ain't no Mexikins gunna be ahn mah gubmints tit spaekin' that moon talk." (Morons)

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