“Political correctness may endear you to the Rachel Maddow crowd, but here in Alabama, the safety of our people comes first.”
Montgomery – “This is Alabama; we speak English,” says gubernatorial candidate Tim James. “If you want to live here, learn it.” Requiring Alabama driver’s license tests in English only is a matter of public safety for the people of this state.
“It makes common sense to ensure everyone with an Alabama driver’s license knows and understands traffic laws and traffic signs. Offering driver’s tests in 12 other foreign languages may be politically correct, but it’s not in the public’s interest to license people to drive when they can’t read traffic signs.
On a practical note, people who learn our language enable themselves to take better advantage of opportunities – cultural, economic and educational,” says Tim James.
Tim James is betting his election that Alabama voters prefer what he calls “common sense” to “political correctness.” and his new ad campaign is stirring up people across the country on all sides of this issue.
He pointed to a 2004 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report that attributed a sharp increase in work fatalities in Alabama including a 72% increase in work-related traffic fatalities, to the fact that increasing numbers of employees and drivers could not read or understand warning signs in English. (Source: The Birmingham News, “State workplace perils deadly,” Sept. 23, 2004.) Currently the State of Alabama offers driver’s license exams in Arabic, Chinese, English, Farsi, French, German, Greek, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Thai, and Vietnamese says James.
“We welcome non-English speaking people, who are legally in the U.S., to Alabama. However, if you want to drive in our states, public safety concerns dictate that you need to speak English,” James said. “Political correctness may endear you to the Rachel Maddow crowd, but here in Alabama, the safety of our people comes first.”
Starting at the State Capitol steps on Tuesday morning, the “Common Sense Express” will depart Montgomery for a statewide bus tour leading up to the June 1 primary.
“We will take our message of common sense solutions throughout the state, meeting with people in every region to talk about creating good jobs and building a better future for Alabama,” said James on his election blog.
Rather than practicing petty politics or communicating through negative attack ads, James will instead barnstorm the state as he has throughout this race because this campaign has been a grassroots movement from day one and has caught fire in the closing weeks.
“People want their voices to be heard during these uncertain times when so many Alabamians are out of work,” James said. “I want to hear from as many people as possible during my campaign, letting them know that if I am elected, they will have an advocate in the governor’s office who will listen to them, hear their concerns, and demand accountability from their government.”
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/292159