ELPAC Report July 2004

The ELPAC Report July 2004

Pro-English Candidate's Ad
Draws National Attention

"Yo, Gringo! This [ad] was paid for by Robinson for Congress." Those sentences at the end of a campaign political advertisement got national coverage recently when North Carolina radio stations refused to run the spot.

The problem wasn't the word "gringo." It was that this was the legally-required "disclaimer" at the end of a political ad supporting Vernon Robinson for Congress, and the words were actually in Spanish.

Robinson is a strong supporter of English as the official language, and the ad focused on illegal immigration and language problems. The controversy spilled over onto national talk radio and media coverage. Unfortunately, the controversy also cost him some prominent political support as former Congressman Jack Kemp withdrew as Robinson's honorary campaign chairman in the wake of the controversy. The Bush White House political staff has also complained about Robinson's support of English.

Robinson is an African-American graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy who has served on the Winston-Salem City Council. He is known as the most conservative of the candidates running for the seat vacated by Richard Burr, who is running for U.S. Senate from North Carolina. There are several candidates in the Republican primary for the open seat; since the district is heavily-Republican, it is likely that the winner of the Republican primary will win the November election.

WSJS radio tried to determine whether federal law requires these words to be in English. It couldn't get an answer, even from the Federal Election Commission, which wrote the rules. The Infinity Broadcasting-owned station then suspended all radio ads for candidates for the open congressional seat while it sought legal advice from its parent corporation and federal authorities.

Concerned about the radio blackout, Robinson then re-made his ad with an English- language disclaimer. But he was unapologetic about the controversy. "We agree that it's hard for most of the citizens to understand the disclaimer because it's in Spanish. That's our point and why we want English to be the official language." Robinson told the Winston-Salem Journal newspaper. ELPAC has strongly endorsed Robinson, and has provided him with the maximum financial support permitted by law.