Shooting from the Lip
In an article that appears in the Spanish language news service, EFE, available here for those of you who would like to brush up your high-school Spanish, candidate for Arizona Governor, Don Goldwater, was misquoted, as among other things, calling for "concentration camps" for illegals. Below is an example (from one website) of what you will get if you google "goldwater concentration camp" that is representative of most of what's out there. Republican gubernatorial hopeful Don Goldwater this week was quoted as calling for a border wall built by the forced labor of undocumented immigrants, prompting harsh criticism from Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and other Arizona GOP congressmen. Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., said that if Goldwater really proposed forced-labor camps "he has demonstrated his complete unworthiness for public office." Goldwater's proposal apparently has only been reported by the EFE News Agency, a news service that serves Spanish-language audiences. McCain put out this statement: "I strongly denounce Don Goldwater's deeply offensive suggestion that illegal immigrants should be incarcerated in concentration camps along the border, and pressed into forced labor. That Mr. Goldwater is either unaware of or indifferent to the loaded symbolism, injustice and un-Americanism of his "plan" to address the many serious issues caused by illegal immigration reveals his flaws as a candidate, and a stunning lack of respect for the basic values of a generous and decent society. I hope that Arizona Republicans, no matter how passionate they feel about the issue, will not want Barry Goldwater's Republican Party to be associated with such an obviously inappropriate messenger." The reporter, Maria Leon, might be forgiven for the misquote, having heard the speech in English and then writing her report, including the quote, entirely in Spanish. Her fluency in both languages notwithstanding, translation and cultural sensitivities were both working against her. For example, she might translate the word RINO as "un republicano falso" when it more accurately means "un buro que se viste en traje del elefante" Speaking of RINOs, the article gave prominence to the words of two of our local "Republican" politicians, John McCain and Jim Kolby. They evidently jumped at the chance to ride along on the liberal left blog and media bandwagon, condemning Goldwater immediately and harshly without first checking as to the accuracy of the quotes. The Republican grass-roots in Arizona are already furious with McCain for his leftward tilt on many conservative issues. His use of the phrase "unfit for public office" must have come from the heart. We have, among these pages, as much as called him unfit for the Presidency as a consequence of his (carefully documented) disregard for the First and Second Amendments. Now he grasps the opportunity to attack a conservative fellow Republican who is running for Governor. Meanwhile, speaking of misquotes, EFE News Service realized their error and issued this apology: Mr. Don Goldwater EFE News Service apologizes for the misleading characterizations about your positions in a news story filed on June 21, 2006 by our reporter, Maria Leon. Unfortunately, our reporter wrote that you were planning to utilize "concentration camps" as a part of a plan to deal with the immigration problem facing your state. We understand the very serious connotations those words have for the people of the Arizona. Upon further reflection, our investigation has determined that your plan to house illegal prisoners in a tent city is consistent with accepted practices for non violent American prisoners in your area. Further, we verify that our reporter never interviewed you or any of your staff in writing her story and her interpretations of your intent, obviously, were inaccurate. I want you to know that EFE News Service intended no malice in this story and sincerely regrets any problems we may have caused for you and your campaign. I confirm to you that this mistake was a misinterpretation with no hidden intentions and that this is the first time, to my knowledge, that our reporter in Arizona made an error of this kind. I will continue to investigate the circumstances that led to this problem to insure that these types of problems do not occur in the future. We at EFE News Service would like to interview you at the earliest possible time for the purpose of fully explaining your position on this subject. Thank you for your understanding in this matter. Emilio C. Sanchez
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