I am back from Virginia. It was an excellent trip, and I’m really glad I made it. I’ll have to take several posts to completely write about all the stuff that went on down there, so let’s take it chunk by chunk. On Wednesday afternoon, I attended a press conference with Gov. Richardson and Lt. Gov. Kaine (of Virginia, soon-to-be Gov. Kaine) in Annandale, VA. How’d that go!
First: it was all in Spanish. So in case anyone reading this blog wasn’t aware that Gov. Richardson is fluent in Spanish (and Lt. Gov. Kaine nearly so), now you are! I was still able to follow everything, although this rendered me unable to actually formulate and ask a question. (Sometime, dig up a video of the press conference Bush did in Spanish. Then find this one. You’ll chuckle.)
One theme that was emphasized many times in the press conference was pre-K education, something the Gov also mentioned later at the rally. Apparently, New Mexico has just started a pilot program for pre-K, offering a year of pre-K education to kids who want it. It’s not universal yet (since it is after all, a pilot!) but it’s an excellent idea. One of the reasons it’s a good idea especially in New Mexico, is for children coming out of houses where English isn’t the main language. A lot of times these kids will be able to use English kinda well, but would benefit from a year of pre-K to get a little more immersed and up to speed when kindergarten starts. A keen insight!
Gov. Richardson repeated a theme in the press conference that he has explained many times before: that what is creating the biggest problem for immigration policy is that the federal government makes the rules but won’t enforce them. That means the states have a huge extra burden that they have no control over. It’s unfair and leads to bad results.
The press conference was in general very good, and gave a very real sense that both Gov. Richardson and Lt.Gov. Kaine understood that immigration and integration are issues that go way beyond the border. People coming to the United States and starting lives here and having children has big impacts across almost everything government does, from early childhood education all the way up the ladder. I think way too often people think that “immigration = visas + border control,” and that just isn’t how the real world works. So, in conclusion, best press conference ever.
I’ll blog about the rally a little more later, but I’ll just add here that after having met and talked with some of the people who work with Gov. Richardson, that I am more confident than ever about the future. This is a group of energetic, really smart people, who are incredibly capable and excited. (cf. “the Richardson Kool-aid.”) Am I biased? Sure–but I’m not blind. And things look good.
One last item of note. There is a semi-well-known theory, unpublished until today, that the reason the North Koreans are more comfortable about negotiating with Gov. Richardson is that he conducts these negotiations in Spanish. Taking English out of the equation seems to calm everyone down. Unconfirmed, but kind of funny and cool.