Transcript of yesterday's interview:WILLIE: Willie Cunningham, a rather revolutionary idea is being proposed that I am sure will be, uh, opposed by many in the Hispanic rights community. A bill would make English Ohio's official language. In the midst of a heated national debate on immigration, a state lawmaker in Ohio is proposing that English be made the official language. Representative Courtney Combs, of Butler County, says it makes sense that all Americans learn the same language. However, something called the Ohio Commission on Hispanic/Latino Affairs calls the bill, "harmful to Ohioans" and says if the sate wants more people to learn English, people like Courtney Combs should give more funding for English classes. Joining me now is Courtney Combs. Courtney Combs welcome again to the Bill Cunningham show.Audio can be found here.
COMBS: Thank you, Bill. It is a pleasure to be here this afternoon.
WILLIE: Do you feel as if you're a revolutionary, politically incorreect, right-wing Republican, who simply wants to marginalize illegal aliens in Ohio?
COMBS: Bill, it is just totally opposite of what you just said. Just the other side of that equation is where I stand. Our Ohio English Unity Bill has been on the floor or on the House schedule since January of 2005. I went to the Ohio Commission on Hispanic/Latino Affairs after I first drafted the bill and asked them to be a part of this. After fifteen months, nothing had been done. They kept changing, kept waffling, kept going back and forth and I finally told them, "Enough is enough, we're going forward with the bill." So in March I presented the bill. it is House Bill number 553. It is ready to be assigned to committee and we will have public hearings, in Columbus, on this very bill. This bill requires the use of English language by all state and local government entities in its official capacity. That is basically the bill. There are exemptions, as far as federal law is concerned. As far as health and safety issues and welfare issues, those are exempted. But what we're doing is encouraging all immigrants to learn English in this state.
WILLIE: Courtney, wouldn't it be fair to say that it is in the interest of immigrants who come here to learn English because to fail to do so means they are going to become second-class citizens?
COMBS: Bill, there is no doubt about it. There's proof that learning English will provide at least a 27% increase in their incomes. Better jobs. It gives them the availability and removes an obstacle of them getting a college degree. It is the total answer to bringing immigrants out of poverty so they can enjoy the benefits of the United States of America. That's what we want and that is what we're after.
WILLIE: It says here in the story, that, uh, this pressure group wants you to provide more funding for English classes. I thought we had public schools. We have many other entities. Does Ohio fund English classes for illegal immigration outside of the schools?
COMBS: Bill, we do not. And I'll tell ya, I am tired of every group that comes along with their hand out wanting us taxpayers to provide money and all their needs. We in this county, in Butler County, and in my district, along with the great sheriff Rick Jones. We can provide through churches, which are available in my district, who teach English. Through YMCA, YWCA. We have retired teachers who have called me to volunteer their services to teach English. So, to stick your hand out and say, "Money, money, money, money." I don't buy that. I think we need to work together and we can do this and we will provide English classes for any immigrant that is willing to come along and take it. And if they do it, they will improve their status here in this country.
WILLIE: Do you have some sense of what other states are doing. Is English the official langauge in Kentucky, Indiana, for example?
COMBS: 27 other states have this type of legislation. Uh, this legislation is a little different because it is called English Unity Act and the reason for the unity synopsis is that the intent is to unify all our people. We want our immigrants -- our legal immigrants, and that is a big difference -- we want our legal immigrants to become part of the communty; to be able to speak to their neighbors; to be able to get along with the neighbors. And this is the answer. And it is amazing to me when people come out and say, "Well, you're radical. You're offbase." in asking people in this country to speak English. You know, I heard you say the other day; you go to France, and you get on the telephone, you don't push one for French...
(Crosstalk-Laughter)
WILLIE: No, why is that?
COMBS: -- no where else in the world. And what we're doing is we went too far. We've, in my opinion, we make it too easy. And the other point about it is, if you have to press 1 for English and 2 for Spanish, why not 3 for Chinese and 4 for French and... Where do you stop this?
WILLIE: I -- I'm irritated when I call a real estate company or I call a pizza or I call Delta Airlines and I gotta push what language I want to be used when I'm living in the middle of America, I'm thinking, "Wait a minute, English has been the language and currency of this nation since its founding. I could not imagine in Barcelona, Spain having to push a button for English or Spanish. I could not imagine in Mexico City, being treated as if as an American living in Mexico City, I have special rights and privileges. And everyone there must conform their behavior to what I want.
COMBS: You are absolutely right. That would not happen anywhere else in the world. And we need to stand up. We have not stood up. There is an elephant in the room, and nobody wants to say, "There he is." I'm saying "I'll stand up." I'll bring it up. If you don't agree with me and you don't think everybody ought to speak English, come on.
WILLIE: Come on.
COMBS: I'm ready.
WILLIE: You know, you're going to be called a bigot, a racist and all kinds of bad wordsw, you know that?
COMBS: It has already happened.
WILLIE: Is that right?
COMBS: And of course, those are the scare tactics. But when we do polls, and we see that 77% of the people in Ohio agree with me and in my own district, it is in the 90's, that these people agree that we're on the right track. And what we're saying is, "We're not forcing anyone to learn English." I admire anybody that is bilingual. Other languages are hard to learn. I understand that. But if you are going to come to this country, in this country, and work and do your job and be part of it and want to be part of it, which you should be if you are an immigrant, then you need to learn English.
WILLIE: Now, lastly, I'm going to be on the O'Reilly Factor tonight at 8 o'clock on Fox and one of the topics will be Jessica's law, which is punishing child rapists, giving them 25 years. Many Ohio newspapers, about 75%, have already against Jessica's law. What is the status in the Ohio legislature of Jessica's law, which would give 25 years to a child rapist?
COMBS: We are working on it. I have a bill, myself, that goes further than Jessica's law, probably the strongest in the United States, and that's if you are adjudicated as a violent sexual predator, life in prison. I've been working with the Supreme Court. These people -- reciditivism is very high. They can't be cured. You talk to psychologists, down the line and they will tell you these are incurable diseases. The only way to stop them from coming back on our streets, and I don't want them back in 25 years, I want them to stay in prison. that's my thing. The victim, that poor person, whether it be a young child or a man or woman -- the victim will live with that the rest of their lives. Why shouldn't the perpatrator be in jail the rest of their lives?
WILLIE: I don't know why we can't execute them, but I guess the U. S. Supreme Court says we can't do that but at a minimum, 25 years appears to me to be a little bit light.
COMBS: I think it is light. My bill, which is in committee right now and has stalled because there were like 14 of them -- but my bill is the strongest of all of them and says if you are adhudicated as a sexual predator, a violent sexual predator, especially against children, you will spend the rest of your life in jail. You won't have a second choice of going after another child. And that's what they think about. They're excellent prisoners.
(Crosstalk)
WILLIE: They need to be.
COMBS: And all of a sudden, they go before the parole board, and the parole board says in 11 years or whatever it is, well our hands are tied by law we have to let 'em go.
WILLIE: Well, why do you think Ohio newspapers oppose Jessica's law? I have a list here of, about 75%, are against the law. The Akron Beacon Journal, the Plain Dealer, the Columbus Dispatch. They are against the law. They say they don't want to tie the hands of prosecutors. What's up with that?
COMBS: Two things. Number one, I'll say the word -- uh -- liberal. Every one of them that you mentioned are liberal newspapers. Uh, and number two, the only people that I have had that really oppose my bill are, of course, prosecutors and the trial attorneys. Now, the reason for that is -- they get the business. Because they know they're going to do it again, they'll be back in. They'll commit the crime again and they can go back in court in another three or four years, uh, trying to convict these people again.
WILLIE: Well --
COMBS: That is part of the problem that we got.
WILLIE: Representative Courtney Combs, if the American people want to get a hold of you, you have a website? How do they do it?
COMBS: The website is combsgroup.com
WILLIE: C-O-M-B-S, Combs group dot com.
COMBS: Combsgroup dot -- Sorry about that -- dot net.
WILLIE: Dot net?
COMBS: Yes, let's get this right. Or, let me give you a phone number.
WILLIE: Okay
COMBS: It is area code 513, 829-8222. And I'm willing to talk to anybody at any time.
WILLIE: English the official language. You are a revloutionary!
COMBS: Thank you, sir. You're a great American and let's keep up the good work.
WILLIE: Courtney Combs, you are doing the Lord's work.
English as the official language for Ohio? What is your take? Should all of America do this? Have at it in the comments section...
