Speaking to supporters in Iowa Tuesday, Jeb Bush
worried that America's "assimilation process" was being "retarded," and said we should not be a "multicultural society."
"We're creeping toward multiculturalism and that's the wrong approach."
Here's
more of Jeb!'s quote:
"We should not have a muticultural society ... America has done immigration so much better than the other countries because it's a set of values that people share, that defines our national identity—not race or ethnicity or where you come from. And when you create pockets of isolation—and in some cases, the assimilation process has been retarded because they slowed down—it's wrong ... So I think across the board, education, English—being able to speak English—a common language is important. We need to get back to that. We're creeping toward multiculturalism and that's the wrong approach."
Sounds like a special brand of xenophobic American exceptionalism, no? Quite a contrast from the February roll out of his book, when
Jeb! touted his biculturalism as an asset on the campaign trail.
Bush said part of the outreach, to Hispanics, will focus on the fact that he speaks Spanish.
“The fact that I’m bilingual, bicultural can’t hurt,” he said during the call in response to his former deputy legal counsel, Frank Jimenez, who asked Bush about his Hispanic-outreach plans.
Apparently, none of that applies in Iowa.
Video below the fold.