“No, I would not advertise in Spanish,” Tom Tancredo pledged to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer during a 2008 presidential cycle debate.
He flip-flopped. Today, Tancredo is running for governor of Colorado — and is airing a radio ad (you guessed it) … in Spanish.
In fairness, the radio ad stresses how Tancredo’s policies would benefit legal immigrants. As the Denver Post noted, “The ads echo his statement and acknowledges a broken immigration system that seems to reward illegal aliens instead of law-abiding immigrants.”
Still, he’s choosing to communicate this message in Spanish, not English, and that is noteworthy.
Interestingly, a Viva Tancredo website is now online — and there are also bumper stickers with the words “Viva Tancredo: Live Your Own Life” that popped up last year (the slogan has been around a while, but it appears he is stepping up his efforts.)
Tancredo is clearly attempting to woo Hispanic voters in creative and unusual ways. It will be interesting to see if it works.
Watch Tancredo’s pledge here: