we have to have assimilation to have a country. we have to have assimilation. i m not the first one to say this, dana, we ve had many people over the years for many, many years saying this is a country where we speak english, not spanish. [ applause ] well, i ve been speaking english here tonight and i ll keep speaking english but the simple fact is of a high school kid asked me a question in spanish, a school by way of voucher program created under my watch, the largest voucher program in the country where kids can go to a christian school and they asked me a question in spanish, i m going to show respect and answer that question in spanish even though they do speak english and even though they embrace american values. this was a reporter, not a high school kid. i agree english is the unifying language of our country. everyone should learn to speak it. it s important. i want to tell you a story about someone who didn t speak english that well. it was my grandfather. he came in t
that question in spanish even though they do speak english and even though they embrace american values. this was a reporter, not a high school kid. i agree english is the unifying language of our country. everyone should learn to speak it and it s important. i want to tell you about someone who didn t speak english well, and that was my grandfather. he came in the 1960s escaping cuba and lived with us growing up and my grandfather loved america. he understood who was so special about this country. he loved ronald reagan and would be proud of the fact we re here this evening. my grandfather instilled in me the belief i was blessed to live in one society where even i, the son of a bartender and a maid could aspire to have anything and be anything i was willing to work hard and achieve, but he taught me that in spanish because it was the language he was most comfortable in, and he became a conservative even though he got his news in spanish. i believe that free enterprise and limited