September 13, 2019

Democrats Showed Off Their Spanish at Last Night’s Debate. Jackie Kennedy Did It First.

“Viva Kennedy!”

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It seems that not a single Democratic presidential debate can go by without Spanish-speaking candidates flaunting their fluency. Thursday’s third Democratic debate was no exception.

Regarding President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, said, “Anyone who supports this is supporting racism. Es racismo y es sencillo.” (“It’s racism and it’s simple.”)

Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke took a similar approach to discussing immigration. “In our communities and our country, we need to treat every person with respect and dignity,” he said in Spanish.

Cory Booker refused to be left out of the bilingual banter. When asked whether more Americans should adopt his vegan diet, the New Jersey senator replied, “First of all, I want to say ‘no.’ Actually, I want to translate that into Spanish: ‘No.’”

But Democrats showing off their second language skills to woo Spanish-speaking voters is nothing new. Please enjoy this 1960 video of Jaqueline Kennedy telling voters to support her husband, Sen. John F. Kennedy, for president.

Here’s an English translation:

Dear Friends,

I am the wife of Senator John F. Kennedy, candidate for president of the United States. In these times of such danger, when world peace is threatened by communism, it’s necessary to have in the White House a leader capable of guiding our destiny with a firm hand. My husband will always watch over the interests of all of the parts of our society which need the protection of a humanitarian government. For the future of our children and to achieve a world where true peace exists, vote for the Democratic Party November 8th. Long live Kennedy!

Jackie Kennedy didn’t stop flexing her Spanish fluency even after her husband took office. Here she is in Miami in 1962, addressing the Cuban exiles of Brigade 2406 in Spanish following the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion.

It is an honor for me today to be among a group of the bravest men in the world, and to participate in the joy that their family members must feel, who for so long lived in waiting, and prayed and hoped. I feel proud that my son has met your officials. He is still too young to realize what has happened here, but I will take care to tell him the history of your valor as he grows up. It’s my desire and my hope that some day, he will be a man at least half as courageous as the members of the Brigade 2506. Good luck.

While the “Viva Kennedy” campaign worked out for the Massachusetts senator in 1960, whether Buttigieg and O’Rourke can pull it off remains to be seen.

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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