Freedom Folks: Democrats: We Welcome Our New Overlords!

"Ladies and gentlemen, uh, we've just lost the picture, but what we've seen speaks for itself. The Corvair spacecraft has apparently been taken over -- 'conquered' if you will -- by a master race of giant space ants. It's difficult to tell from this vantage point whether they will consume the captive earth men or merely enslave them. One thing is for certain: there is no stopping them; the ants will soon be here. And I for one welcome our new insect overlords. I'd like to remind them that as a trusted TV personality, I can be helpful in rounding up others to toil in their underground sugar caves." Kent Brockman

WASHINGTON - Press one for English. Press two for Spanish.

But make a speech in Spanish inside the U.S. Capitol and you’re sure to press Rep. Tom Tancredo’s buttons.

That’s what Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., did Friday, when he delivered a Spanish-language version of Democrats’ annual State of the Union preview speech.

“I must admit to you, the first thing that comes to mind is this is the kind of thing that would happen in a bilingual country - for instance, Canada,” Tancredo, R-Colo., said when told of Salazar’s plans.

“I’ve been saying for a long time, we’re fast approaching that status: a bilingual country. I don’t think that’s a good idea. I think it’s something that brings us apart, not together.”

Each year, top Democratic leaders deliver a speech prior to President Bush’s State of the Union address to offer their own perspective on issues facing the country.

Because it involves criticism in advance, it’s sometimes called the “pre-buttal” speech.

This year, new Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and new House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., split the duties with a joint appearance Friday at the National Press Club.

For the first time, they decided Democrats should give a version of the speech in Spanish, so they tapped Salazar, Colorado’s bilingual junior senator.

In front of a small group of Spanish-speaking onlookers in a room inside the Capitol, Salazar spoke of un dia nuevo, or “new day,” that Democrats want to bring to the country.

He talked about the need to cambiar el rumbo, or “change the course,” on Iraq. He touched on Democrats’ approaches to education, health care and other issues.

On immigration, he denounced those who are trying to demonizar - demonize - immigrants.

Afterward, answering questions only in Spanish, he said the speech was an important way of respecting the country’s diversity.