'This is Alabama — we speak English'
Alabama currently offers driving tests in 12 languages. Tim James, a GOP candidate for governor, wants to change that. Would doing so be a good idea?
Alabama currently offers driver's license tests in 12 languages, including Russian, Arabic and Farsi. Tim James, a Republican candidate for governor of the state, thinks that is a bad policy. "This is Alabama — we speak English," he says in a new campaign commerical. "We're only giving that test in English, if I'm governor." The spot has caught the attention of the national media. What a "pitch-perfect example of small-government foolishness," sighs Tim Fernholz at the American Prospect. Hasn't James considered the "basic public-safety issue" that if non-English speakers can't take the test, they'll drive illegally? But what's so wrong with asking people to learn English, says Don Surber at the Charleston Daily Mail. Or is that "just another item on the long list of American traditions that liberals oppose?" Watch James' "This is Alabama" ad here:
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Today's political cartoons - April 3, 2025
Cartoons Thursday's cartoons - a bull market, the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Discover the wild beauty of Iceland's untamed landscapes
The Week Recommends From ice climbing and backcountry skiing to dining inside a lava cliff, there is plenty to do
By William Leigh Published
-
Trump tariffs: five scenarios for the world's economy
The Explainer A US recession? A trade war with China? How 'Liberation Day' could realign the globe
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published