The liberal conventional wisdom seems to be that dark-horse Kerry veep possibility Tom Vilsack, governor of Iowa, ruined his chances by signing a state law making English the official language in 2002.

Vilsack may or may not be Kerry’s pick, but the notion that he would hurt the ticket because of the English language law is–as usual–completely divorced from reality. Mauro Mujica of U.S. English points out:

Vilsack is not alone in receiving wide support before and after supporting common language legislation. In Georgia, Gov. Zell Miller signed the state’s official English law in 1996 and was later selected to fill an open Senate seat from the Peach State. In Missouri, Gov. Mel Carnahan signed the state’s official English law in 1998 and posthumously won a Senate seat in 2000. Perhaps the greatest example of the non-curse of common language law came from Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton, who presided over that state’s bill in 1987. Clinton was re-elected Governor in 1988 and 1990, earned the Presidency with 62 percent of the Hispanic vote in 1992 and then cruised to re-election by a larger margin in 1996.

Polls indicate that these numbers should come as no surprise. According to a 2004 Zogby poll, 82 percent of Americans favor making English the official language of the United States, including majorities of immigrants, Hispanics and Asians.

There are serious reasons why Vilsack is not a serious Veep candidate (his lack of national security expertise, for example). His signing of a popular and practical law embracing English as the common language of Iowa government is a help, not a hindrance.

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