Bruce shows his sensitive side

State Rep. Douglas Bruce (R-Colorado Springs), in hot water again this week for calling Mexican migrant workers "illiterate peasants" on the House floor, offered a dictional jab at his nay-sayers Friday.

Bruce offered an amendment to Senate Bill 193, which would set up a state program for contractors to check if new hires for public work are illegal aliens and would require contractors with public contracts to perform such checks. 

Speaking on the House floor during Committee of the Whole, Bruce said his amendment would replace the "harsh and blunt language" reference to "illegal aliens" in the bill with the phrase "undocumented temporary guest residents."

Rep. Bruce: "That is part of our statutory language. Just as people say their children are not 'illegitimate,' they're 'born out of wedlock,' they say that these people are not 'illegal.' So this amendment has been cleared by the Linguistic Sensitivity Codification Commission, an entity of my own mind. And we all know that the politically incorrect two-word phrase can alter our public image and the self-esteem of potential immigrants who are out in the world, who may be thinking of coming to Colorado and want to be assured that they're welcome.

"So these potential guests, I'm sure, are now gathered by the millions in cities and villages across the globe, watching on the Internet as we debate Senate Bill 193, waiting with baited breath to see if we will adopt this harsh and blunt language. It is also currently in our law. Members, it is clearly the attitude and policy of our body that it is better for our words to be obscure and opaque than clear but pointed."

House Speaker Andrew Romanoff: "Representative Bruce, as I've reminded you on many occasions, your task and the task facing all of us is to debate the motion at hand, which is your amendment to the report of the Committee of the Whole."

Rep. Bruce: "Thank you, that's what I'm debating, is the pointed language of 'illegal alien' that I am seeking to have removed and have replaced with the phrase 'undocumented temporary guest residents,' which I think is less likely to be offensive to the sensitive. So members, I suggest that we should purge all of our laws, including this one, of any term that offends anyone, and we can begin that process right here, right now. Therefore, I ask for a 'yes' vote on this sensitive amendment."

Bruce's amendment failed overwhelmingly in Committee of the Whole.

Bruce's amendment had also failed earlier in the day on second reading. Bruce spoke for his amendment on the House floor (hat tip to Jessica Fender of the Denver Post):

Bruce: This amendment was drafted by our own linguistic sensitivity codification commission. And we all know how a politically incorrect two-word phrase can alter our public image and the self esteem of potential immigrants around the world.

State Rep. Dorothy Butcher: Representative Bruce, do you like the amendment?

Bruce: It's my amendment.

Butcher: Thank you.

Bruce: These potential future Colorado guests are now gathered by the hundreds of millions in cities and villages around the globe to watch on the interent as we debate SB 193. They're waiting with baited breath to see if we will adopt harsh language...

Butcher: Okay Representative Bruce, I'm not going to entertain a discussion on where all of these illegal aliens are... the request that you have of the body is to ... offer amend L 018 and what it does is it strikes 'illegal aliens' in the bill and it substitutes 'undocumented temporary guest resident.' I'm going to end that debate.

Bruce: Thank you.

(Butcher then recognized state Rep. Kevin Lundberg on the amendment)

Bruce: Is the debate ended, Madame Chair?

Lundberg: I simply came down to discuss this amendment somewhat. As I understand it, second reading is to have a full and unimpeded debate and discussion on all bills and amendments and this is fairly significant change in the terminology being used. I would submit it's an appropriate thing that we not cut off debate, but we have a full and complete debate. From what I see ... it does appear to be something we could possibly support across the entire body.

Bruce's amendment failed.