8 ways the GOP’s State of the Union response was different in Spanish

Dara Lind reports in Vox 8 ways the GOP’s State of the Union response was different in Spanish — and why it matters

"For three of the last four years, the GOP has given one response to the State of the Union, but gave it twice: once in English, and once translated into Spanish. This year, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) delivered the speech in English, and Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL), one of his party's lone immigration reformers, delivered it in Spanish.

The initial GOP press release billed the Spanish speech as a 'translation,' but it was clear to anyone who listened to both versions that these were two different responses to President Barack Obama's 2015 State of the Union — tailored to two different audiences.

Ernst laid out a version of the GOP agenda that dodged immigration reform, and other policy topics that are controversial among Republican voters — but important to Latinos. Curbelo included them, as well as making other substantial changes to the text of the speech. (Curbelo told the Miami Herald that he'd made the changes himself.)

The two speeches never contradicted each other; they weren't intended as doublespeak. But the omissions, additions, and nuances in phrasing added up to an impressive speech."

1. A mention of immigration reform
2. ...and education reform
3. Executive overreach is a possibility — not a done deal
4. A neoconservative approach to Cuba and Iran
5. Washington isn't necessarily the problem
6. A much more subtle attack on Obamacare
7. More emphasis on opportunity
8. Cultural competency

So they're literally talking with two faces to the English and Spanish speaking communites.