Issue date: 5/13/04 Section: News

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - Gov. Robert Ehrlich is standing by his dismissal of multiculturalism as ''bunk,'' a statement that angered immigration advocates and prompted a county council to demand an apology.

On a conservative radio talk show last week, the Republican governor said he ''rejects the idea of multiculturalism'' and that young immigrants should learn English and assimilate into American culture.

That prompted a Montgomery County Council resolution asking Ehrlich to apologize, saying the comments may contribute to ''a climate of intolerance.''

Ehrlich has since tried to clarify his position.

''We celebrate our ethnicities,'' Ehrlich said after a bill signing ceremony Tuesday, but Americans share a ''singular culture.''

''The last message we want to send out is to separate ourselves in different cultures,'' the governor said. ''This is a melting pot.''

Ehrlich stood by his comments, saying his stance is a ''common sense view'' that ''95 percent of Americans and Marylanders agree with.''

On the radio, Ehrlich referred to multiculturalism as ''crap.'' His remarks came after state Comptroller William Donald Schaefer complained at a public meeting that he had trouble understanding a restaurant worker who spoke poor English.

''I don't want to adjust to another language,'' the 82-year-old Schaefer complained. ''This is the United States. I think they ought to adjust to us.''

Ehrlich said on the radio that his views are ''very similar'' to Schaefer's.

Immigrant advocates from CASA de Maryland bristled at the implication that newcomers to the United States don't try to learn English.

''I think the governor should put his money where his mouth is,'' said Kim Propeack, a CASA advocate. ''If he wants people to learn to speak English, he should be funding (English as a Second Language) classes at a considerably greater rate.''

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