¡Viva el Español!

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Several Senators who opposed their chamber’s immigration bill and favored giving special protections to the English language have Web sites in — of all the darn languages — Spanish! ¿Como?

Si, si. Take Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) for example. Alexander, author of a resolution that called for the national anthem to be sung in only English, has a Spanish option on his official Senate Web site. At the bottom of his site is an option to click “Informacion En Español,” where you can read all about “El Senador Alexander.”

“Lamar Alexander nació en Maryville, Tennessee; hijo de una maestra de un jardín infantil (kindergarten) y de un director de escuela primaria. Alexander pertenece a la séptima generación de su familia nacida en Tennessee,” the site reads.

During consideration of the English-only amendment to the immigration bill sponsored by Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Alexander said, “To make this land of immigrants truly one country, we must have and honor our national language, and that language is English.”

Similarly, Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.) said during debate, “Under this bill, illegal aliens granted amnesty would pay no fines or back taxes for eight years, if at all. They would be granted full access to our Social Security system, and they would not have to learn English,” he said.

But on Allard’s Web site, even as you read all about his hard-line stance on immigration, you can look on the left side column and click “En Español.” ¡Que bueno!

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), another opponent of the immigration bill, also has a Spanish option on his Senate Web site — though on his site he lists as one of the “top ten reasons to oppose the Senate amnesty bill” the fact that the bill did not make English the national language.

Some proponents of the immigration bill noted this irony. As one aide to a GOP supporter of the immigration bill told HOH, “What are we to make of these Republican Senators’ Web sites? Well, to put it in a language they can understand, ‘¡Que ironia!’”

Harvey Valentine, communications director for Alexander, explained that “while some Tennesseans are learning our common language, English, [Alexander] wants to make it easier for them to get in touch with him.”

Allard’s spokeswoman, Carolyn Williams, joked, “Where do you think the name Colorado comes from?” (Colorado means “colored red” in Spanish.)

Photo Op, Not Photo Shoot. Darn, who’s gonna put the “shoot” in photo shoot now that Vice President Cheney is skipping today’s official photo session of the 109th Senate?

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) was all jazzed to see his buddy today to commemorate the first anniversary of the veep coining the phrase “Go Cheney yourself” when he said to Leahy during the 108th Senate official photo session, “Go f--- yourself.”

We had anticipated that maybe Cheney would have something just as clever to say this time around. But he won’t have the chance, on account of the two-day war meeting at Camp David occupying his time.

You could tell Leahy was kind of spoiling for a rematch last week. During an executive meeting of the Judiciary Committee in the ornate President’s Room just off the Senate floor, Leahy said, “Instead of the President’s Room, maybe we should meet in the Vice President’s Room. That’s where all the decisions get made, anyway.”

Well, that’s probably about as far as Leahy’s warm-up goes since Cheney won’t be there today. But the question is: How can they have an official Senate photo without the President of the Senate in it?