When Ambition Rules: Tan Nguyen and the Orange County Controversy
Published October 21, 2006
Anyone who has followed the candidacy of Tan D. Nguyen in California's 47th Congressional District has to wonder just what he's thinking. Running on a campaign slogan which proclaims "Not afraid to tell it like it is," Nguyen's campaign ship has hit the iceberg for telling it like it isn't.
Not long ago, the question being asked was whether the Orange County, California GOP was going to support their candidate or not. The self-proclaimed center-right blog noted that a defeated Hispanic candidate was "training" for 2008 while the primary winner had to buy assistance from the OC GOP committee.
This leads one to wonder why this would be so.
Reading Tan's position statements on his web site, astute political observers can see where he's in trouble quickly. Many of his positions are quite liberal-sounding to a staunch Bush-variety Orange County "conservative": He's opposing Bush Administration policies on immigration and foreign drug purchases. He also opposes job exportation - an issue which then-Secretary of State Colin Powell promised to continue to support and promote when speaking in India in 2004 - and believes that retirees should be able to count on receiving their pensions.
It also can't help that Tan ran as a Democrat in 2004. That alone might normally be enough to merit the sort of neglect he's receiving from the OC Machine. But the recent anti-illegal mailing, of which Tan is accused by top OC GOP officials of being complicit, points to something more sinister being perpetrated.
Before I get into this, I should point out that a person seeking to get elected to Congress isn't likely to switch parties between elections when it becomes evident that he can't knock out the incumbent — as was the case when Loretta Sanchez trounced him in the 2004 Democratic primary. But if one is ambitious and doesn't care how one achieves the desired result, one horns in where one isn't wanted and disrupts long-term plans of the new party affiliation.
Tan, ethnically Vietnamese, doesn't resonate well with the Hispanic majority of the district he seeks to represent. GOP plans for the region include grooming a Hispanic female candidate to run in the belief that gender ethnicity is the key to ousting incumbent Loretta Sanchez. Said candidate, Rosemarie Avila, was primed to win this election, but Tan was instead the victor. This had to have angered OC GOP officials, who were seeing all their hard work go down the drain.
It may have been enough for a payback to be in order. One way to do this would be to steer radical extremists into positions with Tan's campaign. Such "advisors" would then be in place to sink it, as it now appears they have done.
There are reports that campaign operatives noticed an increase in Hispanic voter registration in the 47th, and that set off alarm bells. As the Hispanic registrants can only be assumed to be Democratic supporters, this was not a welcome development for the Tan campaign, hence the mailing, intended to weaken Sanchez' already-significant lead.
- When Ambition Rules: Tan Nguyen and the Orange County Controversy
- Published: October 21, 2006
- Type: Opinion
- Section: Politics
- Filed Under: Politics: Elections and Candidates, Politics: Law and Rights, Politics: Local and Regional
- Writer: Realist
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Comments on this articleComments
When the lovely Loretta Sanchez first won office, it was in a very close election in which illegal immigrants are known to have illegally voted (presumably for her).
Tan Nguyen might be an ass, but the letter his campaign sent out was largely correct. It is illegal for non-citizens to vote. And it should be.
Tan Nguyen
Won my vote, Loretta Sanchez stole here seat and really should step down, before some one puts her down. November 7 2006.
60% of the votes for Sanchez where from illegal's that have no right to vote in the US.
I found it ironic that Tan Nguyen is an immigrant himself. Learned the Rovian technique and tactics quick however! Or got some really, really bad advice!
"Before I get into this, I should point out that a person seeking to get elected to Congress isn't likely to switch parties between elections when it becomes evident that he can't knock out the incumbent"
Sanchez used to be a Republican when she first ran for Anaheim City Council in '94, and went back to her maiden name when she ran in '96.
"It is true that immigrants that are not citizens are not permitted to vote." "It is illegal for non-citizens to vote."
The letter didn't make that distinction. Emphasis added:
"You are advised that if your residence in this country is illegal or you are an immigrant, voting in a federal election is a crime that could result in jail time."
It is purposely misleading to temper the Hispanic vote. The Orange County Republican Party has called for Tan's resignation, but you guys can continue carrying a torch for him.
As a U.S. citizen, I have never tried to vote in the pass. This year I am going to register and vote. I will support Mr. Tan. I don't see any crime being commited in the letter. This is just dirty politic, trying to interpet the letter for what it wasn't intended for.
Good luck, Don, as it's rather late to register for this next election.
Also, if there was nothing wrong then why didn't Tan use his own letterhead rather than the letterhead of California Coalition for Immigration Reform, an anti-illegal immigration organization?
This is either Hispanic organizations interested in open borders and illegals having the same privileges as citizens, or the GOP intent on backstabbing because Tan won't be their puppet; in OC, a bad & powerful combination of odd bedfellows indeed.
Actually, it's a desparate candidate trying to supress voter turnout, but nice try at the misdirection. Next time consider using facts to back up your assertions, although considering how wrong-headed they are, that might explain why you didn't.
Contrary to the much-repeated tropes in the MSM, the letter does draw a clear distinction between naturalized citizens and non-naturalized "emigrants" (sic - the letter does not use the word "immigrant").
A copy of the letter, together with a very passable translation is posted
Note that the first paragraph specifically urges citizens to vote:
"If you are a U.S. Citizen, I urge you to participate in the democratic process of voting."
By necessary elimination, the rest of the letter speaks to those who are NOT citizens, i.e., legal and illegal immigrants who have not been naturalized. Neither group is allowed to vote.
NOTE: Unlike native-born Americans, naturalized immigrants are required to pass a citizenship test.
Bottom line: the letter will not have deterred a single citizen from voting. It is core free speech, whoever sent it out, and certainly does not qualify as a threat.
Illegal voting is a major issue in Orange County. A congressional investigation found:
After a careful comparison between the Orange County voter registration files and INS databases the Task Force was able to clearly and convincingly document that 624 persons had illegally registered and thus were not eligible to cast ballots in the November 1996 election.
Full report
You are all missing the point. Why would a candidate send the letter regardless if it can be interpreted to be factual in its interpretation of the law. The letterhead was forged. I thing that evil little group of Orange County Young Republicans is to blame....
thom simons raises a good point. However, it is not THE point here.
THE point is whether Nguyen improperly intimidated CITIZENS to deter them from voting. If the letter deterred NON-citizens from voting, GOOD.
The question about impersonating another organization is largely a matter to be resolved between Nguyen's campaign and "California Coalition for Immigration Reform".
One should be careful not to jump to conclusions here. Permission to use an organization's name in an election context is often granted informally and/or outside normal reporting channels.
It is also quite possible that someone at the Coalition did authorize the letter, but is now denying it due to heavy political pressure from both sides of the political spectrum.
Regardless of your party affiliation, is Mr Nguyen is really the type of person you want representing you and your interest? First, he's a Democrat, then he's a Republican. What will he be in the next election? I hear that the Libertarian party is trying to diversify. Ultimately, it sounds like he's a power-hungry wannabe politician who is willing to put-up any kind of front to achieve his own selfish goals.
BTW, if the letter is legit, why isn't Tan admitting that he was involved in mailing the letter? He's still denying that he knew about the letter in the first place and has continue to place the responsibility on his "office manager" whom he first fired and apparently has re-extended the position. Who's Sergio Ramirez? Why didn't Mr. Nguyen use his own letterhead or name? I'm sure CCIR would have loved to partner with the Nguyen campaign in sending out a joint letter? Why not be more forthcoming then? Does free speech cover deceit also?
"After a careful comparison between the Orange County voter registration files and INS databases the Task Force was able to clearly and convincingly document that 624 persons had illegally registered and thus were not eligible to cast ballots in the November 1996 election."
Is that in the entire county? 624 out of what? About a million? I'm not sure if that's enough to sway any election.
Q: Regardless of your party affiliation, is Mr Nguyen really the type of person you want representing you and your interest?
A: No, he is not.
Q: 624 out of what?
Sanchez won by 984 votes. 748 votes were found to have been cast illegally, including 624 by non-citizens. It is quite possible that more illegal votes would have been found in a more thorough search, but nobody wants to upset the applecart.
Technically, there is no indication that the illegal votes were all (or mainly) cast for Sanchez. However, everyone's working assumption is that Sanchez was the principal beneficiary.
Captain Nemo's QUESTION: What's the deal with the "benefits" mentioned in the letter? Do Mexicans get a tax break or payment for voting? (There are such laws in some countries.)
Nguyen sounds like the kind of LEGAL immigrant we do want in this country; at least he's educated enough & honest enough to know the laws and abide by them. I'd vote for him.
1. If the letter is well intended, why is Mr. Nguyen denying his authorship?
2. If the letter is not intended to intimidate, why does it mention a database that not even exist?
3. If the letter is intended to encourage citizens to vote, why does it say that in the US there are no incentives to vote?
"If the letter is well intended, why is Mr. Nguyen denying his authorship?" Why? Maybe his attorney(s) advised him to do so.
Any how, Mr. Nguyen wasn't a well known politician. Now the media is running campaign for Mr. Nguyen, free of charges.
Why did all my posts get pulled? I know I'm not the first one to bring this up so it cant be your filters dont make that excuse.
All I did was bring up the fact that here in Santa Ana there is rampant Voter Fraud.
But when you mention it instead of busting the thousands of illegal alien voters (who are registerd demorats they hunted down the 11 republican illigal alien voters they could find and put hem in jail and have them on the fast track to deportation. :( That actually heppened yesterday. Tan is intimidating voters you say? hmpf.... just look at the legal intimidation sanchez has been pulling for years. Why's it legal? Because always been allowed if it's by liberals, bottom line.
Yeah... I take voting seriously with all the rampant fraud going on over here.
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I don't see what the furor is all about the letter. All of the slant points to the omission of word citizen and the biased interpretation of that omission in context with the word immigrant. It is true that immigrants that are not citizens are not permitted to vote. Why is this not explained and emphasized for clarity. Here is where the pro-immigrant society wants to create hate and discontent and push the meaning of this letter out of what I feel was the original intent. I see no one villifying those that promote illegal aliens illegally voting or the Mexican government interfering in our politics.