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Calif. candidate won't quit if charged [Tan Nguyen vows to fight]
Associated Press ^ | October 24, 2006 | GILLIAN FLACCUS

Posted on 10/24/2006 7:17:41 PM PDT by freedomdefender

A Republican congressional candidate whose campaign was linked to an intimidating letter sent to Hispanic voters said Tuesday he would not quit the race if he is charged with a crime.

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"If you're innocent and somebody charges you, would you give up? No, you've got to fight," said Tan Nguyen, who is seeking to unseat five-term Democratic Rep. Loretta Sanchez (news, bio, voting record) in California's 47th Congressional District.

"Innocent people can be persecuted," he told The Associated Press.

The state Department of Justice has opened a voting rights investigation into the letter sent to certain Democratic voters in Orange County.

The letter, written in Spanish, warned: "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."

Immigrants who have become naturalized U.S. citizens are eligible to vote.

Nguyen, a Vietnamese immigrant who has made illegal immigration a centerpiece of his campaign, was interviewed at his campaign office. It was open for the first time since being raided last week by investigators who seized computers, political signs and other items.

Nguyen said he purchased a database of 14,000 Hispanic voters from a Burbank company called Political Data Inc. so he could send Spanish-language fliers to voters. He said his campaign sent four fliers using the database before his office manager forwarded the names to an outside party.

Nguyen refused to identify the office manager or the third party who he said mailed the letters.

He said last week that he believed an employee in his office might have used his campaign's voter database to send the letter without his knowledge.

He reiterated that he did not authorize or approve the intimidating letter and said neither he nor any of his three paid campaign staff members wrote or funded the mailing.

"It has to be clear: I didn't authorize it, I didn't approve it, we didn't send it out from the campaign. People who are saying that it's coming from the campaign is a fat lie," he said.

Asked whether any campaign volunteers were responsible for the mailing, Nguyen referred questions to his attorney.

William Braniff, his campaign attorney, said a volunteer drafted an English version of the letter and e-mailed it to a volunteer who translated it into Spanish. The office manager forwarded the database of Hispanic voters to a volunteer, said Braniff, who declined to give the name of the office manager.

Nathan Barankin, spokesman for the state Department of Justice, had no immediate comment on Nguyen's account. Sanchez's campaign has said it would not comment until after the investigation is complete.


TOPICS: Editorial; Politics/Elections; US: California
KEYWORDS: 47thdistrict; demdirtytricks; immigrantlist; intimidatingletter; lorettasanchez; nathanbarankin; orangecounty; politicaldatainc; tannguyen; theoc; williambraniff
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To: Ladycalif

Reagan did start as a Democrat, sure. However, this answer was snotty, first of all, and second of all, it sounded rehearsed.

Like I said, this is just a hunch. I might be way off base.


61 posted on 10/24/2006 8:58:47 PM PDT by bboop (Stealth Tutor)
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To: sonsofliberty2000

Immigrant citizens are allowed to vote, not illegal aliens. which is why it is important we do not blurr the terms, legalizing illegal aliens.


62 posted on 10/24/2006 9:00:31 PM PDT by television is just wrong (Our sympathies are misguided with illegal aliens...)
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To: bboop

He is spending his own money on the campaign. $400,000


63 posted on 10/24/2006 9:00:51 PM PDT by Ladycalif (Free Ramos and Compean. Free the Border Patrol)
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To: Ladycalif
Before this flap, I'd never heard of Nguyen. The first thing I found was that he ran as a democrat 2 years ago which, of course, I didn't like. Then I heard he was a strong opponent of illegal immigration, which I liked. Other than that, I still don't know anything about the guy.

However, the complete abandon by the CA GOP in favor of lynching the guy before any evidence was in made me take notice. The reaction from Schwarzenegger, Baugh, and Sundheim has been over-the-top when you would think they would be trying to encourage people to wait until the facts are known before making any conclusions. There is still a lot of stench about this whole thing but true facts are hard to come by without a whole lot of digging!

Baugh is not without his own skeletons; I wonder how he would feel if he got a similar reaction over the Laurie Campbell matter.

64 posted on 10/24/2006 9:04:25 PM PDT by calcowgirl ("Liberalism is just Communism sold by the drink." P. J. O'Rourke)
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To: Parley Baer
>>Right or wrong this guy has a backbone.
 
Not necessarily.
 
His mantra so far has been "I knew nothing, it was all done by a junior staffer".
 
Men with spine take responsibility and then drive on.
 
 

65 posted on 10/24/2006 9:06:23 PM PDT by VxH (There are those who declare the impossible - and those who do the impossible.)
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To: bboop
I heard Tran on Al Rantel tonight, tho. He was shifty and would not answer the most straight-forward questions, most specifically the one I wanted to hear him answer: "Weren't you just a Democrat last election?

Hmmmm.....

Interesting. When I heard Nguyen on Brian Susman's show tonight on KSFO, he sounded fine. However, Susman was generally sympathetic to him, and never asked him any questions like the one you mentioned above. Susman gave him a very favorable environment. Then Susman used the interview to bring up the fact that there are persistent rumors that Sanchez got illegal aliens to vote for her in the last election. They also said that it was the Sanchez campaign which orchestrated the creation of this "controversy".

From what you say, there may be something strange on both sides of the ticket. However, Susman discussed Sanchez's voting record in office. It sounds like almost anyone would be better than her.
66 posted on 10/24/2006 9:11:39 PM PDT by Zetman (I believe the children are the next generation.)
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To: calcowgirl
Correct.

The crux of this discussion revolves around the meaning of words and the intentions of the authors. The definition of emigrado is not immigrant.

The intention of the translator was not immigrant. It was to convey the status of resident alien through a colloquial corruption of a Spanish word. Phrases like the "The translator intended that emigrado refers to .." is simply not accurate. The phrase ""The MSM intended that emigrado means ..." is accurate but not complete until its motive for the convenient misrepresentation is explained.

Immigrant and immigration were not mentioned and never intended in these circumstances. It arose because a candidate's political enemies; the MSM, his opponent, the Democrat Party and elements in the Republican Party inserted it into the discussion.

In the greater scheme of things, the ado over this letter was just another political ploy to derail a political opponent. But, at the heart of the matter is California's greatest challenge and helping to brand any who suggest a common sense solution as "anti-immigrant" even tangentially, is simply counter productive. With all respect, reinforcing the very inaccuracies that the MSM intended and enabling this misrepresentation is not helping.

67 posted on 10/24/2006 9:18:42 PM PDT by Amerigomag
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To: Amerigomag
Apologies if I added to any confusion. How about we leave out emigrado and go back to the quote in the original English version of the letter?
However, if you are here illegally, or are just a resident with a green-card, you should be advised that voting at any federal election is a crime...

68 posted on 10/24/2006 9:34:07 PM PDT by calcowgirl ("Liberalism is just Communism sold by the drink." P. J. O'Rourke)
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To: Ladycalif
The real threat to the Democrat process is that there is NO screening of voters and every time a non citizen votes, it cancels out the vote of a citizen

Yes and no.

Voter registration in California is fraught with the possibility of organized fraud because of the availability of forged documents and lack of incentive to check beneath the surface. Voter screening at the polls is non existent, essentially an honor system. The rise in popularity of absentee ballots as standards to qualify were lowered and now permanent, absentee status, qualified only by request, is an invitation for institutional corruption.

As to the canceling out a citizen's vote; I disagree. I suggest that listening to the GaGOP's account, "Not voting for A is actually voting for B", is the source of the misconception. While an unauthorized vote does diminish the influence of a legal vote, it does not cancel it out.

69 posted on 10/24/2006 9:42:29 PM PDT by Amerigomag
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To: calcowgirl
No. emigrado is fine. The first challege appears to convince many forum members that there is a word in English, emigrant, which has little to do with another English word; immigrant.

Then our audience needs to understand that 1) words have meanings, 2) those who control the meanings, control the debate, 3) dictionaries historically reflect current usage, 4) on line dictionaries represent very current usage, 5) on line dictionaries are used to shape public perceptions because they can be changed instantly and still appear credible and 6) meanings of words, as standards for debate resolution, are generally better from a printed dictionary, at least 25 years out of date. 50 years is optimal.

70 posted on 10/24/2006 9:55:58 PM PDT by Amerigomag
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To: sonsofliberty2000

"OK, then while I agree with his warning illegals about this being against the law, he is way off base trying to scare immigrants who are legally here. "

It is legal resident aliens are not allowed to vote either.


71 posted on 10/24/2006 10:06:04 PM PDT by EnochPowellWasRight
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To: EnochPowellWasRight

"It is legal resident aliens are not allowed to vote either."

Legal resident aliens are not allowed to vote either.


72 posted on 10/24/2006 10:08:54 PM PDT by EnochPowellWasRight
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To: Amerigomag

FYI--Dan Walters on Nguyen... and airing Baugh's dirty laundry.

http://www.scrippsnews.com/node/15284


73 posted on 10/24/2006 10:21:40 PM PDT by calcowgirl ("Liberalism is just Communism sold by the drink." P. J. O'Rourke)
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To: calcowgirl
Thanks.

From my perspective, the upshot of this episode is the effectiveness of using the immigration card as misdirection in an issue involving illegal, alien activities.

Many on this forum were sucked in almost instantly and the subject of the letter was lost in the debate. I will promise that the Orange County Republican Party and the governor did not make their abrupt allegations because they were afraid of a few illegal voters. Their fear is that eligible, legitimate voters in the Hispanic community might be motivated to actually vote.

74 posted on 10/24/2006 10:57:24 PM PDT by Amerigomag
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To: Amerigomag
Lots of jockeying, for sure. From SFC:
The head of the California Republican Party didn't accuse Nguyen, but said that if the candidate was involved he should get out of the race.

"The California Republican Party has zero tolerance for any attempt to disenfranchise voters. If it is proven that a candidate was responsible for this action, that candidate is clearly not fit to serve the people of California and should withdraw immediately from his or her race," Duf Sundheim, chair of the party, said in a statement.

Baugh said he didn't think the controversy would hurt the Republican Party. "There are bad actors in the Democratic Party, and in all parties there are individuals who cross the line," he said. "The important thing is that the Republican Party takes swift and thorough action once they become aware of the improper conduct."

This part went beyond jockeying on behalf of the party, IMO:

Scott Baugh said he believes the candidate, Tan D. Nguyen, personally urged printers to expedite the delivery of the flyer. He said the Orange County party will no longer support Nguyen's candidacy. "While it makes it difficult to win under these circumstances, when a campaign demonstrates inability to comply with the law, voters should not support that effort," Baugh said. He is urging voters in the 47th Congressional District to write in the name of Nguyen's primary opponent.

As I understand it, the OC party never supported his campaign anyway. I wonder what would happen if the Asian community was as vocal as the Latino community in this dust-up. I don't see any comments included in the media. The district is about 20% Asian, IIRC.

75 posted on 10/24/2006 11:11:15 PM PDT by calcowgirl ("Liberalism is just Communism sold by the drink." P. J. O'Rourke)
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To: sonsofliberty2000
Immigrants are allowed to vote! ILLEGAL immigrants cannot! Telling a person that can legally vote that they cannot is wrong. His inclusion of LEGAL immigrants as a distinct group in this letter is a problem and wrong.

I read a copy of the letter that this guy allegedly sent out and it says that it is a crime to vote only if you are not a US Citizen. The letter says that it is a crime to vote if you are an illegal alien or an immigrant. However, the context of immigrant appears to mean a legal resident who has not yet been naturalized. The letter says that only US citizens may vote which is accurate.

76 posted on 10/24/2006 11:29:45 PM PDT by old republic
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To: muawiyah; newzjunkey
Hedgecock probably let his anti-Asian streak slip out in the interview. We don't get him in this area, but I have heard him in the past. When he's sat in for Rush he usually keeps it under control though.

Get a clue. I listened to the entire interview and the guy dodged the questions and hung up in a snit. I'd expect the race card to be dropped on DU, not here, especially from someone who admits not listening to the show in question.

77 posted on 10/24/2006 11:35:46 PM PDT by Squeako (ACLU: "Only Christians, Boy Scouts and War Memorials are too vile to defend.")
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To: muawiyah
The Democrats tried this down in Cunningham's old district. The Dem candidate, a woman again, just like in Tan's district, actually went out in public and solicited illegal aliens to vote for her. Either the California Dems are the most totally stupid politicians on Earth or they actually do expect for illegal aliens to vote for them and are busy making sure that it can happen.

They want to make sure it happens, but just don't expect to get caught. Francine Busby was recorded answering the question asked in Spanish, "I don't have papers, how can I help?" to which she replied, "You don't need papers to vote. You don't need to be registered to help." Rats all of them. This is why Gil Cedillo wants illegals to have driver's licenses so badly.

78 posted on 10/24/2006 11:40:15 PM PDT by Squeako (ACLU: "Only Christians, Boy Scouts and War Memorials are too vile to defend.")
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To: muawiyah
Immigrants who haven't applied for and gotten citizenship should not even be thinking of voting in our elections.

Tan Nguyen's campaign's letter warned readers not to listen to politicians who might tell non-citizens that it's okay to vote, since those politicians are only looking out for their own interests. That was a very good warning.

Five months ago, in the primary or runoff election in San Diego for the 50th Congresional seat, vacated by Duke Cunningham and won by Brian Bilbray (R), candidate Francine Busby (D) told a Spanish-speaking audience otherwise:

"You can all help. [pause for Spanish translation] You don't need papers for voting. You don't need to be a registered voter to help," said Busby. This was in response to a question by a Spanish-speaking man who asked how to help get her elected but who did not "have papers." [meaning that he was in the US illegally]

Here's one of several threads. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1642545/posts

79 posted on 10/25/2006 12:02:39 AM PDT by heleny (NO on all bonds/taxes)
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To: Squeako

i heard him perhaps on another radio show today dodge some questions regarding who originated the letters. But the dodge was of his fear as being advised by his lawyers not to say to much since he is under investigation, most likely.

I believe he is real however and is sincerely running on an anti illegal immigrant platform, and has no beef or should he against legal immigrants such as himself.

I have seen his signs for his election on the streets for months now, since before the protests early this year,, often with phrases regarding stopping illegal immigration. Many of his signs that are posted on the roadsides disappear soon after especially the ones that mention illegal immigrants. So illegal immigration has been his platform all along, and it is clear there are those who are out to silence him.

There may have been a falsification of misrepresenting somebody else's letterhead, which may have been his only crime,

but consider those whom he has brought to light, the possibility of illegal immigrants period, and the fact they may be voting, with false documents themselves as US citizens,

It is appalling that he is only person investigated regarding intimidation associated with immigrants and not the 10 of thousands of illegal immigrants and the forces behind them including the socialist anti Americans, who are creating fraudulent documents daily and intimidating the long time legal and established residents of his district

The only crime heaven forbid, is that these letters are not authentic from who they say they are from even though they cite US law truthfully.


80 posted on 10/25/2006 12:07:50 AM PDT by seastay
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