Posted on 10/21/2006 4:06:05 PM PDT by calcowgirl
SANTA ANA, Calif. - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, calling an intimidating letter sent to thousands of Hispanic voters "a hate crime," said Saturday the Republican candidate whose campaign it was linked to should quit the race if he had anything to do with it.
"I think this is one of the worst letters that anyone could send out. And I think those kind of tactics are illegal and it is a hate crime," Schwarzenegger said.
During a re-election campaign swing through Southern California on Saturday, Schwarzenegger met with a Hispanic business group in Orange County, where the mailing has infuriated Latino activists and may have scuttled the campaign of Tan D. Nguyen, a Republican congressional candidate.
"I think that anyone that knew and if he knew has to resign immediately," Schwarzenegger said. "I think there should be no tolerance for this kind of behavior."
A call left for Nguyen was not immediately returned Saturday afternoon.
Nguyen, a Vietnamese immigrant, is trying to unseat five-term Democratic Rep. Loretta Sanchez in the 47th Congressional District.
Nguyen has rejected previous calls from other officials in his party to abandon the race, saying a campaign staffer sent the mailing without his knowledge and has been fired.
The letter, written in Spanish, was mailed to an estimated 14,000 Democratic voters in Orange County. It 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."
Adult naturalized citizens are eligible to vote. Secretary of State Bruce McPherson said Friday that his office will send letters to homes that received the mailing to clarify voters' rights before the Nov. 7 election.
On Friday, law enforcement agents searched Nguyen's Santa Ana home, his campaign headquarters in Garden Grove and a home in Anaheim listed as belonging to a Nguyen staffer.
Meanwhile, Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., wrote to the U.S. attorney general urging that a federal investigation be completed swiftly.
"This shameful and dishonest scheme to discourage Latino citizens from voting is a blatant violation of the Voting Rights Act, and all those involved should be held accountable as soon as possible," Kennedy said.
Shortly after news of the letter broke Nguyen said he would hold a news conference Friday to explain what had happened. When Friday arrived, however, he didn't show up to meet reporters.
The hated Bob Dornan more than they were disgusted by Sanchez. The RINOs and other enemies within the tent are the first to stab real conservatives in the back. In that case, Sanchez was the knife they used.
RE: It is certainly not illegal for immigrants to vote.
Bad translation. The Spanish word for a resident alien is similar to the word immigrant. The word is imigrado, meaning, one who has left one's country of citizenship and moved to another country. It means a green card or other visa holder. In Spanish, immigrant would be imigrante, not imigrado.
When did Arnold become such a leftist wussjob?
RE: emigrado
That does not mean immigrant. Immigrant is imigrante. Emigrado is an adjective in usage as a noun to describe a certain state of being. In this case the state of being is that of one who has left his country of citizenship and still, de facto, remains a citizen of the country they left. This word does not mean "immigrant" in the sense we comprehend it in English.
That's my impression as well. I don't think there is any intent to mislead in the letter.
According to FO, the mere failure to support AHNULD for election makes one an rank-and-file Angelies supporter. Since Ahnuld is most likely to beat Angelies, Herr FairOpinion views anyone who does not support Ahnuld as being a defacto supporter of the enemy. (ideally FO would like to have a one party system where nobody is even allowed to challenge Arnie, but barring that, FO is perfectly content to use intiation and smears to make sure voters are TOLD that if they do not like Angelies, Arnold is the ONLY person is the entire state they're ALLOWED to vote for in the primary OR the general election)
So following FO's own logic, the mere failure to support TAN NGUYEN (R) for election makes one a rank-and-file Loretta Sanchez (D) supporter. By Arnold undermining Tan, he is providing aid and comfort to the Sanchez campaign.
Loretta (D) thanks RINOLD for his endorsement.
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