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.
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."
Can't get mad unless he lies
Aren't immigrants allowed if they come legally and are naturalized?
Right or wrong this guy has a backbone.
About time a Republican told the RATS to stuff it. An as far as the Department of Justice is concerned, what does anyone expect from another RAT infested California group of crap.
Finally.
"Immigrants who have become naturalized U.S. citizens are eligible to vote"
Popular interpretations of the term "immigrant" don't apply here. Besides, Mr. Nguyen was never really an "immigrant" in the popular meaning of the word ~ he was a "refugee". America is most properly referred to as a "nation of refugees", not a "nation of immigrants".
Immigrants who become citizens are no longer immigrants.
An intimidating campaign letter can land one in jail? Well, how about all those Dimocrap letters telling older citizens they'll be eating dog food, or government employees they'll lose their jobs, etc. if they don't reelect crooked Dimocraps? How many of them are in jail?
Mr. Nguyen's family has experienced the communists of Vietnam. Standing up to a two-bit tyrant like California's Democrat AG is no big deal to Nguyen.
The jails are already filled to the brim with Democrats. Tossing their lawyers in there would only add to the confusion and violence.
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. If a Democrat had done this we would all be up in arms. We can't use scare tactics to win elections or we are following the Democrats in their scaring of senior citizens and many others.
Nguyen ought to have a First Amendment defense against any effort to lock him up for the offense of telling noncitizens they can't vote.
This applies to all of 'em, not just the illegal aliens (who are not, as it turns out, "immigrants" ~ calling them "immigrants" would be like calling a house robber a "guest").
He's not trying to "scare" anybody. Just to tell people who aren't eligible to vote - i.e., immigrants -- that they will be breaking the law if they vote. If I tell you that you shouldn't run a red light - or you could get ticketed - am I "trying to scare you"? By your logic, I guess it's an exercise in intimidation.
How would a Democrat scare off potential Republican voters? .............................................................................................................................................Tell them they have to kiss Madeline Albright after pulling the lever.
Irritated by Roger's pointed questions, Tan hung up on Roger.
Well if I was told that then screw the Republicans! Go Hilary! :-p
Seriously though, what I am talking about is a Republican that has implied that being they are unable to vote if they are an immigrant. I totally agree with him on the illegals, but he or his campaign should have known better on the other.
Hanging up on a talk show host. Wow, this guy really ISN'T a typical politician.
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