For those of you who have not been following it, there has been a controversy brewing in Central Orange County where a letter had apparently been sent out to around 14,000 hispanic voters geared towards suppressing hispanic turnout.
The letter, written in Spanish, apprently say in it, "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…"
The letter has set off a formal investigation by the Attorney General’s office, and it is looking very much like the responsible party looks to be Tan Nguyen (to right). Nguyen is the long-shot Republican challenger to Democratic Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez in the 46th Congressional District.
I will draw the attention of FR readers to three blog posts on the Red County/OC Blog website (the definitive source for political news in "The OC") — the first is by County GOP Chairman Scott Baugh posted this morning where he says, in part, "There can be no excuse for this action, it is reprehensible and stupid. He still has the opportunity to act honorably by withdrawing from the race and apologizing to each and every voter whom he attempted to deter from exercising his or her right to vote."
The other posts worth reading are by OC Blog editor "Jubal" (a pseudonym for our own Matt Cunningham) right here and Assemblyman Chuck DeVore here.
This issue is also the subject of articles today in the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register.
I tried to reach Nguyen this morning at his campaign headquarters but got an answering machine. I’ve left a message, but am not really expecting a call back.
I am not sure about the local implications for all of this, but I fully expect Nancy Pelosi and company to quickly inject this stupid situation into the national debate over control of Congress.
Nguyen is a maverick who I’ve only met a couple of times, and until recently was a Democrat himself who, in fact, previously ran against Congressman Dana Rohrabacher.