GOP letter warns latin residents not to vote!

[basschick]

is there no depth that people involved in politics will not descend to?

"SANTA ANA, Calif. - State investigators have linked a Republican campaign to letters sent to thousands of Orange County Hispanics warning them they could go to jail or be deported if they vote next month, a spokesman for the attorney general said.

"We have identified where we believe the mailing list was obtained," said Nathan Barankin, spokesman for Attorney General Bill Lockyer.

He declined to identify the specific Republican campaign Wednesday, citing the ongoing investigation. The Los Angeles Times and The Orange County Register both reported Thursday that the investigation appeared to be focused on the campaign of Tan D. Nguyen, a Republican challenger to Democratic U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez (news, bio, voting record).

The letter, written in Spanish, tells recipients: "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."

In fact, immigrants who are naturalized U.S. citizens can vote.

Complaints about the letters this week prompted state and federal investigations, and Barankin said investigators had been questioning people in Orange County.

The two newspapers reported state investigators had found the location where the letters were printed and mailed to an estimated 14,000 Democratic voters in central Orange County. The Los Angeles Times, citing an unnamed source, said authorities had interviewed Nguyen at his office.

Nguyen did not return messages left by The Associated Press or either newspaper.

Sanchez said in an interview Thursday on Univision that the sender should be punished for stating that immigrants can't vote. It would be unfortunate if the person responsible was another immigrant, she said.

"What a shame, really, that this is still happening in the United States today," Sanchez said.

The owner of Huntington Beach-based Mailing Pros, Christopher West, told The Orange County Register that he was hired to do the mailings but didn't know what they said and didn't know any laws were being broken when the mailer was sent. He said he gave investigators the name of the person who hired him.

"I'm the one that processed it, and I don't read Spanish," West said. "Until the investigator read it to me, I didn't know the content."

Scott Baugh, chairman of the Orange County Republican Party, condemned the letter as "an obnoxious, grotesque piece of work."

"Regardless of who did it — Republican or Democrat — if it's a crime, then whoever did it should be prosecuted," Baugh said.

A group of six Vietnamese-American political candidates running for offices in Orange County issued a joint statement saying: "The content of this mailer is offensive to the immigrant voters, regardless of their ethnicity."

The note's letterhead resembles that of an anti-illegal immigration group, California Coalition for Immigration Reform, but group leader Barbara Coe said she told investigators for the attorney general's office Wednesday that her group didn't authorize the letter and she didn't know who sent it.

"The letterhead was altered and I've never head of any Sergio Ramirez," the name signed to the letter, Coe said.

Numerous political leaders including Gov.Arnold Schwarzenegger have denounced the letter and called for the investigations."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061019/...BhBHNlYwM5NjQ-

[gaybucks_chip]

THis is the sort of sleazy, illegal shit that has Karl Rove's fingerprints all over it.

Somebody needs to nail that man and send him to Guantanamo Bay for about 8 years of "humane" interrogation before he's charged with anything, then, when he's convicted, transfer him to a foreign "rendition" jail to serve his term.

[gaybucks_skyler]

OMG that story is so ridiculous. I can't believe that would happen. It's quite frankly sad in my opinion that this type of shit happens in our country. I wish so deeply that things like this would stop...

I agree with Chip...

TTYL, Sky

[Squirt]

Politics is such a dirty corrupt game that always brings out the worst in vain power mongers. Fortunately look like this one might get busted :cheerleader:

[Jasun]

They're getting very desperate.

It's disgusting, really, but not a surprise.

Look this weekend for a new round of REpublican commercials that warn of new terror attacks on America... pics of Bin Laden.. that scary music.

It's disgusting, really, but in the end, there's not much we can do.

I refuse to sink to their level.

[SPACE GLIDER]

I wonder who is going to support this guy? I mean the GOP is fighting HARD against the ever-growing opinion of their scumminess these days. I think they'll throw this feller to the wolves.

[chadknowslaw]

The local leaders of the Orange County Republican Party unanimously voted to recommend the fucktard withdraw from the race.

I suspect if the Republican candidate had been a good christian white man in a close race instead of an immigrant from Vietnam who had zero chance of winning they would have been more supportive of him, but since he isn't really "one of them" they really didn't want him representing god-fearing repukians anyway.

Cynical, yes. True? Probably.


Full text of story::




By PETER PRENGAMAN, Associated Press Writer Fri Oct 20, 2:12 AM ET

GARDEN GROVE, Calif. - Orange County Republican leaders on Thursday called for the withdrawal of a GOP congressional candidate they believe sent a letter threatening Hispanic immigrant voters with arrest.

Tan D. Nguyen denied knowing anything about the letter in an interview Thursday with The Associated Press but said he fired a campaign staffer who may have been responsible for it. Nguyen's attorney said his client had no intention of quitting.

County Republican Chairman Scott Baugh said that after speaking with state investigators and the company that distributed the mailer, he believes Nguyen had direct knowledge of the "obnoxious and reprehensible" letter. He told the AP that the party's executive committee voted unanimously to urge Nguyen to drop out of the race against Democratic U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez

"I learned information that allows me to draw the conclusion that not only was Mr. Nguyen's campaign involved in this, but that Mr. Nguyen was personally involved in expediting the mailer," Baugh said in a telephone interview.

State and federal officials were investigating the letter, which was written in Spanish and mailed to an estimated 14,000 Democratic voters in central Orange County. It warns, "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 are adult naturalized citizens are eligible to vote.

Nguyen, a Vietnamese immigrant whose opposition to illegal immigration has figured heavily in his underdog campaign, was not immediately available to react to the committee's vote. His attorney, David Wiechert, said Thursday night that his client does not plan to quit.

"Mr. Nguyen has no intention of dropping out of the race. He would do the public a disservice if he dropped out," Wiechert said.

The attorney said he and Nguyen met with investigators for two hours Thursday. He described the meeting as "pleasant and professional" but declined to elaborate.

Nguyen said he has fired an employee in his office who he believes might have used his campaign's voter data base to send the letter without his knowledge.

"I will do whatever I can do to encourage all citizens in this district to vote," he said.

Orange County is an immigration battleground. One founder of the Minuteman civilian border patrol group ran for Congress here, and cities have debated issues such as the value of public centers for day laborers and the use of local police to arrest illegal immigrants.

Complaints about the letters this week prompted a state probe, and a spokesman for California's attorney general said investigators had been questioning people in Orange County. U.S. Justice Department spokeswoman Cynthia Magnuson said the department's civil rights division was investigating in coordination with the state attorney general's office.

Numerous political leaders denounced the letter, including Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger.

"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," California GOP Chairman Duf Sundheim said in a statement.

In an interview Thursday morning, Sanchez said she had never spoken to Nguyen because her campaign didn't see him as a threat to her re-election.

"If it is in fact this guy (who sent the letter), the most disgusting and saddest thing about it is that it comes from another immigrant," said Sanchez, who was born in the U.S. to Mexican parents and whose 1996 election signaled Orange County's increasing diversification. "These communities have spent years trying to get naturalized immigrants to vote."

Nguyen's campaign Web site says he was born in 1973 in Vietnam, where his family fled the Communist regime.

In 2004, he unsuccessfully ran in the Democratic primary to challenge GOP Rep. Dana Rohrabacher in a heavily Republican coastal district. He later changed his party affiliation and declared his bid to upset Sanchez.

State attorney general spokesman Nathan Barankin said he did not know how long the investigation would take, but did say that investigators "have identified where we believe the mailing list was obtained."

The owner of Huntington Beach-based Mailing Pros, Christopher West, said he did not know any laws were being broken when his company sent the mailer. "It was in Spanish, and I don't read Spanish," he said.

West said he gave investigators the name of the person who hired him, but he declined to provide that name in an interview.

The letterhead of the mailing resembles that of an anti-illegal immigration group, the Huntington Beach-based California Coalition for Immigration Reform. The group's leader, Barbara Coe, said she told investigators Wednesday that her group didn't authorize the letter and that she didn't know who sent it.

"The letterhead was altered, and I've never head of any Sergio Ramirez," the name signed to the letter, Coe said.

This is not the county's first dispute over alleged intimidation of Hispanic voters. In 1988, Republican Assembly candidate Curt Pringle posted uniformed "security guards" at 20 predominantly Hispanic voting places in Orange County.

Republicans said the guards were stationed to prevent noncitizens from casting ballots. Pringle and the county GOP paid $400,000 to settle a civil rights lawsuit alleging intimidation of Hispanic voters.

___

Associated Press writers Michael R. Blood in Los Angeles and Michael J. Sniffen in Washington contributed to this report.

[SPACE GLIDER]

I refuse to sink to their level.

I wonder if that's even possible. I mean they're so low right now if someone spits they'll drown.

[desslock]

One of the best things that can happen this election is for the ardant anti immigration Republicans to lose at the ballot box in three weeks. This would be especially satisfying in the case if that nut who is running for Jim Kolbe's congressional seat in Tuscon, AZ.

Daily servings of xenophobic fear may be enough to keep Lou Dobbs on the air at CNN, but it's more difficult to be so popular that you will win 50% + 1 in an election.

Steve

[SPACE GLIDER]

Look this weekend for a new round of REpublican commercials that warn of new terror attacks on America... pics of Bin Laden.. that scary music.

Every day I'm surprised by how many people are fooled by this. Not so much by the idea that some terrorist attack is on it's way, but that these people in power have our best interests at heart when they speak of the threat.