GOP sent letters intimidating Latino voters in California

[tblue]

(10-18) 22:07 PDT Santa Ana, Calif. (AP) --

Investigators with the state attorney general's office have linked a Republican campaign to letters sent to Hispanic families last week warning that some immigrants could be jailed or deported for voting next month, an agency spokesman said Wednesday.

Nathan Barankin, a spokesman for Attorney General Bill Lockyer, declined to identify the campaign, citing the ongoing investigation.

"We believe it's linked to a particular Republican campaign," Barankin said in a telephone interview from Sacramento. "We have identified where we believe the mailing list was obtained."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/10/18/state/n220733D14.DTL&type=politics

:spank:

[VC2]

1. it figures

looks like they mightve tried to blame coe

"The note's letterhead resembles that of the group's, and contains the signature Sergio Ramirez."

AP

[Viva_La_Revolution]

3. who's Coe?

:shrug:

[Judi Lynn]

4. She's mentioned in VC2's AP link:

Barbara Coe, leader of the California Coalition for Immigration Reform, said she told investigators her group had not authorized the letter and she didn't know who sent it.

The note's letterhead resembles that of the group's, and contains the signature Sergio Ramirez.

"The letterhead was altered and I've never head of any Sergio Ramirez," said Coe during a phone interview.

Coe said she has received a handful of death threats since last week, when the letter began arriving at an unknown number of Orange County homes. Her group was investigated by the FBI in the late 1990s because members held signs near polls stating only citizens can vote.

Written in Spanish, the letter also says the government has developed a computer system to track down the names of registered voters.

The letter is correct in that only immigrants who are naturalized U.S. citizens can vote, but many of its other contentions are false. It also contains several grammatical errors and reads like a literal translation from English to Spanish, suggesting it was not written by a native Spanish speaker.
(snip)

They've got some real nasty busy bodies out there. Coe sounds like a real slime, and I'll bet she's involved in this, regardless of her protestations.

Wouldn't be the first time she butted in at election time.

[VC2]

8. she's one sick lady

LoL

coe = mexican hater

[ronnykmarshall]

29. The face of hate and evil.

[Abathar]

32. If they are illegal

then I hope they don't try and vote.

[Joe Chi Minh]

38. It sure would be a blemish on an otherwise admirable election

process, wouldn't it?

[Sapere aude]

41. How the hell do illegals vote? They would have to be registered and

the registration verified by the registrar of voters by return mail. Sometimes some people don't make a bit of sense with bull shit right wing innuendo.

[kestrel91316]

46. AFAIK it's incredibly easy to register to vote here in CA. All you

do is fill out the form (found in any post office) and sign it and mail it in. You have to swear under penalty of perjury that you are a citizen, but that's a minor thing to ignore if you want to vote illegally.

I think in recent years they have made it so you also need to show photo ID the first time you show up to vote, but there is absolutely no verification of citizenship, if I'm not mistaken.

Our system still has its flaws. I support requiring proof of citizenship in order to register to vote, and providing photo ID, too, if they really think they need to do it. We have a HUGE illegal imigrant problem in CA and believe you me, they WANT political power.

[hughee99]

45. Even if they're legal

if they're not citizens, they should be voting. It seems to me that any immigrant who's gone through the whole process to become a citizen wouldn't be scared off by this email. They have the right to vote, and because of all the classes they went through to become citizens, they certainly know it. They know they won't be deported for voting.

On the other hand, those who have not become citizens probably are less clear on who can and can't vote. While this is sort of a smarmy intimidation tactic, IMHO, the only people who would be intimidated by it are those who shouldn't be voting anyway (non-citizens).

[Viva_La_Revolution]

2. they traced it BEFORE the elections??!

oh! Happy day! :bounce:

[habitual]

6. yah but they won't say who it is n/t

[EFerrari]

10. They implied it was Nguyen's campaign who stupidly

listened to Barbara Coe.

[texasleo]

5. Tan D. Nguyen.

:eyes:

One of those "we waited in line" people, I'm sure.

Like it's an option to swim over from Asia.

:nopity: :nopity: :nopity:

[saigon68]

7. I suppose you could swim from Asia

but these guys have the monopoly



( For the PC Correct crowd----This is real sarcasm folks)

[EFerrari]

9. I'll notify The Committee.

lol

:)

[Sequoia]

16. Now, that's funny.

[AnneD]

23. Call me non PC...

But that looks like the Tex-Mex team. :rofl:
Craig Ferguson had me laughing the other night. He was talking about the US population reaching 300 mill. "And to the 300 mil. new American, I'd like to say 'Buenos Dias'".

[Sydnie]

11. AG: Voter warning linked to GOP campaign (California)

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."

<snip>

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061019/ap_on_re_us/immigration_voting_threat

[Horse with no Name]

12. Awwww...I bet they were just playing around and didn't mean anything

Wanna bet that's the "official" story?:puke:

[TechBear_Seattle]

13. Would this count as election tampering?

If I remember correctly, California has some draconian laws regarding these kinds of shennanigans.

[lpbk2713]

14. We should get the messge out

that these are the people we need to eliminate from all public offices because of these same evil lies and deeds they are known to use. They lie at every opportunity. From the White House on down.

[kestrel91316]

47. IMHO, this guy and his entire staff need to be permanently

barred from public office. And yes, he needs to be removed from the ballot (but I think it's too late).

[IWantAChange]

15. Olbermann has to be all over this tonight

have forwarded link to his site and can only hope others do the same.

:kick: :kick:

[Raksha]

35. Think they'll make "Worst Person in the World"?

They have to end up in the Top 3 anyway!

[ktowntennesseedem]

48. KO might just have to create a whole new category beyond worst!

The worsterest person in the world!

[Lexingtonian]

17. boy, I'm so shocked

There's an 'underground' white racist group run by insiders and their families in the Orange County GOP. This group keeps on fomenting anti-Latino stuff in OC and using cutouts and dupes- like this Nguyen fellow, skinheads sometimes, and various clueless idiots and groups to do it. There are a few articles in the OC Register and LA Times recently that hint at this but don't connect the dots.

Someone should put some serious money and some PI's into exposing the people who are pulling the strings. People of the kind really hate big, long, newpapers exposes with their photos and irrefutable evidence that they are racists and lowlife scumbags. Shine some light on these cockroaches.

[sparerib]

18. Illegals are voting now, at least some

This is what I've heard about an illegal immigrant "nanny" in Orange County. She was my daughter-in-law's nanny for years, and she has remained in contact with them. She is frustrated that she has not been able to get her citizenship. But there is apparently a new avenue available to her that is getting popular amongst illegals--purchasing an ID of a US citizen. She is purchasing one for the hefty amount of $14,000, on which she will be making payments. Instant voting rights. Lou Dobbs had a segment last night about Hezbollah terrorists entering the US under fake Venezuelan documents. Heck, I'll bet these new US citizen identities are available to them, too.

[tjwash]

19. Nice link backing up your "I've heard about...." claim.

I've heard that my next door neighbors best friends second cousins grade school teacher was in the business of selling those purported ID's. :rofl:

[stepnw1f]

20. surrrrreeee.....

nobody can vote unless they are a citizen. What a bunch of right wing propaganda.

[sparerib]

21. Don't think so

My daughter-in-law told me this, and she was told by the nanny. Neither my daughter-in-law, the nanny, nor I are right-wing.

[AlCzervik]

22. so your daughter in law hired an illegal immigrant?

what would Lou Dobbs think?!

[Name removed]

25. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[CAcyclist]

34. Whatever

:eyes:

[redqueen]

37. ...

:rofl:

[Sapere aude]

40. Would you pay $14,000 to vote?

Give me an f'n break!

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

49. so let me get this straight.

You hire illegal aliens but then you complain about them?

[lies and propaganda]

24. Ohio isnt California mofo's

Cali will not stand for this shit.

[tblue]

26. Careful! The Repugs kicked out Dem Sec of State Shelley on trumped up

charges and installed one of their own, McPherson. Who knows what other mechanisms he's put in place. We have to assume EVERY state is vulnerable to some vote suppression/theft by Republicans. I guarantee you, Karl Rove considers California Ground Zero. If they can steal CA, they won't even have tosteal anything else. It could happen anywhere and we all have to be extra vigilant and extra loud every step of the way, IMHO.

btw, Love your tagline: I am about as Christian as Torture. LOL!

[xxqqqzme]

27. I was @ OCDP HQs yesterday

and there were a number of calls about this. One of the letter recipients is the wife of a Peruvian man running for city council in Garden Grove. The local rethug party is saying the letter came from Democrats to focus attention on OC Democratic races. Like we have that kind of money! The letters were bulk mailed w/ the permit number on the envelope. It shouldn't be hard to track that down. Is this now a federal offense? Using the USPS to commit fraud. I'm certain speedy gonzales will get right on it.

Coe is a true nut-job. She calls her groupies 'Minutemen Angels' and shows up @ their rallies.

Letter from OCDP Chair & Vice Chair here: http://www.ocdemocrats.net/

[Old Smokey]

28. They do this type of shit every election

its one of many dirty tricks to keep minorities from the polls.

[williesgirl]

30. Here's a link to thread identifying this piece of shit

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2570227

[ToeBot]

31. Anyone know what Bob Dornan's been up to lately? nt

[AlCzervik]

36. i was watching cspan one day and he called in, he didn't identify himself

but it was him and he sounded like a lunatic.

[civildisoBDence]

33. Two words for ya:

Robert Bork.

Newsprism

[Sapere aude]

39. contains several grammatical errors

Must have been written by a freeper.

[Eugene]

42. Update: Calif. Candidate Fires Campaign Staffer - AP

Calif. Candidate Fires Campaign Staffer


Thursday October 19, 2006 10:01 PM

AP Photo CARF103

By PETER PRENGAMAN

Associated Press Writer

GARDEN GROVE, Calif. (AP) - A Republican congressional candidate said Thursday
that he has fired a campaign staffer who may have been the source of a letter
that falsely told Hispanics that immigrants can go to jail if they try to vote.

The letters have prompted state and federal investigations, but the candidate,
Tan D. Nguyen, denied knowing anything about last week's mailings.

The state investigation is focused on Nguyen's campaign, according to two law
enforcement officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not
authorized to publicly discuss it.

"I did not do this. I did not approve of any letter," Nguyen, the GOP challenger
to Democratic U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez, told The Associated Press. Nguyen is
a Vietnamese immigrant whose opposition to illegal immigration figures heavily
in his underdog campaign.

-snip-

Full article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6158513,00.html

[truthpusher]

43. BREAKING NEWS: California GOP wants candidate's withdrawal

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2570523

[Blue_State_Elitist]

44. TAN!

I was doing get out the vote in Anaheim for the primary and when I returned to the polling place in the afternoon Tan, himself, was standing in the parking lot within 100 feet of the polling place handing out cards to vote for him. I told him what he was doing is against election law and told the poll workers inside. They said that Tan and his people had refused to leave the area.

This guy is a creep. It's disgusting what an idiot like this will do in order to gain a few votes. It doesn't really help him, Loretta Sanchez is the sure winner, but it hurts Lou Correa for State Senate in a seat that the Republicans are spending millions of dollars in order to take back.

[nxylas]

50. Delete the word "some" from the first paragraph

The letter makes no distinction between legal and illegal immigrants, in fact it says "if you are in this country illegally or if you are an immigrant" (emphasis mine), you could be jailed. I assume they meant resident aliens who are not citizens (like myself), but that's not what the letter says.