Orange County Blog

About a year ago, I wrote a story about a campaign sign for failed Congressional candidate Tan Nguyen that stood on a phone pole on the corner of 17th and Durant streets in SanTana long after losing to Loretta Sanchez.

The sign stood for months after we published article--like, this past fall afterwards. Like, I didn't have any doubt about where that sign would be when I walked by 17th and Durant today. Imagine my surprise, then, when the Nguyen sign was no longer there. But, in his campaign's everlasting ineptitude, a sliver of the South Vietnam yellow-colored sign remained, along with the letter N.

Even in defeat, Nguyen can only half-ass his way out of our lives once and for all.

Tan Nguyen strolled across the parking lot of the Santiago Community College District headquarters while wiping his brow. It was about 3:30 in the afternoon, and Nguyen was asking anyone entering the polling booth located inside to vote for him.

Nguyen approached everyone who passed with a smile, including a small boy. "You don't look like a voter," Nguyen said to the boy. "Hopefully, you'll vote, too."

"I can't vote," the boy replied. "I'm only eight."

To Nguyen's side was a friend from San Diego, who said he hadn't seen police raid a campaign office like they did with Nguyen "since when the blacks wanted to vote" during the 1960s.

A car suddenly zooms past Nguyen. Democratic Party of Orange County chair Frank Barbaro emerges with his executive director, Mike Levin. They storm toward Nguyen, stone-faced.

"We got a report saying you're electioneering closer than 100 feet to the voting booth," Barbaro told Nguyen. "That's illegal."

"I know the rules," Nguyen shot back. "I'm trying to stay 100 feet away. If you tell me 100 feet is here [pointing at one spot], I'll stand there. If you tell me it's another [he points farther away], I'll stand there.

"I think the Registrar of Voters is supposed to determine what's 100 feet away, not the Democratic Party," Nguyen tells an onlooker. "Barbaro just wants to be on TV." Indeed, KABC-TV Channel 7 cameras catch the exchange.

Levin gets on the phone and makes some call. Barbaro tells me the district attorney's office and Registrar of Voters is on its way. Meanwhile, Nguyen's friend makes another observation.

"Measurements are so subjective," he says. "You know when you talk about your thing [referring to one's penis] and you exaggerate, but when you actually measure it, it's something else. That's what's happening here. Measurements are subjective."

A voter tells the Weekly that the Tan Man has a video camera and is questioning voters as they go to vote at the Santiago Community College District offices in SanTana. Going to scope the scene meself...

Just came back from the Santiago Community College District headquarters, and it turns out the Tan Man wasn't interviewing voters, as a voter asserted earlier. Tan Man, in fact, was getting out the vote to the final, desperate hours. More to come, but first: Tan Man was handing out bilingual fliers--this coming from a man who earlier accused opponent Loretta Sanchez of racial pandering. And his translation problems continue: in one section, Tan Man states he picked chiles with his parents in Gilroy; however, the Spanish version reads (translated here), "Tan picked chiles with his parents is Gilroy, California." Tan Man: fire your español speaker, stat!

Sergio Ramirez is a double major in environmental studies and political science at Long Beach State. In March, Ramirez and a friend attended a meeting of the California Coalition for Immigration Reform for one of their classes. The two signed in, talked to some folks and took some pamplets back to their professor. They were the only Latinos.

Last week, that Long Beach State professor called Ramirez and asked if he was the Sergio who signed the infamous Tan Nguyen "immigrants can't vote" letter that used fake CCIR letterhead. He wasn't, but Ramirez can't help but to think that the people behind the letter stole/borrowed his name from the CCIR sign-in sheet he signed this March.

"I don't know how many Sergio Ramirezes there are in Orange County, but I don't think it's a coincidence that I went to that meeting and then my name shows up on a letter with CCIR letterhead," Ramirez says. "I really do think that's what happened. When [my professor] called me, she sent me the letter. I was shocked. It makes sense that Nguyen's people would grab my name from a CCIR list of people who signed in to their meeting. They probably picked up the most Latino name and used it. Maybe it's a far-fetched idea, but it's just too crazy a coincidence for it not to be true."

Ramirez's professor, Leah Fraser, confirmed that he did attend a March CCIR meeting for a class project and brought her pamphlets as proof. Ramirez also faxed the Weekly the agenda for CCIR's March meeting.

CCIR chair Barbara Coe has repeatedly denied her group's involvement with the Nguyen letter, but there's a definite connection between the two besides the faked letterhead. Last December, Nguyen was a featured speaker at a CCIR meeting. A press release for the meeting gushed that Nguyen, "believes in America as a 'nation of law', has made a commitment to uphold and defend our Constitutional rights and freedoms, has courageously publicly praised the Minuteman Project and publicly opposed any illegal alien 'guest-worker' program or amnesty." And now the possible Ramirez connection.

And what does Sergio Ramirez think of the Sergio Ramirez-authored letter? "It's ridiculous, it's not good," he says. "It's scaring people. It's nuts."

Our favorite Demopublican (or, conversely, Republocrat) had a chance to endear himself to a national audience this morning on The Radio Factor, home of loofa-loving Bill O'Reilly. KABC-AM 790 morning guy Doug McIntyre filled in and was ready to give Nguyen an on-air hummer. Then Nguyen actually spoke.

Nguyen began by correcting McIntyre about his Vietnamese surname's proper pronounciation--"win" as opposed to "Nu-win," which ticked McIntyre off. Nguyen then went to claim recent polls show him beating 47th Congressional District incumbent Loretta Sanchez, polls that the boyos at OC Blog dismissed in a post I can't find (help, Jubal!). "I don't care about that," McIntyre told Nguyen. McIntyre then asked Nguyen if he was behind the infamous "immigrants can't vote" letter, to which Tan replied with his stock statement that he neither "authorized" nor "approved" the letter. McIntyre asked the same question again, to which Nguyen said no one connected to his campaign was behind the letter--this despite Nguyen admitting earlier that his office was behind the letter and him holding a press conference defending the letter.

Nguyen then insinuated Loretta was behind the letter, adding that "someone" was "fueling the hysteria." An exasperated McIntyre tried keeping Tan on the subject, but he wouldn't answer questions. And then Tan trotted out another stock phrase, but quickly tempered it with a caveat (I'm paraphrasing here 'cause I took notes while driving 90 on the 5 South toward San Juan Capistrano toward next week's entry of This Hole-in-the-Wall-Life):

"I'm going to tell it like it is, but my hands are tied.

McIntyre quickly ended the interview. When he returned, McIntyre told a national audience he "wasn't happy" with Nguyen's answers--this from a man who thought Nguyen did nothing wrong.

Summary: Tan Nguyen either lied to McIntyre or he's a moron. My vote: both.

Many of you, including KFI-AM 640's garrulous JohnKen and idiot John Ziegler (we'll never forgive Ziegler for his unceremonious swipe at us Coast to Coast listeneners) keep insisting Tan "Hate The Republicans, Love their Candidacy" Nguyen had a legitimate reason to send out his infamous letter to Latino voters because everyone knows 47th Congressional District incumbent Loretta Sanchez stole the 1996 election from Bob Dornan with the help of illegals.

Conduct your Google searches better, pendejos. Find the Weekly's 10-year anniversary issue. Read the first blurb, where we recount how Moxley laid that myth to rest quickly. Then find all the articles Moxley did on the matter. Thank you.

Listening to L.A.'s favorite boors and heard that Tan Nguyen will appear this Wednesday--maybe an in-studio appearance. As a preview of what may come, JohnKen spelled out Nguyen's last name to their listeners. JohnKen also praised my earlier post examining La Opinión's translation games, then went on to blast the "activist" who offered his Spanish translation services to Nguyen at yesterday's press conference
. Um, pendejos: That was me.

Our favorite xenophobic Vietnamese hasn't yet renounced his Republican candidacy for the 47th Congressional District, even though GOP chair Scott Baugh has demanded his resignation and Nguyen blasted Baugh at yesterday's press conference. Yesterday, Nguyen also passed out his latest mailer to the press corps. It urges voters to "Choose the person not the party" and tells 'em "Finally, we don't have to end up voting for the 'lesser of two evils.' Here is the mailer (one page in the original but in two separate images here so you don't have to crane your neck). Click on thumbnails, por favor!:

I agree with you, Tan: the Republicans and Dems are full of it. So when are you going to renounce your Republican Party nomination?

For more Tan Nguyen posts, read our Tan Nguyen archives

Rebel Girl over at the always awesome Dissent the Blog weighs in on OC's Keyser Soze, the man who signed the infamous Tan Nguyen "immigrants can't vote" letter. Turns out it might be a Sandinista!

Full Tan Nguyen coverage:

Why is La Opinion Changing the Tan Nguyen Letter?

Tan Nguyen: The New Bob Dornan!

Tan Nguyen's Only Friends…

We Defend Barbara Coe--Again!

We Defend Barbara Coe!

The Infamous Tan Nguyen "immigrants can't vote" letter