Anaheim Update: Lorri Galloway WILL NOT Be Welcoming Dalati into the Democratic Party Tomorrow

This just in from the DPOC:

Lorri Galloway WILL NOT be attending tomorrow's press event with our newest Democratic Candidate for Anaheim City Council, Bill Dalati.

Thank goodness! Even while as a registered Republican, Dalati's been more of a loyal Democrat than Galloway!

Anaheim: What is DINO Lorri Galloway Doing Accepting Dalati into the Democratic Party?

This just in...
Bill Dalati, the Muslim American who was deemed an "extremist" by his own Republican Party, will now reregister as a Democrat...
And DINO Lorri Galloway, the Anaheim Councilmember who turned her back on the Democratic Party to endorse REPUBLICAN Lynn Daucher, will be going with him tomorrow??!!

Here's the official DPOC statement below:

BILL DALATI, TARGET OF REPUBLICAN RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE AND ANAHEIM CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATE, TO RE-REGISTER AS DEMOCRAT

County Democratic Chair Frank Barbaro and Anaheim City Councilmembers Richard Chavez and Lori Galloway to Welcome Dalati to Democratic Party

WHO:

Bill Dalati, Candidate for Anaheim City Council
Frank Barbaro, Chair, Democratic Party of Orange County
Richard Chavez, Councilmember, City of Anaheim
Lori Galloway, Councilmember, City of Anaheim
Other community and religious leaders

WHAT:
In reaction to religious intolerance exhibited by the Republican Party, Dalati will be turning in a new registration form and becoming a Democrat this Wednesday morning.

WHEN:
Wednesday, November 1, 2006
10:00 A.M. to 11:00 A.M.

WHERE:
Orange County Registrar of Voters, front steps
1300 Building C
South Grand Avenue
Santa Ana, CA 92705

BACKGROUND:
In September of this year, former State Republican Party Chair Shawn Steel made national news by characterizing Republican candidate for Anaheim City Council Bill Dalati as an Islamic extremist because he is an Arab of Syrian birth and a Muslim. As Democrats in Orange County, we are proud to welcome Bill Dalati to our Party.

What's wrong with this picture? Well, Dalati had to endure the worst of the bigotry of the GOP machine. He was shamelessly depicted as a "terrorist sympathizer". GOP leaders, such as Shawn Steel, tried to distract attention away from local Anaheim issues in order to scare Anaheim voters with "Muslim extremism", not unlike GOP attempts to nationalize local elections in Costa Mesa, Orange, and Escondido over immigration. Basically, the GOP tried to make a big issue over Dalati's faith and ehtnic heritage, but in the end this sleazy attempt backfired in their faces.

But where was Lorri Galloway while the GOP was demonizing Bill Dalati over his Muslim faith? Oh, that's right... She was busy UNDERMINING DEMOCRAT LOU CORREA'S CAMPAIGN for State Senate by overtly aiding REPUBLICAN LYNN DAUCHER. She helped the Daucher Campaign spread the outrageous charge that Lou Correa doesn't care about kids. She mischaracterized Lynn Daucher's voting record in the Assembly as one that supported working families, when in reality Lynn Daucher has voted consistently AGAINST WORKING FAMILIES while in Sacramento. Basically, Lorri Galloway has been working hard over the last couple of months to undermine Democratic efforts to hold onto our State Senate seat in Central Orange County... And now SHE wants to welcome Bill Dalati into the Democratic Party??!!

OH, PUH-LEEESE! I'll be more than happy to accept Bill Dalati into our Democratic Party. He's proved his commitment to working families in Anaheim...
But Lorri Galloway? Perhaps she can join Carlos Bustamante, Barbara Quintana, and others in forming the Orange County chapter of the CONNECTICUT FOR LIEBERMAN PARTY!

SD 34 Update: Republicans for Lou? Or Otto Bade?

First off, the Lou Correa campaign recently sent registered Republicans a letter signed by several prominent GOPers in Central County...
Including Dave Shawver, a Stanton City Councilmember who ran against John Moorlach for the OC Supervisor seat being vacated by Jim Silva.

Here's an excerpt from the letter, courtesy of Mike Lawson at The Liberal OC:

Although we’re all registered Republicans, none of us are voting for “Republican” Lynn Daucher for State Senate.

Lynn Daucher isn’t even from our area. She just moved here from up North and rented a place so she could run for office.

And, frankly, she’s not like us at all.

Hmmm... So the residency issue is coming back to haunt Lynn, after all!
Also, this mailing includes a letter that Lynn sent to the Legislature while she was Mayor of Brea, asking them to keep the VEHICLE LICENSE FEE...
You know, the "Evil Car Tax" that Ahhnuld the Governator would later run against.

Yes, so this is Lou's response to the "Democrats for Daucher" mailer that Lynn's campaign recently mailed to me... Hmmm, interesting...

BUT NOT NEARLY AS INTERSTING AS OTTO BADE'S ENTRY INTO THIS RACE!!

Yes, failed GOP Assembly Candidate Otto Bade is back! After he tried to pull an upset against the very well-funded Tom Umberg in 2004, he is now acting as a Wild Card by qualifying as an Official Write-in Candidate in the highly competitive SD 34 race. Apparently, Bade thinks that the 34th should be represented by a Latino. Also, there are rumors that he's teamed up with the Republican who ran against Lynn Daucher in the open primary in the 72nd AD in 2000.

And now to make this new development even more interesting, the Independent Expenditure group "Californians United" is sending out mailers to Republicans in the 34th Senate District, asking them to support "true conservative" Otto Bade instead of "liberal Republican" Lynn Daucher. Though Otto Bade has no real chance at winning, apparently his campaign is being used by a few Sacramento Democrats to spoil Lynn's chances at winning next week.

Whew! This race has been one wild ride all year...
And now Otto Bade, "Democrats for Daucher", and "Republicans for Correa" seem to be adding more intrigue (and a bit of confusion) into one of the top competitive races in California.

CA-47: Happy Halloween from Tan Nguyen!

Here's another bizarre Tan Nguyen event for you! With opponents like Tan, Loretta Sanchez doesn't need to do much to win! Believe it or not, Tan Nguyen will not give up his disgraced campaign for Congress! Here is the video from his truly strange weekend rally... I guess there are still some misguided folks (and some outright racists) who are willing to "stand by their Tan".

Some folks just have no sense of decency...
Is this the mysterious female staffer?
Is this Tan's desperate cry for attention?
Is this Tan's attempt to win over the "dirty, horny man" vote?

Photos from Florice Hoffman/PDA Rally

Top: Peace Protesters arrive at the Orange Circle.

Middle: Florice Hoffman (center-right) speaks to the crowd about the importance of real moral values, such as ending the war and solving our healthcare crisis.

Bottom: National PDA leader (and Orange County native) Tim Carpenter speaks to us about the importance of electing progressive Democrats to Congress.

More from the Steve Young/PDA Rally

National PDA (Progressive Democrats of America) Board Member Mimi Kennedy speaks about the basic American "dharma" of voting.

Photos from Steve Young/PDA Rally

Top: Actor and activist Ed Asner speaks of the imporatnce of young people voting.

Bottom: PDA Orange County Director Dr. Bill Honigman addresses the crowd at UCI.

So Who's the REAL Nancy Pelosi?

Today, THREE newspapers have THREE interesting profiles of ONE WOMAN who could very well be the next Speaker of the House:

NANCY PELOSI (D-San Francisco)

According to The New York Times, Rep. Pelosi is a fairly frigid, usually scripted, "liberal elitist".

According to the Los Angeles Times, Pelosi is a "mainstream liberal" who angers many of her San Francisco constituents by not being progressive enough.

According to The Guardian of London, she is a tough-minded party leader who has brought discipline back to the House Democrats.

Of all the three, The Guardian's story cast the most favorable light on Pelosi... And certainly The New York Times piece cast her in an unfavorable light...
In fact, we were complaining about the (NY) Times story on Daily Kos this morning.

Check out the articles for yourself, and let me know what YOU THINK about Pelosi, her leadership of the House Democrats, and whether or not you think the media's treating her unfairly.

CA-50: San Diego U-T Story on New Bilbray Scandal

Click here for their take on the SD Grand Jury's investigation into Bilbray's lies about his multiple "primary residences".

"One of Rep. Brian Bilbray's neighbors yesterday said he recently told the county grand jury that he never saw the congressman at his Carlsbad house at the time Bilbray claimed to live there."

... And the article goes on to quote this neighbor...

“I passed by the house maybe six times a day,” said 61-year-old former Marine (and real Carlsbad resident!) William Rider at a San Diego news conference. “I just feel that if he had lived there, I would have seen him and his family.”

So I guess I was right... Rider told the same thing to the Grand Jury as other neighbors told the San Diego ABC affiliate back in May:

BILBRAY DOESN'T ACTUALLY LIVE IN THE 50TH DISTRICT!

CA-50: NC Times Confirms That Bilbray Is Being Investigated by Grand Jury

(Cross-posted at MyDD)

The North County Times is now confirming what the Busby campaign and the blogger have known for a couple of weeks now...

"A neighbor of Republican 50th District Rep. Brian Bilbray said Thursday that he was subpoenaed to testify before a San Diego County grand jury in August and spent about an hour and a half answering questions about whether Bilbray lived in his Carlsbad neighborhood."
Hmmm... I wonder if the "neighbor" who testified to the Grand Jury said the same thing about Bilbray "living in Carlsbad" as his other Carlsbad "neighbors" back in May.

What can I say?

This is yet another example of a horribly corrupt GOP politician who thinks he can get away with anything because he lives in a safe district. This is another slimy GOPer who has been lying to his constituents about his loyalty to the district. This is another Republican who has accepted many thousands of dollars from oil companies, which is why he voted for offshore oil drilling. This is one corrupt individual who will even go so low as to lie about where he lives.

This, everyone, is Brian Bilbray.

Bilbray v. Busby on the Issues That Matter to 50th District Voters

Truthout Report on Bilbray's Apparent Perjury

CA-50: Remember That Other Close Race?

I know I've been talking a whole lot about Tan-gate recently...
Well, this has been THE BIGGEST STORY in Orange County for the last week and a half!
Also, this has affected the race in my SD 34, one of the closest races in Southern California.

But now, I must talk about that OTHER close race in Southern California:
CA-50- Busby v. Bilbray

Yes, that one! The one that had both parties spend millions on negative ads. The one that involved unsafe Diebold machines that were allowed to be in private homes for "sleepovers".
The one that probably changed the entire course of my life.

Unfortunately, Bilbray won (fairly?) in June...
And what's even more unfortunate is that he's been just as bad for the 50th District as his predecessor, Randy "Duke" Cunningham. (I'll have more on that soon)...
However, we must remember that...

Yes, there is still a hot race there... SurveyUSA confirmed that.
Busby is once again within the margin of error, and I know that if we encourage folks to vote this time instead of turn them off with stupid negative ads, we can win.

If you live in the San Diego area, please volunteer for Francine Busby. If you don't, give money or volunteer some other way. Go to the website to find out more.

You can see their new TV ad here.

OC GOP Registration Scandal: Were there arrests?

I just got an email from the OC Democrats...
Apparently, DPOC Chairman Frank Barbaro learned from OC District Attorney Rackauckas that there were between nine and twelve arrests relating to the OC GOP illegally switching about 500 registered Democrats and Decline-to-State (Independent) voters to Republicans early this year.

From the email release:

Today, Orange County Democratic Chairman, Frank Barbaro, commended Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas for making several arrests relating to the more than 500 verified complaints of voter registration fraud filed in the last seven months by the Democratic Party. These arrests come after hundreds of Orange County registered voters, without their consent, had their party affiliations illegally changed from Democrat to Republican in a voter registration drive sponsored by the Republican Party (see the original story here).

“We are hopeful that these arrests, as well as the recent response by local Republican Party Chairman Scott Baugh to the Tan Nguyen scandal, are indicative of a new effort by local Republican Party leaders to protect the rights of all Orange County voters,” Barbaro said.

“The basic problem is that for years, certainly going back to the posting of uniformed guards at polling places to discourage Hispanic voters in 1988, the Republican Party has perpetuated a permissive political culture in which political candidates and their operatives think that they can act to suppress the democratic process without fear of repercussion. The unscrupulous letter of Republican congressional candidate Tan Nguyen did not happen in a vacuum. I have no doubt that the unfortunate history of Republican campaigns, including the voter registration fraud just now being addressed by the District Attorney, provided a context for his actions.”

“Hopefully, these arrests are a good first step towards discouraging those who would wish to suppress the democratic process, and we are hopeful that more preemptive action will be taken in the future. Specifically, we support the efforts of Supervisor Lou Correa to bring together law enforcement leaders in an Orange County Election Task Force that will monitor and quickly respond to all efforts to undermine a full and fair voting process.”

Frank Barbaro
Democratic Party of Orange County

Also, Peggy Lowe at the OC Register is reporting on Total Buzz that the DA was hoping to have a big press conference on Monday to formally announce this with SoS McPherson, but I guess it's a little late for that now (as long as this proves to be true).

Tan-gate Update: SoS Letter Now Being Mailed

The Secretary of State's letter to the 14,000+ Tan-gate victims is now out.

See the letter here.

OK, back to the NJ Ruling: Is It a Victory or a Defeat?

I saw the headline on 365gay.com, "N.J. Court Rejects Gay Marriage":

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon06/10/102506jerseyNo.htm

Now while that may be technically accurate to an extent, let's not forget the content of today's ruling: New Jersey's highest court just decided that under the Equal Protection Clause of the state's counstitution, the state must provide the EXACT SAME RIGHTS, RESPONSIBILITIES, AND BENEFITS TO SAME-SEX COUPLES as it does to opposite-sex couples. Now while this ruling does not have a six-month deadline for the state to begin marrying gay and lesbian couples like the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling almost three years ago, this does require that the legislature either expand marriage to same-sex couples or rewrite the domestic partnership law to extend ALL THE SAME BENEFITS of hetero marriage to same-sex unions... And the legislature must do either within 180 days.

Although I'd prefered that the NJ Supremes just call it marriage, I am still happy that they are declaring that gay and lesbian unions must be equal to heterosexual unions. I'll call it a victory.

SD 34 ALERT: Watch out for this in your mailbox!

Here's the text of the letter:

Dear Fellow Democrat,

We are loyal Democrats who usually vote the party line, but Lynn Daucher has done so much for working families that she has earned our support.

Assemblywoman Lynn Daucher is a former school teacher who built bipartisan support to bring more dollars into Orange County schools.

She's a cancer survivor who was the only Republican who voted for a landmark law that will reduce the cost of prescription drugs by 40-60% for 5 million Californians.

She worked to put her husband through law school and knows what it is like to make ends meet. That's why she bucked party leaders to help enact an increase in the minimum wage.

And its [sic] why Lynn has worked to reduce the cost of housing so that people wanting a starter home and senior citizens wanting a home to retire in can find an affordable place to buy and call home.

Assemblywoman Lynn Daucher will never forget her working class roots.

That's why she works hard for working people and is our choice for State Senate.

Sincerely,

Lorri Galloway
Anaheim City Councilmember

Barbara Quintana
Magnolia School District Trustee

Mary Fuhrman
Buena Park Elementary
School District Trustee

Barbara Michel
Buena Park Elementary
School District Trustee

AND NOW FOR THE FACTS:

Yes, Lynn voted for Arnold's precription drug bill.

Yes, Lynn voted for Arnold's minimum wage bill.

However...

Lynn Daucher voted AGAINST requiring large employers (10,000+ employees) to spend between six percent and eight percent of its total wages, as specified, on employee health insurance costs, or pay a specified amount to the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) for deposit into the California Fair Share Health Care Fund. (SB 1414- 08/30/06)

Lynn Daucher voted AGAINST requiring the Department of Social Services (DSS) to establish categorical eligibility for food stamp benefits for Medi-Cal recipients who are eligible for services funded by the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant. This bill would have improved access to food stamps and school meals through the "categorical eligibility" mechanism. (AB 2205- 05/31/06)

Lynn Daucher voted AGAINST the landmark Global Warming Bill. This first-in-the-nation bill will take the next step needed to coordinate emission reductions of greenhouse gases and climate change activity in California. AB 32 will establish a program to log current greenhouse gas emissions in our state and set a limit/cap on those who are contributing emissions, in order to begin to reduce these emissions that are a major contributor to global warming down to 1990 levels by the year 2020. (AB 32- 08/31/06)

In 2005, Lynn Daucher got a 7% rating from the CA AFL-CIO. She only voted 7% of the time for interests of working class Californians.

In 2005, Lynn Daucher got a 44% rating from the California Association of Retired Americans. She voted less than half the time for interests of senior citizens.

In 2005, Lynn Daucher got a 20% rating from the California Sierra Club. She voted four out of five times against protecting our natural resources.

However in 2005, Lynn Daucher got a 72% rating from the California Republican Assembly. She voted about seven out of ten times with the radical right wing interests.

Should we Democrats REALLY trust Lynn Daucher to represent our interests in Sacramento? Let your friends know about this very misleading mailer.

New Jersey Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Marriage Equality (for the most part)

http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/opinions/supreme/a-68-05.pdf

Finally, some good news on our battle for equal rights.

However, don't expect same-sex nuptials in the Garden State tomorrow. The NJ Supremes are giving the state legislature 180 days to either change the state marriage laws to allow same-sex marriages, or alter the current domestic partnership laws to allow gay and lesbian couples ALL THE SAME BENEFITS as heterosexual married couples...
Basically whaever name they end up calling it, it's nonetheless marriage equality. Scott in NJ has more analysis on this developing story on Daily Kos:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/10/25/151343/19

Also, The New York Times just posted a story on this:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/25/nyregion/26marriagecnd.html?hp&ex=1161835200&en=51e657f351dfce95&ei=5094&partner=homepage

Check back here for further updates.

More Voices from the OC Supervisors' Meeting Today

Darrell Nolta, of Westminster (and always at the OC Supes' Meeting), called Tan Nguyen's treatment by the press and the elected officials a "kangaroo trial", and urged the Supes NOT to allow the Registrar to do anything regarding the "Immigrants can't vote" letter because "there is no business in which the Orange County Registrar of Voters engages in political activity."

Well, Mr. Nolta, we're not talking about "political activity"... We're talking about the Registrar doing its legal duty to assure LEGAL VOTERS that THEY CAN VOTE!

Mark Rosen, Mayor Pro-tem of Garden Grove, urged that the County needs to "take action to undo the problem" because "Tan Nguyen has polluted the [political] process."

Nicely put, Mr. Rosen.

Richard Chavez, Mayor Pro-tem of Anaheim, exclaimed that "we have a responsibility to protect our community" when he stressed the need for the County Registrar to do its duty to rectify this confusion among voters caused by Tan-gate... He later said, "There are people who could vote today, and are not because they are confused."

This is precisely what I'm concered about: Some of those 14,000+ voters may still be afraid to vote.

Nick Berardino, head of the Orange County Employees Association, urged the County Supes to allow the Registrar to send out a letter to the 14,000+ targeted voters in order to show that "we care," and that "we recognize that they have ben subjected to an unthinkable act... An attempt to disenfranchise people from the American way of life." He also offered that the OCEA reimburse the County for sending this letter.

OC Supervisor and SD 34 Candidate Lou Correa (D)

"Great idea. We'll work on that."

This was Lou's response to Lynn Daucher's offer that they both reimburse the OC Registrar of Voters for sending out the letter.

Now, Lou made a good proposal today to his fellow Supervisors on how to deal with this crisis:

He made a substitute motion [to his original planned motion to ask the Registrar to send out a correction letter] to set up a tak force headed by District Attorney Tony Rauckackas to investigate ALL EFFORTS of voter intimidation in Orange County, and that plain-clothed sheriffs monitor various random polling places and contact the task force if they spot any voter intimidation efforts. Though the other supervisors seemed willing to sign on to this, they ended up killing this proposal softly by doing nothing to put this into motion soon.

When the board was about to agrere to the toothless resolution and do nothing else, Lou said that "we need to be preemptive on voter intimidation. We need to be proactive, and create a task force."

Though Lou urged his colleagues to act on this TODAY, his fellow supervisors simply said that they "like the idea", but postponed this to the next week's meeting.

72nd District Assemblymember and SD 34 Candidate Lynn Daucher (R)

" I think the Registrar should send the letter."

When she explained what warranted the need for the county to send out a letter to the targeted voters, she simply stated, "I believe that the Tan Nguyen letter is enough warrant to send out the letter."

On the 14,000 targeted NATURALIZED CITIZENS who were targeted by the letter:

"Those immigrants who became citizens should be encouraged to vote, not intimidated."

Oh, and the kicker:

" I offer to pay half the funds of the letter if Lou pays the other half..."

That is, Lynn offered to pay half of the reimbursement of the OC Registrar for sending out the letter to the 14,000 voters if Lou and his campaign agreed to pay the other half...

This Is the Board of Supervisors' Proposed Solution to Tan-gate

Basically, they're doing nothing.

Even Lynn Daucher, the Republican running against Correa, offered to split the expense with Correa's campaign in reimbursing the OC Registrar of Voters for mailing a letter to the over 14,000 targeted LEGAL VOTERS, reassuring them that they HAVE THE RIGHT TO VOTE in this election.

Even Patrick Kelly of the OC Teamsters offered that the Teamsters could chip in toward reimbursing the County for this letter.

Even Supervisor Bill Campbell seemed to agree to this proposal that the two SD 34 campaigns (and possibly the Teamsters as well) reimburse the County for mailing this letter to the targeted voters...
It looked like there could have been a "win-win" situation...
But Supervisors Norby and Wilson objected to any county involvement in this matter oter than the meaningless resolution...
Silva remained silent...
In the end, this compromise proposal was killed.

The Orange County Registrar of Voters, the agency which should be involved in correcting this disgustingly messy situation, will be resrained from doing anything regarding this case.

What a travesty.

And just when I was about to move to other matters...

I must now "go with Tan" again!

The LA Times is now reporting that Tan personally bought the list of 14,000+ registered Latino Democrats originally born outside the US (BUT NEVERTHELESS LEGAL CITIZENS!!) from Burbank-based Political Data Inc. to be targeted with the infamous "Immigrants can't vote" letter.

More on this link: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-letter24oct24,0,4709363.story?coll=la-home-headlines

After the Debate...

Top: Military families yell, "Dana cut and run!", when they found out that Rohrabacher left the debate early.
Middle Two: Signs used by the military families during their protest
Bottom: Here are the amazing folks from Military Families Speak Out-Orange County. They are truly courageous folks... No wonder why Chickenhawk Rohrabacher is afraid to meet them!

More from the Rohrabacher-Brandt Debate

46th Congressional Democratic Candidate Jim Brandt (right) talks with a voter after the debate.


Question #4 : Homeland Security and the LA/Long Beach Port

Rohrabacher- According to Dana, “What we do overseas has a tremendous impact on the security of the ports.” He said that we need to keep terrorists outside the US, and that “my office has been proactive” by being supportive of the Iraq War. He said that his office is trying to make sure money is spent wisely, and that they're trying not to miss things regarding port security. However, he went back to the point that we need to “make sure that no one that hates our way of life.. Radical Islam hates our way of life… They will hurt us.”

Brandt- Jim stressed that “we need to focus here… Let’s put the money forward to protect attacks here.” He proposed fully funding security efforts at the LA/Long Beach Port, including first responders, the Coast Guard, and actual cargo inspections. Jim also discussed how both he and Dana agreed on a container fee for foreign cargo ships, but he mocked how Dana hasn't even tried to win support in his own party for this.

Question #5: Iraq

Brandt- Now according to Jim, “We’ve had terror since the beginning of time… We could have declared war on al-Qaeda, and we would have finished the job in Afghanistan.” However, Bush diverted our attention from the real threat in Afghanistan to go into Iraq, supposedly to rid the nation of dangerous weapons of mass destruction... However, none of those weapons were ever found! Also to make things worse, Jim added, Iraq has descended into civil war.Now Jim added his own solution to the Iraq quagmire: Start redeployment as soon as it’s safe, send soem of the troops to Kuwait and others toAfghanistan to finish the job over there. and develop a plan for oil revenue distribution among the various factions in Iraq.

Rohrabacher- Dana said tonight that “I understand why people would honestly disagree”, and added that “it might not have been the right decision at that time”. However, he also added that “we have to be careful as to how we leave” because it will "embolden our enemies if withdrawal is seen as weak." Dana the added, “Radical Islam has declared war on us... We must have an alliance with moderate Muslims, and if we leave them now, they will never trust us again.” Free elections and a constitution were “major steps forward”, and we need to remember that “there’s evil in this world… that’s not all history.”

Oh, and I have to add this! One of the questions from the audience after the main program was regarding global warming... And Dana Rohrabacher once again denied human involvement in global warming… But he then added that “I am very concerned about pollution… I want my kids to have clean air, and clean water, and clean soil… We don’t need money for studies [on climate change].”

Brandt-Rohrabacher Debate Continued

Question #2: Immigration

Rohrabacher- He claimed that the biggest problem we are facing today are the 20 million (this is his claim) "illegal immigrants" in the US. He said that we need to make sure that “we don’t provide jobs”, and added that “we should not provide social security to illegal immigrants” (I never knew we did). Dana also claimed that these immigrants are sucking up our "limited money for healthcare and education". Ultimtely, Dana said that “we need a commitment to end all benefits”, and hold employers and immigrants accountable.

Brandt- Now according to Jim, a major problem that we are facing is that baby boomers leaving the workforce, and in turn we don’t have enough workers to fill many positions. As he put it, “I try to see it as a business issue." Also, he cited national security concerns, and that these 12-13 million workers need background checks. Of course, he also cited economic concerns, especially that employers paying below prevailing wage. Basically, his solution to the immigration issue is to hire 120,000 federal prosecutors to go after immigrants with overstayed visas, as well as go after employers who are not following federal employment law. As Jim put it, “We don’t have enough people to do the work… If we had the employers paying the prevailing wage, and the prosecutors to hold them accountable, we wouldn’t have this tax problem.”

Question #3: Healthcare

Brandt- He stated that in his corporate work, numerous clients “can’t compete with Canada and Europe because of healthcare… Those countries have universal healthcare.” He also spoke about the painful reality of families that are "one accident away from financial disaster." Basically, Jim proposed a single-payer universal healthcare system for catastrophic injuries, but everything else can be a choice for private plans.

Rohrabacher- He blamed healthcare problems on immigration. He claimed that the "illegal immigrants eat up those limited health dollars”, and he also blamed "frivilous" malpractice suits and big government. Dana also mentioned that he's been working on healthcare by joining with other Republicans in support of health savings accounts... And he broke with his party to support medical marijuana.

Rohrabacher-Brandt Debate: The Beginning

Question #1: Education

Rohrabacher- He repeated that education is a local issue, and that the federal government should have no involvement in this. Also, he stated that “education money should not be spent to educate people who are here illegally”... He tried to tie this to "illegal immigration", and said that the US should no longer offer student visas to "students from China who are from a potential enemy country".

Brandt- He tried to tie this to his energy plan. According to Jim, “Energy’s the most important thing affecting us now… If we don’t become fossil fuel-independent by 2020, we’ll have a major problem.” He said that we need a new “Apollo” program, which would sponsor high-performing math and science students to go to college, and be trained to become researchers developing new technology that will bring America into the 21st century. He alsosugested that we get rid of the "No Child Left Behind" Act, because teachers are now having to teach for standardized tests instead of the real world. According to Jim, “We need folks who know how to fit things together. We need to get back to the essay exams. We need to get back to teachers who teach.”

More Photos from the Rally

Top: Our amazing DPOC Executive Director Mike Levin (center) is working hard to make sure the party's message is heard.

Middle: CA State Controller Steve Westly (D) meets the press.

Bottom: State Senator Debra Bowen (D-Marina del Rey), who also happens to be our nominee for Secretary of State, discusses the many failures of the current Secretary, including ignoring the over 500 confirmed cases of illegal voter switching to Republican. She didn't have much difficulty explaining why we need new leadership in the SoS office.

We Stand Together to Protect the Vote

Top: I'm the one behind the rather large Lou Correa sign. Coast College Trustee Candidate (and OC Precinct Captains Head Honcho) Jim Moreno is to the left of me, while DPOC Webmaster Mike Randall is slightly below and to the right of me.

Middle: Phil Angelides mentioned that even if Tan "acted alone" with his disgusting "hate mail", he most likely was inspired by Arnold's past admiration of the Minutemen and his disparaging comments about "Mexicans", as well as Bush & Co's efforts to disenfranchise minority voters in 2000 and 2004.

Bottom: DPOC Chairman Frank Barbaro addresses the crowd.

Angelides and Westly Are Here to Join Us in Protecting the Vote

From Left: CA State Controller Steve Westly (D), CA State Treasurer (and Gubernatorial Candidate) Phil Angelides (D), Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido

This morning, several prominent statewide Democrats joined local Democrats to condemn GOP Congressional Candidate Tan Nguyen's nasty "Immigrants can't vote" intimidation letter, as well as vow not to allow Tan and his extreme right-wing cohorts to succeed in scaring away Latino voters.

More Tan-o-rama!

Top: A look inside the campaign office
Middle: David Weichert, Tan's criminal defense attorney, speaks with the press
Bottom: Tan (left) walks to the front door with Bill Braniff (right), the campaign's election attorney

More Lovely Tan Pics

You know you want to see them!

The REAL Tan Letter

Here is a copy of the actual letter that Tan Nguyen sent out to over 14,000 LEGAL REGISTERED VOTERS:

You are receiving this letter because you were recently registered to vote. If you are a citizen of the U.S. we encourage you to participate in the democratic process.
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, and you will be deported for voting without having any right to do so.
At the same time, you are advised that the government of the United States is installing a new computer system to verify all new registered voters who vote in the October and November elections. Anti-immigration organizations can ask for information from this new computer system.
Unlike Mexico, here there is no incentive to vote. There is not a voter registration card in the United States. Therefore, it is useless and dangerous to vote in any election if you are not a citizen of the United States.
Do not pay attention to any politician who tells you the opposite. They are only looking out for their own interests. They only want to win elections without any regard to what happens to you.

The Supposed Original Letter

Here's the text of the "supposed original letter" that Tan claims was mistranslated when put into Spanish:

You are receiving this letter because you recently registered to vote. If you are a citizen of the U.S. we encourage you to participate in the democratic process.
However, if you are here illegally or are just a resident with a green card, you should be advised that voting in any Federal Election is a crime and may result in imprisonment, and WILL result in deportation.
In fact, the U.S. Government is in the process of installing a new computer system which will be used to check and verify all new registrants who vote in the October/November elections. Private anti-immigration organizations may also bring a law suit to have access to this new computer system.
Unlike Mexico, there is NO BENEFIT to voting. There is no VOTER CARD in the USA. It is therefore very stupid to vote in any election if you are not a citizen.
Do not pay attention to any politician who tells you anything contrary. They have THEIR OWN INTERESTS. They just want to win elections. They do not care what happens to you.

BS from Tan's lawyer

From left: Bill Braniff, Attorney for Tan Nguyen for Congress campaign; Tan Nguyen, the candidate; David Weichert, Tan Nguyen's personal criminal defense attorney

Mr. Braniff, who has now volunteered to represent the campaign, is claiming that the campaign engaged in a legal activity by sending out the now-infamous "Immigrants can't vote" letter. He claimed that Tan did not personally approve of the letter, yet he never explained how the campaign had obtained an English version of the letter. He also never let us know who exactly was behind the letter.

If you ask me, I'm not buying any of Tan's bullshit!

Tan's Trying to Spin It Away

Okay, so here's what Tan Nguyen is saying regarding this incident:

In Tan's own words, here is how he's trying to talk hisway out of total political oblivion:

1. "There was no crime committed."

2. "Someone with the campaign had a copy of the letter [to registered Latino voters] in English... It said that if you're an illegal alien or a resident alien, that you're not allowed to vote... When they translated it into Spanish, they just used 'inmigrado'."

3. Latinos still understand that "inmigrado means an illegal alien or a resident alien who's not a citizen."

4. "All the Democrats, as well as Scott Baugh, the Chairman of the Orange County Republican Party, made a rush to judgment... So why is there an investigation?"

5. "I am innocent... There is no way in hell I am quitting."

BREAKING: Tan Nguyen Remains in Campaign

Congressional Candidate Tan Nguyen, whose campaign has been implicated in the infamous Orange County "Hate Mail" mailer, has just announced that he will still be running against incumbent Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove). Tan stated that "there is no crime committed", and that "armed police terrorized my family and my campaign" when the police searched his home and his campaign office for evidence.

Stay tuned for more info...

Who would want to...

TO JAIL?!

Tan Tried to Take Her Down...

(Here I am with my amazing Congresswoman, Loretta Sanchez!)

But instead, this happened:

Lesson Learned: Don't Mess With Loretta... Especially If You're Using Sleazy and Illegal Campaign Tactics!

So Who's Making the News- More Photos from Yesterday

Top: A reporter from the Vietnamese-American media interviews one of the World Can't Wait protesters.
Middle: A Reuters reporter asks Assembly Candidate Jose Solorio (D-Santa Ana) about "The Sign".
Bottom: DPOC Chairman Frank Barbaro is being interviewed for CNN.

Even More Pics

Top: An anti-"illegal immigration" individual is engaged in a heated conflict with one of the individuals from World Can't Wait.

Bottom: Another photo I snapped of the CA DOJ raid in Tan Nguyen's campaign office.

OK, so this is what happened

Earlier today, CA Attorney General Bill Lockyer obtained a court warrant to search GOP Congressional Cadidate Tan Nguyen's campaign office. So when the previously-scheduled Tan Nguyen press conference was about to begin, Tan could not be found. Instead, CA Department of Justice agents were searching the office for evidence.

Local, national, and internet journalists were there to cover the impromptu raid. OC Democratic Party officials were there to denounce Nguyen's fear-mongering among the Latino community. Minutemen were there to condemn "illegal immigration". World Can't Wait activists were there to condemn GOP tactics of race-baiting.

I was there to take photos. View them on this site, and I will be checking in later to give you further updates.

"If you vote..."

OC Democratic Party Chairman Frank Barbaro and OC Democratic Party Executive Director Mike Levin are holding the now-infamous "If you vote, you're thrown out" sign.

More Pics from the "Press Conference"

Top: An anti- "illegal immigration" protester argues with Jay Funsch from OC World Can't Wait.

Middle: OC Democratic Party Executive Director Mike Levin talks with 69th Assembly District Candidate Jose Solorio (D).

Bottom: "Are you a resident or illegal? If you vote, you're thrown out." This sign was posted in a heavily Latino neighborhood in Santa Ana. This is another GOP attempt to intimidate Latino voters.

CA DOJ searches Tan Nguyen's office

The press conference has now been canceled.

BREAKING: Tan Nguyen, GOP Opponent of Loretta Sanchez (47th CD), Behind OC Hate Mail

TAN NGUYEN, GOP candidate for CA-47, has been revealed as "Sergio Ramirez", the maysteriuos individual who sent out all those threatening letters to Central Orange County Latinos.

LA Times:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/politics/socal/la-me-letter19oct19,0,4407313.story?coll=la-home-headlines

I never had any respect for Tan.

He threatened a blogger:
http://www.theliberaloc.com/2006/09/congressional-candidates-veiled.html

The local GOP has no respect for him (He tried running as a DEM in another district two years ago):
http://www.ocblog.net/ocblog/2006/07/switching_sides.html

Oh, and most importantly, HE'S RUNNING A DISGUSTING SMEAR CAMPAIGN AGAINST MY TERRIFIC CONGRESSWOMAN, Loretta Sanchez (D)!

But anyways, this guy is a real piece of work. He just won't stop sending my family these ridiculous hit pieces. He accuses Loretta of being a "terrorist sympathizer" because she's a friend of CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations, a MAINSTREAM civil rights group). He continually attacks her for "supporting illegal immigration" because she supports comprehensive immigration reform. He's even tried to tie Loretta to the Duke Cunningham and William Jefferson scndals (WHAAAAA??!!).

I already knew this guy is a racist...
And I already knew this guy is nuts...
I just didn't imagine that he is a criminal.

UPDATE: OC Hate Mail Incident Becoming Huge Stinker

OMG, this is getting big!
The New York Times piece: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/18/us/politics/18hispanic.html?_r=1&ref=politics&oref=slogin
AP Wire: http://www.mercurynews.com/
My friends at Orange Juice and The Liberal OC (for all the latest local buzz on this developing story): http://o-juice.blogspot.com

http://www.theliberaloc.com

Yesterday, all the blogs let you know what was happening with these horrifying pieces of "hate mail" sent to Latino voters in the Orange County cities of Garden Grove and Anaheim. Today, this story is now on the AP Wire, which means this has been sent to numerous newspapers throughout the country. Also, the New York Times has a story on this emerging scandal in today's paper. Unfortunately our local paper, The Register, doesn't seem to have a story on this incident in the paper... All I see is a post on their blog from yesterday. Nonetheless, this "Hate Mail Incident" is clearly becoming the biggest scandal to rock Orange County since... Well, since the OC GOP paid canvassers to ILLEGALLY SWITCH voters' registration to Republican starting about a year ago.
So now for the latest that I've seen on this developing story:

- Lynn Daucher, the Republican Senate candidate in SD-34, has now officially condemned the letter. ( http://www.lynndaucher.com/en/lockyer.jpg )

- Barbara Coe, President of the California Coalition for Immigration Reform, denies that her group had anything to do with this letter. Apparently, the letter was written on CCIR letterhead... Hmmm... If this is true, then the perpetraitor could face an additional fraud charge. (See AP Wire)

- Governor Arnold at least has the good sense to call this what it is: A HATE CRIME! And now, he's urging AG Lockyer to prosecute the perpetraitor with just that. (See NY Times)

- The OC Democratic Party is standing up to this nasty intimidation, and is offering a training session on Saturday for attornies, candidates, and community activists, to make sure that ALL VOTES are counted here this November. ( http://www.ocdemocrats.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=135&Itemid=9 )

- My Congresswoman, Loretta Sanchez, on the incident: "Santa Ana and Anaheim are the new Ellis Island of the United States... New people are becoming citizens every day, and who knows the sophistication level when they get a letter like this?”

I'll try to keep you updated as I find out more about this.
- Andrew Davey
Concerned OC Voter

Latino Voter Suppression in Orange County SD-34

This is happening in my home district... I know I shouldn't be shocked, but I am!
LA Times story: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-scare17oct17,0,6121284.story?coll=la-home-headlines

My friend Claudio's story on local blog, Orange Juice: http://o-juice.blogspot.com/2006/10/latino-voter-intimidation-in-34th.html

Supposedly, the California Coalitiion for Immigration Reform, a known hate group headed by known racists, has apparently sent a letter to Latino voters in MY STATE SENATE DISTRICT that has threatened "illegal aliens who vote" with arrests... And possible deportation! Here's a sample of the letter:
"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..." And remember: This was sent to US CITIZENS, who also happened to be REGISTERED VOTERS!
This is a clear attempt to scare Latinos into staying at home next month. Apparently Lynn Daucher, the Republican candidate for State Senate in my district, and her campaign were not involved in this. Also, the CCIR itself is claiming that it had no part in this mailing. Apparently the letter was on CCIR letterhead, and signed off by someone named Sergio Ramirez. California Attorney General Bill Lockyer is now investigating this illegal campaign trick.

This is clearly another sign that the local OC right-wing establishment is still trying to suppress the Latino Democratic vote. You see, Orange County right-wingers have a history of In 1988, the OC Republicans paid for security guards to stand near the polling places and intimidate Latinos. In 1996, then-Congressman "B-1" Bob Dornan cried "fraud" when he lost reelection to Democrat Loretta Sanchez. In 2005, the OC Republicans began a paid canvassing effort that paid these folks $13 a head to get new Republican voters... Apparently, several hundred of them were ILLEGALLY SWITCHED! And now, we have to deal with this letter!

This letter is clearly another illegal GOP tactic to suppress our base. They're trying to win my Senate District back after being beaten by progressive Democrat Joe Dunn TWICE (in 1998, and again in 2002)... Also, they're ultimately trying to regain enough momentum in Central OC to knock off Democrat Loretta Sanchez from Congress... Yes, THAT LORETTA SANCHEZ that beat B-1 Bob ten years ago! They know that they can't win my area fair and square, so they have to resort to dirty tricks in order to make inroads here.

If you know anyone in Central Orange County who has recieved this letter, REPORT IT TO THE AUTHORITIES! This just might be a new low in GOP dirty tricks.

CYD Walk for Lou Correa

The California Young Democrats and the Young Democrats of America are using an innovative new tool to reach out to young voters! With the Peer-to-Peer program, young people talk to fellow young people about the importance of voting in the next election. We can relate to our fellow young voters in ways that mailers and slick TV ads never can!

I'm sure you heard that young voters (age 18-30) were the ONLY age demographic group that broke for John Kerry (nationally) in 2004. If more young people voted, we'd have a Democratic White House today! This is why it's crucial that we turn out young voters in Orange County this year for Phil Angelides for Governor and Lou Correa for State Senate. WE CAN BE THE MARGIN OF VICTORY in this critical race!

Please join us on Saturday as we get out and walk for Democrat Lou Correa in SD 34. This is the closest race in California right now, and the Republicans are dumping hundreds of thousands of dollars here to turn the area "red" again. Now if the Republicans succeed here, they won't stop with our Senate District. They'll knock off our Assembly seat... And ultimately, they will go after my great Congresswoman, Loretta Sanchez (D), once again! Now I know that if we work together, we can keep central Orange County blue... That's why I'm asking for your help this weekend!

If you are interested in being the margin of victory, please contact the Young Democrat Alliance 2006 campaign office at (714) 277-4499 or email campaigndirector@youngdems.org.

Join Phil Angelides on Saturday in Orange!

Join us on Saturday at the Orange County Central Labor Council as we help ALL OUR LOCAL CENTRAL OC CANDIDATES!

From Florice Hoffman's Campaign for Congress in the 40th District:

Precinct Walking, Rally, Bar-B-Q and Fun

Please join the following candidates:
§ Phil Angelides for Governor
§ John Garamendi for Lt. Governor
§ John Chiang for Controller
§ Lou Correa for State Senate
§ Jose Solorio for State Assembly
§ Florice Orea Hoffman for Congress
…and much more!

Where:
Orange County Labor Council
2020 W Chapman Ave
Orange, CA 92868
When: 09:00 AM - 01:00 PM

To RSVP: email florice@Hoffman2006.com ,
or call Florice at 626-524-5965
http://www.Hoffman2006.com

Illegal Late-Night Calls in the 50th

Bilbray's campaign is up to their dirty tricks again in the 50th District! They have been "auto dialing" people in the 50th District with a message that sounds like it's a Busby Campaign message. Many of these calls are set to auto-dial late at night, intentionally waking people up.

I got an email from Francine Busby's campaign last night... And they're not happy with this
deceptive move:
"It's unfortunate that Brian Bilbray is resorting to these dirty tricks, but it's an indication of just how nervous he is about this election. The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) has spent over $140,000 in the last two weeks to attack me with mail pieces, auto-dialed calls and "push" polls (highly negative polls with attack messages imbedded)."

Yep, the GOPers really don't know how to win without getting dirty (and often, illegal)!

On Calitics: http://www.calitics.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=1181

On Daily Kos: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/10/13/123912/24

CA-Gov: How 'Bout that Debate?

I just finished watching the Governor's "Debate" on my local PBS station... And I didn't quite expect everything that was coming...

Of course, Ahhnuld talked his usual rhetoric... Now I DID expect that! Yes, he mentioned "tonight's the third anniversary of my election" (the recall). Yes, he constantly brough up "As an immigrant, I..." to answer at least half the question. Yes, he tried to scare us with taxes, saying "I can tell by the joy I see in your eyes that you love to raise taxes... Why don't you just say right now, 'I love increasing your taxes."' Yes, he talked about "bringing together Republicans and Democrats"... And then, he talked about Sargent Shriver's commitment to "giving back to the community" and how he shared his uncle-in-law's views on that! It's funny how he didn't want to talk about taking away rights from workers last year in his bungled special election (which he still describes as "good reform measures")...

Then there was Phil. Our Democratic candidate, Phil Anglides, talked about the failed special election last year. He reminded everyone about Arnold's attempt to privatize retirement benefits for police and fire. He reminded us of the millions of dollars Arnold has been receiving from oil comapnies, HMO companies, private developers, and other special interests that he was supposedly "free from". He reminded us of Arnold's statement to reporters a couple of weeks ago that he "has no plan" to balance the budget...

But more importantly, Phil talked about his plan to balance the budget. Angelides proposed streamlining state government and about $1 billion in waste, ending all corporate tax loopholes, and "asking the richest 1% of Californians to pay their fair share". He also compared his financial plan to Bill Clinton's in 1992... Personally, I think this is quite smart because Clinton is still VERY POPULAR on the "Left Coast"... And Bush & his cronies are not! Phil also continually brought up Arnold's special interest donors... Hmmm, so much for Arnold's "I take no crap from special interests" shtick. Overall, Arnold seemed to stick to his old rhetoric. Phil was strongly challenging Arnold on all his rhetoric and how it doesn't always reflect how he really governs. "It goes to who you can trust and whose bidding you're doing," Angelides said about Arnold's dependence on special interests. Hopefully, "average California voters" will look past the tired, old rhetoric and finally take notice of Phil's plan... And hopefully, this will be the turning point of a floundering Angelides campaign.

The AP's take (Via LA Times):

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-debate8oct08,0,2442105.story?coll=la-home-headlines

My Take on Foley-gate

Foley's another embarrassing closet case... And he now wants sympathy from us!
Now I won't try to speak for HRC and the "so-called homosexual agenda", but I am simply disgusted by him! He did nothing to help us when we needed it, and now he's only hurting us by reinforcing the "all gay men are child molesters" stereotype. He's embarrassing, and is not a part of our fine community! Foley has done nothing for our community... If anything, he's helped prop up the party that continually uses us as a "wedge issue" and a "scare tactic".
And now, he wants our help and sympathy?! HELL, NO!

He could have come out of the closet earlier! He could have sought treatment of whatever the hell the has before he started hunting after teenage pages. Many people seek help after being abused, and end up living happy and fulfilling lives. Foley could have sought professional help if he were truly abused in his past, but instead he turned to a life of preying after other young boys. Most importantly, he could have come out of his closet! Many of us do, and have never regretted it since. In fact, quite a few openly queer people are now serving their communities as elected officials. Foley never did that... Instead, he allowed the GOP leadership to keep him in the closet, and then hid behind his "Maf54" screen name to prey after minors. This is simply disgusting.

But he didn't do any of this!
And he gets no sympathy from me!
And he shouldn't get ANY SYMPATHY from any of us in the LGBT community!
He never stood with us... And now knowing all that he's a sexual predator, I don't think we would've ever wanted him standing with us!...
But anyways, we shouldn't feel obligated to stand with this sorry soul.

Some Thoughts on Abortion, And Being "Pro-life"

"There are some Chruch doctrines that one cannot disagree with without placing oneself outside the Church -- and that direct abortion is the extinguishing of an innocent unborn life is one of those... Ensuring access to affordable healthcare isn't."
- A Prominent Local Blogger

I'm sorry, but I (and many of my Christian friends and family) would beg to differ!

Personally, I feel that Democrats like Lou Correa (my next State Senator!) and Bob Casey (running for US Senate in PA!) show a genuine "pro-life" sentiment that we usually don't see:
They care about mothers before they give birth, as well as after!

Now how can one call him/herself "pro-life", and then cut funding for the Healthy Families program, which provides affordable health insurance to thousands of children in low-income families?

How can one call oneself "pro-life", and then refuse to work to REDUCE THE NUMBER OF ABORTIONS by providing comprehensive sex education in the classroom and in the community, as well as LIMIT THE AVAILABILITY OF CONTRACEPTION... Even outlawing the morning-after pill from being available over-the-counter?

How can one call oneself "pro-life", and limit these kids' future opportunities by cutting Pell Grants, Cal Grants, and other financial aid programs to send these future students to college?

I'm sorry, but I don't understand how these folks can call themselves "pro-life", and stop caring about the lives of women and children after these children are born?

My dad understands this. He's pro-life, and he cares about these kids after they're born as well.