‘The Vietnamese Are Coming!’: An Interview with California Congressional District 47’s Van Tran
Does Loretta Sanchez’s, shall we say, colorful recent history, shed some light on the character of the person?
Intimate revelations about her recent past point to one quite comfortable using a position of power for personal gain and otherwise. Partying it out at the Playboy Mansion with Hugh Hefner raised eyebrows in her district, as she has repeatedly claimed a busy schedule keeps her away from constituent-queries and concerns. Hefner even “tweeted” the occasion. “Hunk Night” and bizarre Christmas mailers (like the “Pet The Cat” card, left, or the one featuring her husband from whom she was already legally separated) are also part of Sanchez’s odd repertoire.
Sanchez is seen as something of a sultry “sex-crazed, Latina-poodle,” to borrow a phrase, from those in-the-know, yet her comments strike far beyond the district’s interest in sultry sex and congressional privilege.
CD-47 is home to predominantly blue-collar minorities — 65% Hispanic and nearly 15% Vietnamese. Sanchez’s key vulnerability this November is her perceived lack of accomplishment and effectiveness across all ethnic lines in the district. And despite her myriad attempts of outreach to the Vietnamese community (even dressing in traditional Vietnamese garb at the yearly Tet Festival), her racial comments have now put her at risk of losing a sizeable portion of that vote.
This week I checked out the Van Tran campaign and the unique, multi-faceted man running for Congress.
What I found when I spoke with Assemblyman Tran on Friday is a soft-spoken guy. He is articulate, non-lawyerly (even though a J.D.), and in touch with issues that resonate throughout his district and America – jobs, the economy, the future of the nation. I also found a man that is more than ready, able, and willing to call out his opponent’s recent inflammatory racial admission.
“What would you like to talk about today, Tim? I might have an idea but I’m not sure,” said the assemblyman, jokingly.
I broke the ice: “Well, I’m really not quite sure — a little birdy told me that someone running against a certain someone in Orange County said something quite off-the-reservation.”
We both laughed; it was a great start to an interview.
“Oh yes, our office got a flood of inquiries — we almost couldn’t believe it,” said Van Tran. “We went over the Spanish translation over and over to make sure that what we were reading was true. We couldn’t believe that a veteran member of Congress would go to this length to slander her opponent.”
He continued: “Voters don’t want to see this kind of racial politics — it’s simple. Loretta Sanchez should be talking about jobs and the economy. It was a racial rampage and unbelievable, what she said.”
I asked him whether he took the Loretta Sanchez attack personally or as an attack against his constituents.
“I take it personally, especially that she said I was ‘anti-immigrant,’” he said. “I share the same aspirations and dreams as Hispanic immigrants do.”
This brings us to another amazing aspect of the assemblyman’s congressional run. Born in 1964, Van Tran and and his family narrowly escaped Saigon at the end of the war in Vietnam. Only a week before the fall of Saigon, U.S. troops evacuated the family from the area. They then immigrated to the United States, the American Dream within their grasp.
A local resident touched on this:
“People like Van Tran are a product of industrious refugee parents and carry lessons of hard work, the value of education, and respect for their new country wherever they go,” said William Phinnizy, a resident of CD-47’s Fountain Valley, blogger, and local activist. He continued:
In 1975, when Saigon fell, many — if not most — Vietnamese refugees fled SEA and were accommodated by our government down at the Marine base at Camp Pendleton. They lived in a tent community before being relocated to various parts of the country. Many opted, for example, for the Texas along the Gulf where they augmented the Texas shrimping fleet.
Many moved up to nearby Westminster, California, and opened businesses in an area that became known as Little Saigon, where Van Tran still does business as well.
Besides, they brought Pho to the adoring masses. Sometimes I believe I cannot subsist without it.
William’s account pointed to an outlook on the uniqueness of America lost to many. What better appreciation can one have for freedom than to have experienced, as an immigrant, the precise opposite?
The “anti-immigrant” attack by Loretta Sanchez couldn’t have been directed toward a less-deserving or more inappropriate target. It is the lowest level of identity politics that one can comprehend.
Says Van Tran: “Even worse is that implicit in her statement, she said: ‘That’s my seat.’”
“It’s the people’s seat, and she still hasn’t apologized to me or my campaign personally. She offered up a lame explanation and we are still waiting for an apology,” said the assemblyman, thus closing our brief chat.
As I pondered these things late Friday evening, I noticed that the Orange County Register reported that Congresswoman Sanchez had apologized for her “anti-immigrant’’ and “Vietnamese are coming” comments.
A Friday night apology for blatantly racist remarks. It’s not exactly the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere.
Geez, when will we get it right: All seats in Congress belong to the progressives/Dems?
SANCHEZ NEEDS TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR HER WORDS IN A “PUBLIC” FORUM.
She should be questioned publically where everyone can hear, exactly how racists is she?
Had she been a white woman and Tran a black man, the ACLU, Sharpton, etcetcetcetc would be all over her campaign.
No matter the back tracking by her campaign people, she said it and she now owns the words and thought.
In 1964, Van Tran and and his family narrowly escaped Saigon at the end of the war in Vietnam.
Huh? The war ended with the fall of Saigon in 1975, not 1964! I’ve seen hundreds of refererences to the Fall of Saigon in 1975 over the years. Isn’t this pretty well known by now?
I HATE errors like this. Whenever I see something this obviously incorrect, it makes me question the accuracy of everything else in the whole article….
Dude, read closer…it says “BORN in 1964, Van Tran…” Slow down and absorb what you’re reading before ranting and looking foolish.
Sorry dude, I guess I should follow my own advice and read. I didn’t realize the article had been corrected to read “Born in…”. My bad. Humble apologies.
Read it again!! It says: Born in 1964 not In 1964: The error is yours.
Henry,
You make a point. However, I recommend you start blogging in addition to your family, day job, hobbies, golfing, spending time with friends, etc. Put up a post about something that stirs your passion or your ire after gathering facts, other opinions, and the like. Once you hit “publish” go back and look at it and see if there are corrections to be made or factual errors to be amended.
Nine times out of ten, I am willing to bet you will find some real howlers.
I know I have — and Tim does as well. He’s just a regular citizen soldier like you and I are except he works to a deadline along with being hounded by a business he must conduct to pay the bills. Poor excuse I realize, but VDH and the others here have been journalists for years and know the ropes. Writing and reportage and opinionizing have been their bread-and-butter for most of that time.
Frankly, when I read the “In 1964..” (before correction) was not a blown fact but rather an error.
A blown fact would be Sanchez getting on Univision and — in Spanish — trying to scare her Hispanic constituents into believeing that there was a Yellow Horde marching over from Bolsa and Warner in Westminster to Fifth and Main in Santa Ana to deprive them of “their” seat in Congress.
The woman is just a flat-out racist fact-bender and that was the point of Tim’s article.
Good catch, Henry. That should’ve read “Born in 1964…” It does now.
I’d vote for a Vietnamese candidate in Florida. Eating cats is part of their heritage. Not much difference between cats and Democrats.
Honestly, to paraphrase a very famous black preacher, I care more about the content of a candidate’s character than I do the color of their skin… or, for that matter, the shape of their eyes.
You got a ‘prejudice’ against fur?
Cybergeezer – come on, man – good Lord, Vietnamese Americans don’t eat cats. You are totally wrong too – cats have MUCH more class and brains than Democrats.
Okay! I defer. You’ve got a valid point.
Yea; I didn’t think that through; Democrats gotta taste just like what they were talking about on ‘South Park’ last night.
Weren’t the Sanchez sisters under investigation for ethics charges some time ago? Whatever happened with that, or am I thinking of someone else?
One other slight error; his family emigrated to the United States. Something tells me they did it the old-fashioned way—legally!
Yea! That’s grounds for front page criticism, and probably RACIST!!!
Fred – Well said on the ‘legal’ immigration aspect to the story.
However, the Tran family emigrated from Vietnam, therefore immigrated – to – the United States.
What? According to Orange County Register, Loretta Sanchez has since apologized for her comments! Give me a break! I guessed she has apologized only to the American public on American MSM. On the contrary Sanchez has tried to spin the incident by sending her explanation letter to many Vietnamese news papers in Orange County, In which she translated her comment differently as follow: “…There was a Vietnamese group (which supported my opponent) and Republican party trying intensely to take back our district…” Instead as you heard on Video clip “…The Vietnamese and the Republican are – with intensity – …trying to take away this seat…”
So, she divided Vietnamese in O.C. into many different groups. It sounds like the scheme during the Frenchh colonial era, the French divided Vietnamese into three different parts: Northern (Tonkin), Central (Annam), and Southern (Cochinchine) for better conquest and convenient governing. Also, I couldn’t find any apology sentence in her letter, but all the attack and vilification continuously against Van Tran. I think she should fire the idiot who wrote that stupid letter because it couldn’t clarify anything, neither winning the Vietnamese constituency’s mind and heart, but made them more much angry. I didn’t belong to the “Vietnamese group, which supports Van Tran,” I supported Pham Xuan Quang candidate who unfortunately has quit the race. Guess what “Vietnamese group” I belong now! :0)))
BTW, Her Spanish accent is terrible, and this is a “Godsent” to Van Tran!
T.D.Pham – I would love to see the explanation letter that you speak of, sent out to OC papers. Do you have a link for that? Thanks for the tip.
@ Left Coast Rebel: Sanchez’s “damage control” letter to the Vietnamese community has been written in Vietnamese language. Of course you need some else to translate. You can find the letter at this link:
http://peoplevoiceonline.com/~/goto/tam-thu-cua-dan-bieu-lien-bang-loretta-sanchez-1488.aspx
This long letter has been written by an amateur “spin doctor,” sort of Vietnamese sycophant. Not an apalogy letter, but a “propaganda leaflet! In a way, they think the Vietnamese readers are STUPID!
Thank you for that, T.D. – I am tucking that one away!
“..Her Spanish accent is terrible..”
And her mannerisms and demeanor is incredibly off-putting as well.
Why isn’t there a link to his contributions page?
Tim:
Did he say what his positions on Obamacare repeal, taxation, government regulation, entitlements, fiscal responsibility, abortion and illegal immigration are? I couldn’t find them on his website.
Doodad: Van Tran is for a solid conservative on every point you mention here. I am not aware of his position on entitlements. The OC Register:
Mr. Tran said he would address those issues by reducing restrictions on small business and cutting taxes. “As a state assemblyman I have worked to make it easier for small businesses to hire, gotten rid of regulations and fee structures. … That is what I would do at the federal level.”
He opposes the original federal stimulus package – the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – because he said it is full of pork and imposed more debt and other burdens on the economy than opportunity for job creators.
Mr. Tran said the 47th District is a perfect example of the failings of government stimulus spending because jobs promised for the district have not materialized. Mr. Tran similarly opposes the government bailouts and the Obamacare health care reform program.
Human Events:
Tran compiled a solidly conservative voting record and was unafraid to defy liberal GOP Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on numerous tax and spending issues.
Now Tran is his party’s nominee against liberal Democratic Rep. Loretta Sanchez, who first went to Congress in 1996 by unseating his old boss Dornan in a much-disputed outcome. To call Tran and Sanchez (lifetime American Conservative Union rating: 9.49%) polar opposites is no exaggeration. Whether the issue is TARP money for bailouts, stimulus money, “cash for clunkers,” or tax dollars for Planned Parenthood, Sanchez will be voting the Obama-Pelosi line without hesitation.
Van Tran is against amnesty as well and has a solid record on pro life stances and is against gay marriage.
Thanks a lot. Now I will go contribute.
“I used a poor choice of words that some people have taken as offensive. Let me say as clearly as I can that if, through my inarticulate use of the language, I offended anyone, I apologize for those remarks.” — Loretta Sanchez
That’s isn’t an apology. That’s yet another “I’m sorry you misunderstood me” waffle from a Democrat. (see also Obama, Kerry. et al)
“I absolutely hate the idea of apologizing but if I have to I will make it still sound like it’s completely your fault that I had no choice but to say this is a Vietnamese conspiracy. As a brown-skinned person, it insults me deeply that anyone would think me prejudices against a person just because of the shape of their eyes.”
It is one of the great ironies of American life that the two officially repressed minorities, blacks and Hispanics, are probably more prejudiced than all other minorities and non-minorities. La Raza, blah blah.
http://joinvantran.com/
I clicked on the link to Rep. Sanchez’s Christmas cards. One look at them will tell you – it’s all about her. The cards have “spoiled brat” written all over them.
Also, I don’t trust people who anthropomorphize their pets.
The similarities between the Scott Brown race and this one are fascinating. Incumbent we-know-best silver-spoon democrats will learn a tough lesson this election season.
It shows just how racist she is and how racist she thinks, or knows, her constituents are.
That was an awesome blog post, I still remember this female buffoon stealing B52 Bob’s seat. I miss his candor.
Thanks, Goon!
Dirty Sanchez,that’s nasty:O
Oh my, oh my, I came across that term from several of her constituents. Not fit to print at Pajamas Media though
.
I remember watching Bob Dornan on C-SPAN and on various news programs when I was a teenager, and he was so outspoken and charismatic that he was one of my favorite politicians. So I was shocked, shocked when he lost his seat to, of all people, Loretta Sanchez, who is 180 degrees diferent from Bob. How could a district that reelected conservative Bob Dornan so many times abruptly switch the very liberal Loretta Sachez? That was so bizarre. If that district now switches back to a Republican again, its citizens should be rounded up en masse and subjected to psychiatric evalutions for being so fickle and whimsical and perhaps for suffering from a mass lunacy. THAT is one weird district.
Speaking of California representatives, last night David Dreier gave an outstanding and impassioned speech on the floor of the House, superbly expressing the positions of the Republican Party on several different issues. If you get a chance to watch a rerun of his speech on C-SPAN, I’m sure that you will enjoy it, and that it will further fire you up to vote for Republicans in the forthcoming midterm elections. Please, PLEASE vote.
Disregarding my own proclivities for a moment (Sanchez is a racist who should never hold a political position agsin); Sanchez’s actions show that she is desperate to hold her position, she has no substance so she must try to rally her fellow latinos with the Us against them mentality, this time she’s using race and trying to dismiss it. You know the old saying, during times of struggle and challenge peoples true character comes out, nuff said…