OLBERMANN: And speaking of election tactics, one classic attempt to defraud and disenfranchise voters in California is now backfiring on the Republican contender who allegedly attempted it.
It started with this letter, sent to as many as 14,000 Democrats in Orange County, California, many of them Hispanic. It reads, obviously in Spanish, “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.”
The letter came from the campaign office of Republican candidate Tan Nguyen, who is trying to unseat Democratic Congresswoman Linda Sanchez in California’s 47th District, and who himself immigrated to this country, having fled Vietnam with his family, in 1973.
Nguyen is denying any personal knowledge of the flyer, telling “The Orange County Register” that a rogue staffer was responsible, quoting, “Evidently an employee took it upon herself to allow our database to be used to send out the letter. It was disseminated without my authorization or approval. The employee has been discharged.”
But even his fellow Republicans aren’t buying the old blame-it-on-a-staffer chestnut, the Orange County GOP executive committee voting unanimously today to call for Nguyen to drop out of the race, the chairman telling the Associated Press, quote, “I learned information that allows me to draw the conclusion that not only was Mr. Nguyen’s campaign involved in this, but that Mr. Nguyen was personally involved in expediting the mailer.”
Joining us now is Norberto Santana, Jr., an investigative reporter for that newspaper we mentioned, “The Orange County Register.”
Thank you for your time tonight, sir.
NORBERTO SANTANA, JR., “THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER”: Thanks for having me on, Keith.
OLBERMANN: Given that even his own party does not believe he’s innocent and wants him out of the this race now as a result, is it pretty much a given tonight that Mr. Nguyen will drop that candidacy?
SANTANA: Well, it’s tough to know what Tom will do. He’s been a little bit of an unconventional candidate from the beginning. He was pretty much self-financed, giving his campaign more than half a million dollars. He is scheduled to hold a press conference tomorrow. I think at this point, his biggest problem are the swirling investigations being conducted by the state attorney general, the secretary of state, and now the Department of Justice.
OLBERMANN: Was the seat pretty safely Democratic anyway, or is this latest scandal potentially, you know, played a part in the possible shift of power in the House of Representatives?
SANTANA: It was a pretty safe Democratic seat. Loretta Sanchez was reelected by a handy margin a few years ago. I don’t think there was any question that Tom was going to make a competitive run at it.
Where it could have serious implications is in the 34th state senate district here in California. Republicans have narrowed registration gap there, making it even with Democrats. And that race is pretty much a toss-up at this point. I think there are a lot of Republican concerns that this could backfire on them in that race, and some Democratic aspirations that it could energize their base.
OLBERMANN: But, obviously, in terms of this letter, you don’t put the toothpaste back in the tube, regardless of whether or not Nguyen drops out. Is the damage, to some degree, already done? I mean, will there not be some American citizens, some voters in Orange County, who think they can’t vote because they immigrated here?
SANTANA: That’s a good point. and it’s already something that’s being discussed in a pretty heated nature. One supervisor has already talked about, here at the county level, asking the registrar of voters, as has requested the Democratic Party chairman here in Orange County, for them to send out letters to every single voter that got one of these letters, advising them that it is indeed legal for them to vote if their status in this country is legal.
Some Republicans are raising concerns that that might be seen as a taxpayer-funded get-out-the-vote for local Democrats. So it’ll be interesting to see how that shapes up.
OLBERMANN: Has there been a significant community response in Orange County to that letter?
SANTANA: Oh, the response here, on both sides of the immigration issue, which we’re pretty much front and center on nationally, has been extremely heated. Many residents that have—that see illegal immigration as an issue for them have absolutely poured in commentaries, wondering what’s wrong with pointing out that people whose status is not legal can’t vote?
On the other side, the Latino community has just been absolutely outraged. Nationwide Latino activist groups have been writing letters insisting that DOJ look at it. Here tomorrow, I believe, there’s also a press conference being held by local activist leaders, even though some in the Vietnamese community has been distancing themselves from the mailer.
OLBERMANN: An extraordinary event. Norberto Santana, Jr., investigative reporter for “The Orange County Register.” Great thanks for your reporting and for your time tonight, sir.
SANTANA: Thanks for having me, Keith.
OLBERMANN: And still, there is the Mark Foley investigation. The House Ethics Committee hears more details about who really knew what, when. Mr. Hastert’s name has come up again. And how many other congressmen may be directly involved?
And what in the world is happening at Homeland Security, publicizing threats that cannot possibly pass the smell test? Dirty bombs at football stadiums, except one of the stadiums mentioned does not even exist.
You are watching COUNTDOWN on MSNBC.
