Many observers believe that the turning point in Scott Brown’s inspiring Senate win in January was when he was able to shake-loose the Democratic narrative that somehow he was trying to take away “Ted Kennedy’s Seat” form the Democrats. His brilliant response, “It’s the PEOPLE’S seat” became a campaign slogan and, eventually, the theme of his victory speech.
Are we now witnessing another such moment in Orange County California?
Democratic Rep. Loretta Sanchez appeared on Spanish-language Univision to appeal to her most important voting base: Latino voters. Perhaps with a false assumption that only Latinos from the left were listening, she let slip an offensive and patronizing charge: The Vietnamese are trying to take the seat from Latinos.
Rep. Sanchez district has seen an enormous influx of Vietnamese immigrants over the past two decades. There have often been tensions between the Latino population and the new arrivals from Asia. Because the vast majority of Vietnamese immigrants arrived here seeking refuge from a communist, totalitarian regime, they tend to lean more to the right than their Mexican counterparts.
