Trung Responds To OC Register Editorial

This came over the transom a little while ago. it's a response from Trung Nguyen to the editorial in today's OC Register:

Making Ones Own Bed

By Garden Grove Unified School District Vice-President Trung Nguyen

Thursday, June 21, 2007

I was disappointed when I read the Orange County Register's June 20th editorial criticizing several good government legal battles as "lose-lose" and efforts to "destroy the re-election hopes of Janet Nguyen" – nothing could be further from the truth. Sadly, for the Republican Party and Orange County's Vietnamese community, Janet has brought these legal challenges on herself by refusing to follow the laws that every elected official in our county follows. I am frankly surprised that after Assemblyman Van Tran's and my own efforts to elect Republican Assemblywoman Lynn Daucher to State Senate last year, that anyone would accuse us of trying to "weaken the GOP." We are both passionate about freedom, good government and our conservative Republican beliefs.

But my passion for the well being of the residents of central Orange County also comes as a concerned father, a school board trustee and someone who lives and raises his family in this community – not as a former or future candidate for her office. I would hope the Register would applaud a citizen demanding that our campaign finance laws be followed and that our election process run smoothly and fairly.

The ongoing legal challenge is, simply put, to see if paper ballots that accompany the electronic voting machines will be hand counted in a close election race or recount. This precedent setting case has ramifications for national and state elections. Janet's few remaining months as Supervisor are inconsequential compared to the overall legitimacy and fairness of our democracy.   As noted in the 5/14/07 Appellate Court Opinion,

"…the legal issue involving recounts which Trung Nguyen presses to this court has statewide ramifications for the next election…the issue he presents is a highly technical one as well, which is a factor that favors proceeding by appeal, with its measured processes and opportunities to study all facets of a complex issue."

The second legal challenge is simply asking that Janet be held to the same standard that anyone who withheld campaign contributions from the public for over 50 days would be. One of these donors was a parking lot operating company who Janet voted to give a county contract to for tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars. While this may have been legal, it is exactly the type of pay-for-play influence appearance that campaign finance laws were made to alert the public to.

This type of blatant violation actually united good government bloggers on the right and the left. I am shocked that the Orange County Register does not think it is "adult" to demand transparency in our political system. I doubt the residents of Central Orange County feel the same way.

Comments

[Joe P.]

Very well put by Trung. Janet has made her own bed and now she must deal with it. Steve was out of line, especially since this is a non-partisan seat.

[What?]

Based on Fraizer's logic, a campaign would have to report an independent expenditure for every single person who walks a precinct.

But the logic is still stupid because it isn't independent. Mike Schroeder isn't independent of Trung's campaign.

The only way to make this stupid idea work is to require a value on the time of campaign volunteers and then force campaigns to reported it as an in kind contribution.

I wonder who would set the value? Would volutneer time be subject to "contribution limits." Imagine the thought, Shirley Grindle telling people how they spend their time.

[Trung is a class Act!]

Trung Nguyen is one classy guy! I saw him at the GOP Central Committee meeting (Janet was a No-Show again) and watched how well he was received as he made his way around the room thanking supporters. People like Trung and I heard many later say they are ready to work precincts for him again. Some candidates have that something special that drawas people to them, and others, I'm afraid like Ms. Nguyen...tend to turn people off with their style or lack thereof.
God Bless you Trung and know that there are many who are just waiting for you to announce your next run for office and will be out their with you again. God Bless you!

[give me a break]

Since Trung isn't typically so eloquent, let me guess: maybe Mike Schroeder wrote this diatribe?

What the Register wrote reflects what Republicans around the county are all saying: you look like vindictive little critters on this one, gang.

[Around the 1st District]

The only group that matters on this one is the those who can vote in the 1st District when Ms. Nguyen is up for re-election. Thanks for the "around the O.C." update though! Around the 1st District, Janet isn't looking so good....

[Nesta]

With all due respect "give me a break", I know quite a bit of Republicans insiders from "around the county" and most of them have no love for the newly elected Supervisor.

While I have no horse in this race, to say that they look like "vindictive little critters" for asking a county official to comply by county law is hardly justified.

[CentralOCguy]

I have been in Garden Grove for over 15 years and seen a lot of change over the years.

I am 100% sure Trung Nguyen, Van Tran strengthened the GOP by getting the people involved in politics and energized people to vote. I support T Nguyen and his lawsuit. OC Register is wrong this time.

[Paul Lucas]

RE Give me A break:

You beat me to it. If Trung Nguyen wrote this then I have a bridge in Brooklyn for sale.

[Art Pedroza]

Is Trung going to file a report showing how many "free" hours of legal services he has received? I would imagine we are looking at thousands of dollars. Won't that put each in kind contributor over the Tin Cup limits?

[Confused]

"Based on Fraizer's logic, a campaign would have to report an independent expenditure for every single person who walks a precinct."

I don't understand what that refers to. Who said anything about independent expenditures? What, or whom, is Fraizer?

[Cow]

Paul Lucas, in your case, you couldn't write something like this nor do you have any bridge to sell.

Oh I can't wait until you run for the Garden Grove City Council. Hopefully you will do better than your last attempt at public office.

[Re: Art Pedroza]

Is Janet going to file a report showing how many "free" hours of blog service she has received from volunteer (like Schroeder) Art Pedroza? I would imagine we are looking at thousands of dollars. Won't that put each in kind contributor over the Tin Cup limits?

[Re Art Pedroza]

Art,
Phil's and your logic was Janet did not possess the check how could she report them? If applied to Trung, how can he report and return in-kind service? Keep waiting, I bet you it will take him more than 50 days to respond to your inquiry.

Are you going to start a banner soon?

[Jaime]

Trungs' letter is correct in that he was a true winner of 1st District election. All real Republicans must vote for "JUSTICE" by voting for Trung in next year's election.

[Jubal]

To Give Me Break and Paul Lucas:

So, because an immigrant has a strong accent, then he/she can't possibly write well in English?

I've e-mailed with Trung and his correspondence is typically very well written, and in all likelihood he wrote the above piece himself.

[Janet is a RINO]

Janet and her peeps will do whatever they can to try to get the focus off of her and her legal problems. What I want to see is who will sign their name to a positive comment on this site other than Art and others who have something to gain from it. Where are the Republicans who love her and want her to get re-elected?? Some may have had their arms twisted and given some token post election donation but where is the love for Janet Nguyen? The only group that I see growing is the ABJ's, Anyone But Janet and it's filled with Rep.'s and Dem.'s. Janet is a big RINO and anyone who thinks that by voting for her they are somehow standing up for Republican values is mistaken.

[Cow]

Well not everyone hates Janet in the GOP, at least the ATLAS PAC is still supportive of her, haha.

By the way, Trung Nguyen isn't the person appealing this case - the official person is name Can Nguyen, a resident of the 1st District.

So if the Dark Lord want to provide free legal service to someone who does not hold elected office, he's free to do so and that person doesn't have to report anything!

I dont remember a certain Mr. Feather in Garden Grove reporting any kind of services he got from Fred Woocher.

To Janet: Next time think twice before you want to play dirty with the Trannies. Some Republicans in this county sure does have a short memory of you teaming up with a Democratic attorney, I would call out Steve Greenhut on it but then again he left the GOP already...

[FLowerszzz]

Nice letter! I am glad he stuck up for himself. For those that think it is "no biggie" to take illegal campaign dollars we can see where your integrity lies. If it was Carona, Pulido, Bustamante, Richardson you would STILL be having a cow over it and would be for years to come.

As for saying well the issue was corrected. Yes it was some 50 days later! That is at least a $500 fine and a good hit piece. It's just silly and I don't get why they did that.

[Brett Nemeth]

Van Tran and Trung Nguyen definitely deserve our thanks for energizing the electorate and increasing republican registration.

But, it is clear that Mike Schroeder, Van Tran and Trung Nguyen are damaging our chances of holding this seat in Republican hands. Janet Nguyen and her lawyers made major mistakes but the actions of Trung Nguyen, et. al. are clearly vindictive.

I would definitely support Van Tran for taking on Loretta Sanchez, but my excitement for him for other offices may be impacted the longer this goes on.

[Bye Bye GOP]

Joe Dunn will have to buy Van Tran and Trung a cigar for clearing the way for him to the take the county seat. YIPEEE!!!

[Re Brett Nemeth]

Brett,

I would not venture too far to say because of Mike Schroeder's, Van Tran's and Trung Nguyen's actions that Janet now has no chance to win this seat for Republicans. She dug her own grave. She made so many mistakes in less than 100 days in office. Would all Republican voters support her even without any infightings? I doubt. The voters in Central OC and particularly from Vietnamese American commnunity do not affiliate with any partisan ideology. So, the seat is up for grab.

Now if Joe Dunn runs that would be fun to watch and to see whether the soothsayers are right this time. They were wrong last time. Any takers?

[Give me a break]

WAAAAAYYYYYY out of bounds, Jubal... that's liberal democrat race-baiting B.S. you're pulling right there. You know who I am and you'd better know that was not my point. I'll look forward to your personal apology next time we speak.

I've never seen him write, only heard him speak/answer questions and answers came one word at a time. Also, the article sounded exactly like the arguments Schroeder is making to all who will listen.

Back atcha, by the way: what is it, Jubal, no one is allowed to utter a negative word on this blog about Schroeder or some of your old time political operative pals?

[Janet cannot win]

I’m a yellow dog Republican in Partisan races but to act as if Republicans should vote for Janet because she is a registered Republican in this non-partisan race is a joke. She is not a conservative and would if she changed political parties tomorrow she would feel right at home with the more moderate Democrats. Where are the Republican leaders in Orange County who are willing to make public statements of support for Janet? Oh I know Scot Baugh has twisted a couple of arms so she could pay back a portion of her debt but I don’t see the enthusiastic giving that should be taking place. There are several elected officials who post on this blog and I have not seen them step and make a statement. They don’t because Janet is not a conservative and just barely a Republican. No amount of spin by her friends or name calling towards Van Tran or Trung Nguyen is going to change that! You would think that she would have a long list of people lined up by now to defend her but instead she is in the fight of her life just trying to get Republicans support. Whether it’s Joe Dunn, or Claudia Alvarez or Miguel Pulido, Janet is not going to hang on to this seat. As Republicans we would be much better off supporting candidates in other races that really have a chance to win. Janet won a fluke special election with a very low turn out and it will never happen like that again for her.

[FLowerszzz]

Re: Give me a break................
Give ME a break! Your over reaction to Jubal on your anonymous post is a bit over the top.

[Paul Lucas]

Jubal,
Thats a Red Herring statement. I never said anything about Trungs accent. I have gotten to know Trung a bit over the last few months and I am familiar with his vocabulary and inflections. This letter is written by someone else.

Trung does not speak like this, in this tone, or in this style. If he did write this it would necessitate him taking several days off of work to get it to this level of writing. In no way could Trung write this in one day to respond to an op-ed in the daily paper.

Your statement about his accent is indicative of your own racism, and a veiled attempt to paint me as a racist. Anyone who has met me, including Trung would tell you in a nano-second that I am not a racist.

[FLowerszzz]

Paul - Who fricken cares? Have you not written a letter and then had someone edit it? Besides it would not be the first time an attorney helped his client with a letter? I don't get the point of even bringing it up if other then to make fun of him and his accent...probably much the same way people tease our Governor. There really was NO other conclusion to yours or give me a breaks statements.

By the way Trung is, I believe, an engineer, has many degrees and is VERY intelligent.

[Jubal]

Paul and Give Me A Break:

I never accused either one of you of being a bigot or racist.

It was both of you who made the unfounded claim that Trung couldn't have possibly written that response, and you both based your claims on Trung's lack of verbal eloquence. part of the reason Trung comes off as ineloquent is because he has an strong accent.

That said, although I did not imply and do not believe bigotry underlay either comment, I'll concede I read too much into those comments' citing of Trung's verbal ineloquence.

At the same time, neither of you have any basis or evidence for claiming Trung couldn't have possibly written that response. Maintaining that people "write the way they talk" or that someone who doesn't speak eloquently cannot write eloquently is unfounded. Does a stutterer write the way he/she talks?

I've known people who speak with ease and clarity, but have great difficulty communicating in the written word. I once worked with a press secretary who was a terrific verbal communicator but incapable of writing even the simplest press release.

Conversely, some folks write with great eloquence that -- for whatever reason -- escapes them when they speak.

[Karl Rove]

Jubal,

Don't get baited by these guys into turning this discussion into some sort of racial issue. You don't need to justify what you wrote. And as far as writing how we speak, thank God GW doesn't write the way he talks.

[Paul Lucas]

Flowerz, Juabl, and karl Rove:

Trust me the old adage that "if you say it long enough and loud enoug , it becomes truth" isnt actual reality.

It was a Red Herring and you keep piling Red Herrings on top of it like a Norweigian with the munchies.

[Jubal]

Trust me the old adage that "if you say it long enough and loud enough , it becomes truth" isn't actual reality.

You might heed your own counsel.

[Paul Lucas]

Red Herring # 1
"and you both based your claims on Trung's lack of verbal eloquence."
I never said anything about his "lack of elocquence" I simply stated that I don’t believe he could have written this letter based on my experience with his writings and conversations.

Red Herring # 2 As well as strong Deflection(s)
"part of the reason Trung comes off as ineloquent is because he has an strong accent."

Your words not mine nor Give me a Breaks words.

Deflection #2
"At the same time, neither of you have any basis or evidence for claiming Trung couldn't have possibly written that response"

My basis is in the direct experience of my own with several conversations and reading of his writings (a fact I admit I admit I neglected to mention)

Let me set the record straight, I don’t hold any ill will towards Trung. In fact, I’ve made an effort to try and get to know the guy over the last few months when I see him at community events. He knows this and I know this. The only ones who don’t seem to know this are You, Matt, and the rest of the blogosphere. Hell even me and Van talk at length at community events.

I think Trung is in his core a decent guy. He has shown this to me by being gracious and decent at community events. I think he is thrusted in this squabble between Janet and the rest of the world as a sort of pawn used by big giants fighting each other.

So when my words get twisted like they have been in this thread I think I need to clear the air. When I state that I know that Trung didn’t write this letter, it is my belief that Trung is being used as a tool for Mike Schroeder and Van Tran to attack Janet for reasons only they can attest to.

Know this; I am simply saying that I don’t believe in anyway that Trung wrote this letter. My basis for this statement is nota judgment on Trungs vocabulary or command of the English language. It’s based on the fact that by reading this letter, I am seeing the tell tale marks of another person I know. In fact, the tone, verbiage, inflections, are the exact pattern used by a Republican Lawyer I know whose name I wont say but I am sure you can figure it out.

Kind of like the viewer is able to tell that its Clark Gable in the Superman suit while Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane are asking "where the hell is Clark?"

All the best,

Paul

[Paul Lucas]

Sorry I meant Clark Kent not Clark Gable

[Flowerszzz]

Ok Paul - Again then I ask - WHO CARES if he wrote it all by himself or with the assistance of HIS attorney?

That is kinda the whole point to why we are jumping all over you. If you are involved in a legal preceeding, and you have an attorney and you are going to make a public statement, would it NOT be prudent to "run" by your attorney?????