In the House of Representatives congressional elections coming up in six weeks, there are any number of battles being fought over hotly-contested ideas. But of course on both sides there will be partisan "base" voters who will be expected to vote straight party line out of loyalty and/or tradition. For Democrats, these are often voters called "Yellow Dogs" since they will vote for yellow-colored dog running on the Democratic ticket over any Republican.
But every now and again, a candidate comes along to test the loyalty of even the most partisan. Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) is one of them. At what point does a Democrat cross the line and is no longer fit for support?
Democratic House Rep. Loretta Sanchez holds a seat in Orange County, California. She won it in the 1990's by beating GOP incumbent Robert Dornan. It was a tremendous victory at the time for progressives given Dornan's appalling right-wing views. It was also a milestone for Latino voters in Orange County, California, who were able to elect their first Latino House Representative in this long-time conservative bastion. I am very familiar with the OC area, having grown up there.
Sanchez has a mixed record in terms of her effectiveness in office. I won't go into that. Certainly, she is not alone in that regard among Democratic incumbents. And one has to make allowances for seats held in otherwise "red" GOP dominated regions of the U.S. (although Orange County is undergoing a shift away from that historic GOP dominance).
But in a recent pronouncement shown in a Univision (Spanish language) reel Sanchez declares "the Vietnamese and Republicans" are trying to take the Congressional seat from the Latino community (which Sanchez claims to embody). This seems to cross the line. See the article and video clip here:
http://blogs.ocweekly.com/...
Sanchez is facing a strong challenge from a very right wing GOP candidate of Vietnamese origin, Van Tran. I don't know a whole lot about him, but he sounds pretty bad. On policy, Sanchez is a better choice. The election seems close, about two points lead for Sanchez over Tran if the latest poll is accurate.
But that Sanchez video clip, if in context and accurate, is one of the worst examples of ethnic divisiveness I have ever seen.
Bear in mind that the Voting Rights Act, which helped create the majority Latino voter district currently held by Sanchez, does NOT, as is inaccurately described at times, make a district into a "Latino" (or African American or whoever) seat. Instead, the VRA works to provide minority voters a fair opportunity to elect "the candidate of their choice." That candidate can be whomever, of whatever background or origin.
When the VRA gets distorted by minority candidates, it can be a nasty business. You have Latino or African American incumbents and challengers complaining that others are trying to take a "black seat" or a "Latino seat." This is identity politics at its worst and it is frankly as un-American as what the VRA was enacted to combat, which was white suppression of non-white voters.
The Sanchez statement presents one of the starkest challenges I have ever seen to the notion that you have to hold your nose and vote Democrat on policy grounds.
There are larger issues involved here than holding a Democratic House seat. Sanchez' comment was directed at Vietnamese origin voters in her district. She is making a desperate appeal to ethnic rivalries and prejudices. There is no excuse for this.
Has she crossed the line to where she is no longer worthy of Democratic support? Sure looks like it.
I would welcome thoughts on this, especially from those who live in OC and/or in Sanchez' district.