Alleged Racism versus Real Bigotry

The Van Tran PR machine is really pushing a story that comments made by Rep. Loretta Sanchez were racist in some way against Vietnamese supporters of Van Tran.  It’s clearly time for candidates like Phu Nguyen and Bao Nguyen to step up to the plate and denounce Van Tran’s smear tactics.  And while we’re at it, let’s remind voters in CD-47 that Van Tran is a bigot.  His announcement after the recent Prop 8 ruling is a signed confession of his bigotry.

From Van Tran’s statement in early August:

After Judge Walker’s ruling, Assemblyman Tran responded, “Today Judge Walker showed his outright contempt for California’s voters. The initiative process was designed to ensure the people of California have an opportunity to bypass the legislature and courts when these institutions fail to represent them. Instead of respecting that clear voice, a judicial activist has undermined the will of voters.”

“This is a radical action, attempting to throw out the vote of the people and change the rules after the fact.”

“The battle for the merits of Proposition 8 is over,” continued Tran. “We had an open, fair election of Proposition 8 and it was passed by California’s voters in a historic election. The judiciary must learn to respect those results.”

Not being satisfied with the results of two separate elections in the past eight years (Proposition 22 in 2000 and Proposition 8 in 2008,) Judge Walker ruled against the voters who approved Proposition 8 by 52 percent of the vote. The 47th Congressional district voted to protect traditional marriage by an even greater margin of 63% to 37%. The case will now head to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Proposition 8 was a simple measure adding 14 words to the California Constitution, “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” It was placed on the ballot after submitting 1.12 million signatures, nearly double the 694,354 required. Proposition 8 then passed with 52.3% of the vote, in an election with the largest turnout statewide since 1976.

So let’s replace the word “gay” in front of marriage and replace it with “Vietnamese.”  Would Van Tran support a vote of the people to forbid Vietnamese marriage? 

And let’s not forget all the racist and bigoted things uttered by Van Tran’s former boss, B-1 Bob Dornan.  I sure don’t recall Van Tran uttering a word of disapproval for his old boss who said things like:

“People elected a governor and I have a screaming transvestite in my ear.” – Bob Dornan

“Every lesbian spearchucker is hoping I get defeated.” — Bob Dornan

During a House debate in 1994, Dornan outed fellow Republican representative Steve Gunderson, accusing him of having a “revolving door on his closet.”

In a 1986 U.S. House speech, he called Soviet journalist Vladimir Posner a “disloyal, betraying little Jew who sits there on television claiming that he is somehow or other a newsman.”^  This was the only statement Dornan apologized for, saying, “That’s the only thing in my life I ever lost sleep over”. Dornan also said that he intended “to say ‘Judas,’ not ‘Jew,'” as a rebuttal to Posner’s insistence that the Soviet Union was free of anti-Semitism.

In fact, there is a 120 page book entitled, “Shut Up Fag!” featuring quotes from Van Tran’s old boss.  Perhaps if Van Tran is truly concerned with racism and bigotry, he ought to ask his old boss to apologize for comments made that aren’t nearly as offensive as anything Loretta said.

As far a ducking debates goes, we have been waiting for Ass. Van Tran to explain how he was ever Andy Quach’s lawyer when he tried to disrupt a criminal police investigation into Quatch’s drunk driving.  Stay classy wingnut.