Sanchez’s Comments Anger Vietnamese

Loretta Sanchez, a Democrat, is drawing criticism for a remark to a television reporter that “the Vietnamese and the Republicans” were “trying to take away” her seat representing California’s 47th Congressional District. Though the interview was first broadcast on Univisión on Sept. 12, her remarks drew widespread attention this week after a report appeared in Orange County Weekly and were mentioned by Roger Hedgecock, a nationally syndicated conservative radio commenter. The comments sparked anger among residents of Santa Ana, home to one of the country’s oldest and largest Vietnamese communities, and threatened to further tighten her race against State Assemblyman Van Tran. She released a statement saying her words referred only to “those in the Vietnamese community who are supporting her opponent.”

Read more: (Rebecca Cathcart, “California: Lawmaker’s Comments Anger Vietnamese,” New York Times, 09/25/10)