Sorry everyone, but I just can’t help it! I spotted this on OC Blog yesterday, but the action only continues to heat up over at “Red County” Land:

When are we going to stop calling Mitt Romney a front runner in the GOP Presidential race?

Despite having likely raised and spent more money than the other candidiates thus far, Mitt Romney languishes at just 7% in California (see Jubal’s post from yesterday).

At least that’s better than he’s doing in Nevada (4%), Florida (6%) and nationwide (3%), which is probably due at least in part to certain advantages he holds here in O.C.

Seriously, shouldn’t a candidate to at least have come within shouting distance of double-digits to be called a “front runner?”  In all these polls the guy consistently trails not one, but two people who aren’t even in the race!  Save your money, O.C. donors.

In its inaugural issue, Red County’s print magazine called Romney the “real deal.”  As a Presidential contender, he quite clearly is not.

Come on, now! You know you want to follow me after the flip for more salacious GOP infighting… ; )

Perhaps Frustrated Republican could spend some time explaining why conservatives, who are the dominant portion of the GOP, should embrace a liberal like Rudy?

Or is it just easier to bash Mitt Romney?

I’ll be more impressed with Rudy when I see him go before the National Right To Life Committee and defend his “I’d pay for my daughter’s abortion” comment, or he explains to the NRA why he sued the gun manufacturers because they were making too many guns.

“He can win” may be enough for the checkbook crowd, but activists who think principles actually count for something need more than that.

OK, so “Rudy’s a Lib” has issues with all this criticism of the OC GOP’s fawning over Mitt Romney. But is “Rudy’s a Lib” in denial? Or is everyone just unfairly overlooking Fred Thompson? Oh, wait… He supported that evil, liberal, socialist, commie-loving pinko CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM bill! Here’s more from OC Blog’s comments:

Of course voting McCain-Feingold is a kiss of death because it shows a complete lack of philosophical belief in small government and individual freedom. It should absolutely disqualify any Republican. I didn’t know Thompson supported it– forget that guy, then.

I don’t care for Rudy, but it is possible to be pro-choice under the guise of a libertarian-type belief system (I have no idea if this is how Giuliani arrives at his belief set).

And I am one of those hoping for some Reagan-esque conservative to ride into this race on a white horse, but Frustrated is probably right, unfortunately… the fundraising deficit at this point is probably already too huge for a latecomer to overcome.

So will any “Reagan-esque conservative” be able to ride into this race on a white horse and save the Republicans? Romney may be loved by the OC GOP Machine, but he’s not so loved by the oh so beloved “base”. Giuliani looks pretty strong right now, but what happens when people find out about his… Ummm… “moral values“? Ah, it’s amazing to see the Republicans running around like chickens with their heads cut off now that their Chimperor has failed them.

OK, I know that I shouldn’t be doing this…
But I just can’t help it! Total Buzz made me do it! ; )

Got a press release today saying that Assemblyman Van Tran, R-Garden Grove, will be in Santa Ana on Friday to promote the Earned Income Tax Credit — an income-tax benefit for the poor. Among those on hand will be Santa Ana Councilman Carlos Bustamante — who was among those running for supervisor this year against Tran’s candidate, Trung Nguyen — and the Legal Aid Society of Orange County, which is often finds Democrats more sympathetic to their causes. Former U.S. Treasurer and currently — take a breath — California State and Consumer Services Agency Secretary Rosario Marin will also be there.

Oh, great! So Lord Van Tran can now count the “Independent Democrat Republican” as his new best friend! And oh yes, how lovely that Rosario Marin will be coming to their aid.

For more on Van Tran, his new best friends, and what this all might mean, follow me after the flip…

Here’s some more from Martin Wisckol at Total Buzz:

More interesting to me was the new district representative for Tran who listed as the contact on the press release. Saulo Londono lead Lynn Daucher’s absentee ballot drive, which nearly led to an upset of Lou Correa in last year’s central county state Senate race. He then was campaign manager for Trung, and nearly pulled off an upset there after one of the most relentless and well-researched absentee voter drive I’ve seen. I’m not surprised Tran wants to keep Londono close at hand.

Hmmm… So one of the same guys who engineered Lynn Daucher’s near-win in SD 34 last year is now cozying up with Van Tran? I wonder why. Is he worried about something… Like possibly the next election, and the possibility that people might start to find out more about all the delicious dirt that’s been hidden in his closet? Well, I guess there’s nothing like currying favor from other politicos to solidify your standing in time for the next election.

Well, I guess at the very least, Trung Nguyen shouldn’t have to worry. Van Tran always knows how to help his proteges.

(Clearly, Andrew and I don’t agree on this one. I think that democracy is worth fighting for, even if you don’t like the people involved. To me, accuracy is more important than finality. – promoted by Brian Leubitz)

The board is complete. The healing process begins. The unity starts now.

– Ryan Gene on Orange Juice

Mr. Nguyen ran a good race, but he should put an end to any more legal action. The county should wish Ms. Nguyen the best as she becomes the first Vietnamese-American county supervisor.

– Today’s OC Register Editorial

Mr. Nguyen, the only way to save face now, if that is even possible, is to accept your defeat gracefully and fade off into the shadows of history.

– Chris Prevatt on The Liberal OC

Want to see how Orange County feels about this hard-fought election coming to an end? Well, follow me after the flip for more…

Here’s more of today’s Register editorial. Now keep in mind that I rarely ever agree with The Register’s editorial page. This is one of those rare occasions:

Mr. Nguyen’s attorneys argue that the recount was done improperly because the Registrar of Voters manually recounted the absentee ballots, but chose a quick download of the electronic ballots cast on Election Day. They called that gaming the system, but Judge Michael Brenner tossed out Mr. Nguyen’s claim that the recount was illegal, arguing that it was done in a logical manner and compliant. […]

Any time a race is won by a handful of votes, it’s a heartbreaker. Supporters of Mr. Nguyen argue that more voters intended to vote for him, but ultimately had their votes disqualified because they followed the campaign’s instructions and checked the last spot on the ballot. That spot actually was the place for write-in candidates. But the purpose of campaign law is not to find out who was the winner in some cosmic sense, but to follow a fair, deliberative, consistent and legal process to determine the winner. That appears to have been accomplished through a series of challenges and counterchallenges.

Mr. Nguyen ran a good race, but he should put an end to any more legal action. The county should wish Ms. Nguyen the best as she becomes the first Vietnamese-American county supervisor.

Here’s more of what Chris Prevatt has to say at The Liberal OC. Now remember that this is a progressive local blog, and that Chris (like me) backed Umberg for Supervisor:

Janet Nguyen was sworn in yesterday as the first Vietnamese-American elected Supervisor in Orange County and the youngest as well.  This election has been a roller coaster ride for both Janet and Trung Nguyen.  Both candidates have held the lead at different points in time.

Both candidates have also been accused of promoting anti-Latino sentiments, Trung Nguyen pretending to be a border guard, and Janet Nguyen calling on Vietnamese voters to vote for her with this comment “She also has votes from other ethnic communities, women, seniors, Republicans who do not like Mexicans”.

Now is the time for healing and repair.  Janet Nguyen needs to reach out to the Latino community and demonstrate that she is not the racist that her comment to the Vietnamese community portrays.

It is also time for Trung Nguyen to accept defeat at the hands of a woman.  Mr. Nguyen, the only way to save face now, if that is even possible, is to accept your defeat gracefully and fade off into the shadows of history.

And btw, here’s what Chris has to say about the whole Bush v. Gore comparison:

In Gore vs. Bush, Gore moved on once the court ruled. Also, I believe it was Bush who appealed to the Supreme Court. I see that as Bush not moving on rather than Gore.

As far as the determination of Legislative Counsel goes, ot [sic] has no legal weight. I also do not believe there would be any change if the VVPAT’s were to be reviewed. The 1 percent review showed no errors in the electronic tallies.

The only reason Darth Schroeder raised the issue was in effort to invalidate the reount [sic]. His objection had nothing to do with an accurate counting of the votes. Team Trung did not ask for the VVPAT’s to be audited. They just wanted the original tally to stand unchanged.

Team Trung needs to move on, challenge Janet in 2008 if they want, but give the recount a rest.

Here’s more of what Ryan Gene has to say at Orange Juice. Sure, he’s a Republican… But he’s a good guy who sometimes makes some very good points:

“Wow, what a journey!” Those were the first words spoken by newly seated Supervisor Janet Nguyen, as she addressed a standing room only forum this morning. Janet’s inaugural speech also spread thanks to her loving family, her friends, supporters, and mentors former-Supervisors Bill Steiner and Cynthia Coad.

She also addressed the sizable Vietnamese observers in the room in Vietnamese, which drew applause.

The real spotlight today though, at least that I felt, was the talk of unity.

A sentiment shared this morning by Janet, and pretty much everyone in attendance including Chris Norby, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, and state senator Lou Correa, both of whom gave notable speeches on the topic. Lou left right after the swearing-in ceremony to fly back up to Sacramento and present some bills in the Senate. […]

Other notable electeds in attendance were Santa Ana councilmembers Carlos Bustamante and Michele Martinez, Garden Grove mayor Bill Dalton, Orange councilman Jon Dimitru, Westminster mayor Margie Rice, SAUSD trustee Rob Richardson, and county treasurer Chriss Street. […]

Now that she’s in, Janet will quickly begin to put her staff together and hit the ground running. I can see from the OC Gov. website that her name is now listed among the other four supervisors.

The board is complete. The healing process begins. The unity starts now.

So what do I think? Well, I think that this thing needs to come to an end. Trung Nguyen, Mike Schroeder, and Van Tran need to let it go. Central OC is already suffering from not having anyone to serve us at the county level for so long, so why should we delay any longer?

Now I wasn’t all that happy last month when Umberg lost, but I moved on. It’s time for Schroeder and Tran to do the same. They have exercised their legal right to challenge the election, and that legal process has now been exhausted. The court has ruled that Janet won fair and square, and now Janet’s new colleagues agree. It’s time for everyone to move on.

Janet won. Janet’s in. It’s time to move on.

Who cares what the democrat lawyers who work for Fabian Nunez and Don Perata think? It has no force of law. The campaign is over. Schroeder needs to stand down. He is only hurting the GOP’s chances of keeping this seat next year.

So why is “Been Around” on OC Blog angry at the “democrat lawyers”? Well, it looks like those “democrat lawyers who work for Fabian Nunez and Don Perata” have just contradicted Judge Brenner’s ruling in favor of Janet Nguyen by opining that the County Registrar was required to use a voter verified paper trail (VVPAT) in conducting the full recount. So have these “democrat lawyers” now given new life to Trung’s insane effort to overturn the election results? Follow me after the flip for more…

So is Team Trung now getting giddy all over again? Well, judge for yourself. Here’s some of what Trung Nguyen’s campaign had to say about the surprise opinion, courtesy of OC Blog:

The day after a Superior Court judge ruled that a full recount was conducted in the February 2, 2007, special election for Orange County First District Supervisor’s race, the Legislative Counsel for California Legislature released its 4-page legal analysis and finding that “a county registrar is required to use a voter verified paper trail (VVPAT), and not an electronic record, in conducting any full recount of an election in this state at which votes were cast on direct recording electronic voting system.”  (Legislative Counsel Finding #0710444) 

“The Trung Nguyen campaign filed its election contest stating that a full recount was not conducted by the Orange County Registrar.  Janet Nguyen gamed the system for tactical reasons” stated Michael J. Schroeder, attorney for the Trung Nguyen campaign and former GOP Chairman.  “We believe an appeals court will likely 1)agree with this legal finding; 2)overturn the trial court’s decision; 3)rule that a full recount was not completed; 4)find that the recount was null and void; and 5)uphold the first certified winner Trung Nguyen. 

“This legal finding by the very body that wrote the applicable Elections Code sections completely validates and supports all of the litigation positions taken by the Trung Nguyen campaign,” stated Schroeder.

“The law does not allow someone to game a recount so that the counting methods switch back and forth depending on whether the votes are favorable to them or not.  This is what happened here,”  stated Schroeder.

Oh yeah, so you don’t believe them? See the opinion for yourself…

“We conclude that a county registrar is required to use a voter verified paper audit trail, and not an electronic record, in conducting any full recount of an election in this state at which votes were cast on a direct recording electronic voting system.”

And here’s some more insight from Peggy Lowe at Total Buzz:

Brenner admitted yesterday that two sections of the law conflict eachother, but he also said he didn’t want to do what Schroeder had asked of him, which is rewrite the statute. Brenner did agree with Schroeder that there is a need to “harmonize” the two conflicting sections of the law.

You’ll also notice that the opinion says that “where uncertainly exists, consideration should be given to the consequences that will flow from a particular interpretation.” This is what Schroeder mentioned many times during his closing arguements yesterday, saying if the judge didn’t side with Team Trung’s interpretation, a kind of political Pandora’s Box would be open and chaos would ensue.

So what does this all mean? It means that the air of uncertainty has just crossed “The Orange Curtain” again. Now perhaps Janet Nguyen has an extra leg up now that she’s the duly elected Supervisor for the First District…
But the sense of closure that was gained yesterday may, all of a sudden, slip away once more if Team Trung gains some new traction in their appeal process. We all knew that Trung and his political sugar daddies were planning to whine their way to the next court, desperately searching for another chance to undo the election…

But do they now have a legitimate chance of turning our world upside down once again? Hell, many more people here in Orange County might get angry at the “democrat lawyers” if this were to happen…

(Just 588 days until Janet’s next election, when a Democrat will take back the (non-partisan) seat.- Brian

OK, here’s what everyone else is saying… Ryan Gene has a lot so say about Janet and her new job at Orange Juice. And Total Buzz has more on Janet and the GOPers who may want to be her friends again. Stay tuned for more! : ) – promoted by atdleft)

Today, something happened. What we’ve all been waiting for finally happened. Janet Nguyen was FINALLY sworn in as County Supervisor. THANK GAWD I FINALLY HAVE A SUPERVISOR!! But how long will this last? Will she really be able to follow through on her promise to “unite the district” and “represent everyone”?

Follow me after the flip for more…

After all the counting and recounting…
After all the legal battles…
And after all the campaigning, before AND after the election…
It finally came down to this.

Or, as Janet Nguyen said herself:

“It has been a short election, but a very, very, very long Election Day.”

Bill Steiner, the former County Supervisor who is a longtime mentor of Janet, swore her in today. He praised her as a great student when she first took his political science class, and he commented on her track record as a political staffer, and then as a Garden Grove Councilmember. Oh yes, and he responded to an earlier tirade about Janet “not representing everyone” by talking about how she will work hard to represent everyone in the district.

After the swearing-in, Janet addressed the crowd. She thanked her family, her consultants, and her supporters. She still seemed amazed that “only in America can a 30 year-old Vietnamese-American woman be elected” as an Orange County Supervisor. And yes, she pledged to unite the district and represent everyone in the community.

Lou Correa, the man who once sat where Janet sits now, then addressed the crowd, and talked about the reality of representing such a diverse swing district that is OC’s First Supervisorial District.

“Central Orange County is a marketplace of ideas… Every race has been tight. Every race has been debated. I think that’s a good thing. Neither the Democratic Party or the Republican Party can anoint someone.”

After the ceremony ended, I stepped outside to talk with some friends. And just before he left to return to Sacramento, I spoke with Lou… And with Tammy Tran, the political AND policy genius who now works in his district office. While I was speaking with them, I remembered how they have done such a great job at reaching out to the Vietnamese-American community here, as well as everyone else in the district. I guess this strong outreach and these strong ties to the community here in OC are the true strengths of Lou Correa and his political team. But anyways, as I was thinking about this, it dawned on me… That may be what Janet Nguyen might try to repeat.

One of Janet’s GOP supporters suggested that she hire one of Lou’s old aides to help her with her new job. He also said that he expects Janet to hire additional Latino staffers, and to aggressively win some goodwill in Latino-heavy Santa Ana…
So can this be the key to Janet’s success?

She’s now “part of the county family”, but how much of a mark will she make in this hall? I guess we will have to wait and see.

(Hooray, more video from yesterday! Jubal/Matt Cunningham now has VIDEO of the Judge’s decision, along with VIDEO of Janet Nguyen’s press conference, over at OC Blog. : ) – promoted by atdleft)

Ah, finally! No need to revise the agenda…
Janet Nguyen really will be sworn in today as the newest OC Supervisor. The wait is over… It’s just too bad that the drama may not be over quite yet. (From OC Register)

Janet Nguyen will be sworn in tomorrow at the weekly Board of Supervisors meeting. Trung Nguyen ducked the many reporters at the courthouse, but his lawyer, Michael Schroeder, said he expected to file an appeal of the judge’s decision.

“The judge’s ruling was not a surprise,” Schroeder said. “We have to take a look at the judge’s ruling but I anticipate we will file an appeal.”

Janet Nguyen, 30, now becomes the first Asian-American and the youngest ever to sit on the board. She told reporters she was excited, honored and relieved.

“I’m ready – I’ve been ready – to represent the people of the First District,” she said.

Trung Nguyen refused to concede the election and didn’t congratulate Janet Nguyen, who left the courthouse and promptly walked over to the county Hall of Administration. There, she was congratulated by Supervisors John Moorlach, Chris Norby and Pat Bates.

“She’ll be voting tomorrow,” Norby said.

Ah, if only Darth Schroeder, Lord Van Tran, and their loyal lackey Trung can just GIVE IT UP, and LET JANET SERVE FOR GAWD SAKE!! But whatever, they’ll likely lose again with the appeal. I’m just relieved that this whole damn thing is coming to a close, whether they like it or not.

This just in from the OC Republican Party:

Republican Councilwoman Janet Nguyen of Garden Grove won the February 6th – Special Election for the 1st Supervisorial District Vacancy. The seat was previously held by Democrat Lou Correa.

Nguyen will join Republicans John Moorlach, Bill Campbell, Chris Norby and Pat Bates on the Board of Supervisors thus creating an all-Republican governing board not seen in Orange County since 2004. Nguyen also becomes the first elected Vietnamese-American Supervisor in Orange County history.

“On behalf of the Republican Party of Orange County, I would like to congratulate Supervisor-Elect Nguyen in her hard-fought victory,” said County GOP Chairman Scott Baugh. “I commend the hard work of all Republican candidates that worked night and day to increase Republican registration and turnout.”

“Our member communication efforts during this special election played a critical role in the effort to elect a Republican Supervisor. This Supervisorial win will help continue our positive trend in Central Orange County,” said Chairman Baugh.

OK, so I guess now that Trung’s done, the GOPers are getting back into good terms with Janet. I guess we’ll see if all those nasty wounds will begin to heal.

(Thanks to Peggy Lowe at Total Buzz for the video. For more on this developing story, please visit ALL MY FRIENDS at OC Blog, Orange Juice, The Liberal OC, and OC Register’s Total Buzz! : )
– promoted by atdleft)

“There was a full and legal recount,” Brenner said minutes ago. “There was no evidence of gaming the system.”

This just in from Total Buzz:

Judge Michael Brenner just ruled in favor of Janet Nguyen, and denied Trung Nguyen’s claim that the recount was done incorrectly. […]

He also said that he was impressed with how the election was run and there was no sign of malfeasance.

Follow me after the flip for more on this developing story…

Here’s more from Total Buzz:

Chris Norby, chairman of the Board of Supervisors, was on hand for Brenner’s ruling and said Janet Nguyen will be sworn in as supervisor at tomorrow’s board meeting. The meeting will be preceded at 8:30 a.m. with a reception for Janet.

Mike Schroeder, an attorney for Trung Nguyen, said Team Trung will stand clear, legally speaking, and let Janet be sworn in. He said Team Trung hasn’t yet decided whether to appeal today’s ruling, although he favors such action. But even so, that wouldn’t stop Janet from being sworn in and there will be no request for a temporary restraining order.

Well, we know that Norby has been antsy about this… Now, I just hope that the other Supervisors feel the same way, especially since Trung’s legal team is giving the green light for Janet to be sworn in.

And yes, I AM SO RELIEVED THAT I FINALLY HAVE A SUPERVISOR AGAIN!! Yes, Janet wasn’t exactly the one that I was originally rooting for. However, it could have been MUCH, MUCH WORSE. At least Janet has been willing to talk to other people, and to reach reasonable policy conclusions. Trung, on the other hand, would have been a complete GOP machine lackey. After all, remember who supported him…

So would I have been happier with Tom Umberg on the Board of Supes? Perhaps. But still, I’m glad that we won’t have a complete GOP machine hack (NOT) representing our community. And yes, it’s nice to see a hard-working young Vietnamese-American woman win such a high office… It’s just too bad that she resorted to underhanded race-baiting tactics to win.

So I guess this is a bittersweet moment for me. Yes, I am still a little disappointed by these results. But you know what? It could have been worse. Oh yeah, and at least WE FINALLY HAVE A SUPERVISOR REPRESENTING US AGAIN. I guess we can all breathe a collective sigh of relief.

OK, so you probably know by now that I wasn’t able to see Mitt Romney on Friday in Dana Point. However, Jon Fleischman did. While I was out in the cold, he was in on all the action… And yes, Fleischman now has his account of the Romney fundraiser up on FlashReport.

Here are some of Romney’s “Greatest Hits” from Friday’s swanky fundraiser. For more videos, go to Jon’s blog.

More after the flip…

Romney on the “War on Terror”

Romney on the “Source of American Strength”
[And no, you commie-loving pinko lib’ruls, it’s not taxes or big guv’munt or ‘dem San Francisco values… hehe ; ) ]

California Romney Chairman Mike “Darth” Schroeder and OC GOP Chairman Scott Baugh on why they love Mitt:

And finally, an excerpt from the interview with Mitt Romney. Jon Fleischman talks with Romney about health care:

Jon: Well, what would you say to, because I’ve talked to a lot of conservatives who are concerned about the Governor’s proposal which he, again, says is mirrored after yours, when they pass a law that requires people to have healthcare insurance and kind of the idea that that flies in the face of the notion of individuals taking responsibility for their own action and kind of putting the state involved in putting mandates on people.

Mitt: Well, my proposal in Massachusetts was people either pay for their own healthcare and demonstrate their ability to pay by having a sufficient health savings account or other savings account or they buy insurance, because currently in this country if someone does not have health insurance and they don’t have money of their own, then they go to the hospital and they get free care. And that’s not an option that should be available to people who can afford insurance. So I agree that — and I want to make personal responsibility mean that people either pay for their own healthcare or they buy insurance, one or the other. But no more showing up and expecting other people to pay your way. That’s not personal responsibility. That’s the welfare state. And currently what we have, and I think this is something that people don’t often appreciate, currently what we have in most of America and in California, like Massachusetts, is a sick setting, where people don’t buy insurance, even those who can afford it don’t buy insurance and go get free healthcare. And that’s simply not personal responsibility.

To see the rest of the interview, and to see more videos, go to FlashReport. And thanks to Jon Fleischman for covering the event from the inside. : )

This just in from Total Buzz:

I’ve been checking votes this afternoon and I’ve already got two no’s on swearing in Janet Nguyen tomorrow as the First District supe. Both Bill Campbell and John Moorlach said they will respect what Judge Michael Brenner said this morning and hold off on declaring a winner. […]

But even if it’s a 2-2 vote on seating Janet, the motion fails and she won’t be sworn in tomorrow. Both Campbell and Moorlach said they will wait until after the trial is concluded, which should be Friday, March 23. So there may not be a supe-declared First Distrct winner until Tuesday, March 27.

So it looks like I will still have no one representing me at the county level until the end of the month. I have no one to talk to about the state of my neighborhood, no one to talk to about county services, and no one to talk to about stopping the other Supes from moving county operations to Irvine. Thanks for nothing, Darth Schroeder.