Big Trouble in Little Saigon

Due to the recent classiness of Republicans in the news, especially those from Orange County, I figure it would be relevant to talk about the upcoming 2010 US House elections regarding California's 47th District. Loretta Sanchez, a "Blue Dog" Democrat, is currently the representative and she will probably continue being so after the election, based on past election results. Still, the Republican Party won't go down without a fight, so why not throw in some Vietnamese dudes into the mix?

So, we've already got Van Tran, about whom Danielle has already written, and as you can see from this OC Register piece, we've now got Quang X. Pham. From the article, it is stated Pham is gaining some ground through the raising of some much-needed funds and Tran has lost a bit of his sparkle from some involvement in a DUI case involving a Westminster Councilmember. (Also from the article, they used a pretty bad photo of Pham, which is cut off below his nose and shows him really pale.)

better looking photo of Pham

So who is this Quang X. Pham? A quick search yields some articles he wrote about war in Iraq and Vietnam and a piece about President Ford shortly after he died. And of course, his campaign site. From the bio, it mentions his history: "Quang 'Q' Pham, 44, is a healthcare entrepreneur, community leader, decorated Marine Corps veteran, and author". Quite an interesting story, if you read the rest of the bio. Very American Dream-y, he and his story are. In fact, he embodies very much what a lot of people think of when they imagine Orange County in their minds. To quote a FiveThirtyEight piece:

unapologetic anti-communism, embrace of the military-industrial complex, strong Christian family values, suburbanization, bootstrap entrepreneurialism, and a fierce resistance to big government, new taxes and the welfare state.

I'm not sure about the Christian values part, but I'm pretty sure about everything else. His chances of doing well in an OC election would be pretty good, except for the fact that the 47th District is one of the more diverse districts, with the number of Democrats actually outnumbering Republicans.

So that sort of paints a picture of who he is, but why should one vote for him? What's he running on? On his site, there's not really a section that talks about a platform with specific issues. Rather, a visitor is given a generic introduction. Let's take a look:

There's a short bio of Pham, and then the line "Now there's a fresh voice and a new choice." Oh dang, I'm totally digging the internal rhyme. +1 right there. Here's the next paragraph:

I joined the Republican Party for its principled stance on less government, lower taxes and sensible and strong national defense. I believe in individual choices, liberty and the right to pursue happiness. I believe in personal responsibility and respect for others.

Nothing to disagree with here (except maybe the part about sensibility). That's the Republican party. The rest are things that are not very controversial, like saying I believe in freedom and democracy and being nice to people. Then, the next two paragraphs are the most interesting, as they have the most content in them. Still, there is not really a clear platform, but just a bit less vagueness.

And, the pièce de résistance, his personal story of overcoming adversity and achieving the American Dream: When I arrived in America as a boy from Vietnam, I had lost my country, my freedom and my father. Yet the American Dream was still attainable. It took dedication, encouragement, hard work and perseverance. And it can still be done. We need leaders who will emphasize self-sufficiency and who will inspire others to seek opportunities--not just government handouts.

If he can do it, why can't everyone else? Come on people, jeez! This is a simple sufficient-necessary relationship. If you work hard, then you'll achieve the American Dream. Thus, the contrapositive follows as true: if you did not achieve the American Dream, then you did not work hard. Simple as that, no other factors like structural inequalities or institutional barriers. [side note: too much sarcasm and too much LSAT studying make my head hurt.]

[Edit: the inverse of this had me thinking for awhile. One could say if you have achieved the American Dream, then you've worked hard. I guess it makes sense like that, but too many people do the reverse and that is how you get to the conclusion of people blaming others for their failures or non-realizations of whatever it is the American Dream is.]

Even Craig Nelson (Mr. Incredible hisself) knows what's up: "I've been on food stamps and welfare, anybody help me out? No. No." You think about that.

And... I'll just leave it at that. Before I'm down though, I wanted to share this endearing clip of Loretta Sanchez during the 2008 DNC. Yeah, she's definitely gonna be re-elected.

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Criticisms?