UPDATED: Republican candidate's team intimidates Latino Voters...

Posted by Evan Derkacz at 9:31 AM on October 19, 2006.

Still in the race...

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The California Coalition for Immigration Reform, listed as a "hate group" by the Southern Poverty Law Center, sent a letter in Spanish, telling Latinos that it's "dangerous, useless, and illegal for them to vote," and that they can be deported. And then the cowards denied it.

UPDATE: It looks like the letter was sent by someone in the office of Republican candidate Tan D. Nguyen, a Vietnamese immigrant himself. He, of course, claims to have no prior knowledge of the letter and has fired the staffer who, he says, was responsible.

The report (video right) notes that the intimidating letter had CCIR letterhead but Barbara Coe, described by the SPLC as "Vitriolic, conspiracy-minded and just plain mean," denies that it was written by her group.

Her group or someone associated, whatever -- it rings hollow when you've been investigated for intimidating citizens before.

In addition to calling Mexicans "savages," here's a recent Coe rant: "We are suffering robbery, rape and murder of law-abiding citizens at the hands of illegal barbarians... who are cutting off heads and appendages of blind, white, disabled gringos."

But here's my favorite part; Coe's connection to both the Republican party and white supremacists (no jokes about redundancy please...):

In a profile of her close friend, U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.), the paper said Coe described speaking to and belonging to the Council of Conservative Citizens. That group, which has called blacks "a retrograde species of humanity," has long been listed by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group -- as has Coe's own California Coalition for Immigration Reform.

Tagged as: vote, suppression, immigration, hate, groups

Evan Derkacz is an AlterNet editor. He writes and edits PEEK, the blog of blogs.

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Only illegals would be... [Report this comment] Posted by: helgerry on Oct 19, 2006 10:36 AM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] My guess is only illegals would be intimidated. Any legal Latino should KNOW that they have a RIGHT to vote and they have nothing to worry about when they go to the poll booth. So whatever group is behind this letter is trying to scare away illegals (for what purpose, I don't know)... Yes, in the United States of America, illegals can sometimes vote as I have seen in Florida! Don't ask me how. Would would benefit from those votes? That's the question... [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] » Yeah, you keep believing that.... Posted by: JoshuaLudd Right Wing Myth [Report this comment] Posted by: lessbread on Oct 19, 2006 1:53 PM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] Stories about illegal voters are completely overblown but that hasn't stopped the right wing from repeating them over and over in their effort to transform the myth into fact. In addition to the traditional benefits scapegoating has always provided to the right wing, these efforts enable them to divert attention away from electronic voter fraud while giving them rhetorical cover as they work to enact Jim Crow styled laws. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] Blowhards [Report this comment] Posted by: willymack on Oct 20, 2006 10:27 AM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] I'll bet if you check, you'll find that Katrina was the result of a huge crowd of rethugs vacationing in Louisiana and making speeches at the same time. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] I think the motive is more insidious. [Report this comment] Posted by: Lauren on Oct 20, 2006 12:41 PM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] It is anti Native American racial prejudice - 100%. That is what drives it, the rest of the arguments are just window dressing. Well, that is just my opinion. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] Intimidating Practices [Report this comment] Posted by: Raja T on Oct 20, 2006 1:57 PM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] Democrats should just give up trying to play nice. All progressives have to do to intimidate voters is tell the truth. The republican party wants as many mid-east wars as possible because that is money in their hands, if not from Haliburton, then from Blackwater and their affiliates. With all their family values talk, they didn't seem to give a damn about the families ruined by Katrina. Or by 9-11: Ann Coulter, their pretty girl, complained about the amount of compensation 9-11 widows got. And they definitely don't give a damn about the families, in the US or in Iraq, that that war has ruined. They can call us flip floppers, but they flip flop quite a bit, just over a period of time that is beyond the average american attention span. The same Taliban that we are boldly fighting in Arghanistan are the same Taliban we funded and installed against the Great Soviet Bear (which turned out to be not so great after all-- I hear the country is run by rich mobsters now, something this sycophantic and nepotistic administration can understand, because that is the way they do business). My point is, from operation condor, to the Iran-Contra affair, to the bogus war in Iraq entered into for purely made up reasons, to intimidating voters that are not lily white, this party is clearly a bunch of strong arm men (at best) and criminals (at worst). All progressives have to do fight that, all we have to do, is continue to tell the truth in the face of Fox News. No smears. No slurs. None of that is necessary. These fools have clearly hung themselves with their racism, classism, sexism, nepotism, and antagonism. And cable news will take care of those stories. If their motives were as pure and christian as they say they are, then why do they insist on keeping so many things secret? [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] Good! [Report this comment] Posted by: DinTN on Oct 21, 2006 9:13 AM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] Posted by: helgerry "My guess is only illegals would be intimidated." Yes, and I hope it works! Legal immigrants and American citizens should know their rights...the rest DO NOT have the right to decide who rules our country! [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] » It's all in your mind Posted by: lessbread » Yeah, too bad these were sent to LEGAL immigrants... to REGISTERED VOTERS. Posted by: JoshuaLudd

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» Yeah, you keep believing that.... Posted by: JoshuaLudd

» It's all in your mind Posted by: lessbread

» Yeah, too bad these were sent to LEGAL immigrants... to REGISTERED VOTERS. Posted by: JoshuaLudd

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