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Michelle Steel has been carrying out a relentless smear campaign against Derek Tran, weaponizing bigoted red-baiting through a trail of deceptive mailers and lies. Even after widespread condemnation, Steel and her team are continuing to use offensive allusions and stereotypes with no signs of stopping two weeks from the election, and voters – including the wide Vietnamese diaspora in Orange County – are taking notice of their bigotry.
All the while, her long-time ally, disgraced Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do, has agreed to plead guilty to federal felony charges after conspiring to steal millions of dollars meant to feed needy seniors — playing a central role in one of the largest corruption and bribery scandals in Orange County’s history.
Here’s what Orange County voters are reading about Michelle Steel’s shameful xenophobic conduct:
From The Los Angeles Times:
“One flier showed Democrat Derek Tran, who is running for Congress, smiling in front of the hammer-and-sickle emblem of the Chinese Communist Party. In another, Tran is shown next to Mao Zedong, with a caption that, translated to English, reads: ‘Don’t let Derek Tran take our country back to socialism.’”
“The mailers, sent by the congressional campaign of Rep. Michelle Steel (R-Seal Beach), have infuriated some voters in the 45th congressional district.”
“Everybody knows campaigns can get really ugly,” said Cynthia Choi, a member of Chinese for Affirmative Action and Stop AAPI Hate. “And what’s been really troubling is the fact that this is an old playbook. It is very disappointing that an Asian American candidate is using red-baiting tactics.”
“‘It’s such dirty, dirty tricks,’ Tran said. ‘This is a desperate attempt by a losing campaign. She’s throwing everything at the wall, including the kitchen sink, to see what’s going to stick.’”
“The imagery and language in the Steel mailer ‘really preys on the historical trauma that Vietnamese immigrants in this country have,’ said Connie Chung Joe, the chief executive of Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization.”
From POLITICO:
“While Steel is running on her record, she also is running a tried-and-true playbook in Little Saigon, leaning heavily on anti-Communist tropes”
“Steel’s campaign has even questioned Tran’s self-described fluency in the Vietnamese language”
“Christina Tram Le, a popular local TV host and political organizer who backs Tran, said Steel’s attacks aren’t landing the same with Tran as they have against previous opponents.”
“‘Derek is the son of boat refugees,’ Tram Le said. ‘Those wounds are still fresh, even after 50 years. And for her to exploit all of that for her political gain, that is very offensive.’”
From The Orange County Register:
Derek Tran “has accused Steel of red-baiting, a political tactic that involves accusing individuals or groups of having communist sympathies and insinuating that they are ‘un-American.’”
“Tran called her claim ‘deplorable and insulting’ to the Vietnamese American community.”
“‘My father lost his first wife and four children escaping Vietnam. Michelle can’t steal our identity or experiences,’ he said.”
From The Washington Post:
A spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said in a statement that Steel has “resorted to weaponizing bigotry and attempting to red-bait the son of Vietnamese refugees.” Tran said Steel, who is Korean American, has “slandered me.”
“No matter how desperate Steel and her far-right allies get, I’m ready to be the champion this district and this diaspora deserves,” Tran said in a statement.
DCCC Spokesperson Dan Gottlieb:
“Michelle Steel and her far-right cronies know they are running a losing campaign – which is why they’ve now resorted to weaponizing bigotry and attempting to red-bait the son of Vietnamese refugees. Instead of engaging in this smear campaign, maybe Steel can grow a spine and apologize to Derek and the Vietnamese American diaspora she claims to represent.”
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