Histories shows that revolutionaries tend to eat their own as their revolutionary moment accelerates. The knives come out for those comrades deemed insufficiently radical or too laced with bourgeoisie attitudes.
We are already seeing this dynamic in the campaign for the open 2nd Supervisor District, in which it appears Santa Ana Mayor Vince Sarmiento and Garden Grove Councilmember Kim Nguyen will face each other in the November run-off.
Both are Democrats of the Left. Their progressive bona fides are unquestionable. Their policy differences, to the extent they exist, are more of degree than of kind.
Now, local social justice warriors are attacking Nguyen as some sort of counter-revolutionary.
This might strike the observer as odd. After all, the 30-year old Nguyen fits the identity politics mold of which woke activist: she’s young, female, biracial (Mexican and Vietnamese heritage), and a vocal advocate for progressive causes like dismantling “systemic racism.”
And this progressive daughter of immigrants is being attacked as anti-immigrant by woke activists in her own party.
For example, in response to a Voice of OC question regarding the OC Sheriff’s Department transferring criminal illegal immigrants over to ICE custody, Nguyen responded:
“I would meet with Sheriff Barnes and ask for a review of all transfers to ICE to ensure compliance with SB 54. I would also ask questions during the Truth Act hearings if warranted. I support transfers of the most dangerous criminals who are a clear threat to public safety.”
In other words, if the Sheriff’s Department has custody of murderers, rapists, child molesters, etc, who are in this country illegally, then Nguyen supports turning them over to ICE.
90% of everyday Americans would agree with that exceedingly normal, reasonable response.
Not Tracy La, the young left-wing firebrand who runs the advocacy group VietRise and is a vocal supporter of Sarmiento as the true progressive.
La came unglued and took to Twitter to accuse Nguyen of “throwing immigrants under the bus for political gain.”
VietRise is an amply-funded project of the Korean Resource Center, another progressive political advocacy non-profit.
La’s outrage at a perfectly reasonable statement says far more about her than it does about Kim Nguyen. La’s alarming conviction that we shouldn’t differentiate between an otherwise law-abiding undocumented worker and an MS13 henchman illustrates the massive disconnect between the ideological bubble she inhabits and the real world in which the rest of us live.
Criminal illegal immigrants primarily prey upon the immigrant communities with whom activists like La like to say they “stand.” Or maybe its just the idea of standing up for immigrants they find morally gratifying. Does La think she’s doing migrant residents any favors by blocking the removal of the criminals who prey on them?
Also joining in the Nguyen-bashing is Karen Estrada Romero, aide to Anaheim Councilman Jose F. Moreno and leader of RiseUpWillowick.
RiseUpWillowick is a left-wing pressure group that wants to dictate the re-development of 100-acre Willowick Golf Course as a public park and affordable housing.
Nguyen also supports re-developing Willowick as parkland and affordable housing, but also understands that costs money and the finances have to pencil out.
Apparently, that is too much for Romero’s woke sensibilities:
What woke activists like La and Estrada seem to forget is that nearly half of 2nd Supervisor District voters cast their ballots for one of the three conservative candidates in the race. Winning the November run-off will entail building bridges to these voters – who are concerned about issues like crime. For these voters, deporting dangerous criminals who are here illegally is just common sense. It means putting the safety of families and children and communities ahead of ideological fetishes.
