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Rep. Sanchez recalls her dinner with Blagojevich
December 23rd, 2008, 4:33 pm · 14 Comments · posted by Martin Wisckol, Politics reporter
I spent 45 minutes on the phone this morning with Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Garden Grove, talking mostly about her just-completed working trip to Poland, Russia and Afghanistan. I’ll get to that, but first I want to mention what she had to say about the 2002 fundraising dinner she threw for Rod Blagojevich.
Before being elected governor of Illinois - and well before his recent indictment alleging he tried to sell Barack Obama’s vacated Senate seat - Blagojevich was a congressman and sat next to Sanchez on the Armed Services Committee. He was elected to Congress in 1996 and was elected governor in 2002. Sanchez invited him to Orange County and threw a fundraiser for his gubernatorial bid.
“He’s a charmer,” she said. “Everybody (at the fundraiser) was very impressed with him. He’s a very skilled politician. He’s the kind that can go in a roomful of Italians and speak a few words of Italian and win them over, go into a roomful of Greeks and speak a few words of Greek, go into a roomful of Serbs….”
She said a dozen or so people showed up for the event, and that she can’t recall where it was held. She said she had no idea at the time that he might have been involved in any malfeasance.
“Who would have known? This turn of (recent) events is as much a surprised to me as anybody else, though there were rumors about patronage….
“If you look at his policy work in the first couple years in Congress, you’ll see he did a lot.”
Sanchez arrived back in Orange County early this morning after an overseas trip that began Dec. 11. The first part of the trip included stops in Belgium, where she met with NATO commander Gen. John Craddock among others, and in Moscow, where she met with numerous Russian officials to discuss ongoing issues there - including Georgia, U.S. missles in Poland, and nuclear arms reduction.
This first part of her trip was made with three other congress members. She then joined another congressional delegation and made a trips to Afghanistan’s two largest cities, Kabul and Kandahar. Among other things, she met several hundred Marines.
Sanchez is the highest ranking woman on the House Armed Services Committee, and she has a habit of spending holidays with service men and women overseas. Thanksgiving 2007 was spent with Navy SEALS in Columbia. Christmas 2006 was spent on the Horn of Africa. Christmas 2004 was spent in Iraq.
She said morale among those she met was better than that among soldiers in Iraq.
“It is so up,” she said. “In Afghanistan, the troop morale is so high. One reason is that we were with Marines. For a lot of them, they’re living their dream. It’s not like Iraq.”
President-elect Barack Obama has indicated a desire to increase U.S. troops in Afghanistan, as it is a base for terrorists and the government remains fragile. Sanchez said that she is more educated about the country because of her trip, but still undecided on whether it is worth U.S. resources to make a bigger commitment to the country.
14 Comments
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DENA BUNIS, Washington bureau chief, 202-628-6381 or dbunis@ocregister.com
CHRIS KNAP, Politics team leader, 714-796-2240 or cknap@ocregister.com
BRIAN JOSEPH, Sacramento correspondent, 916-449-6046 or bjoseph@ocregister.com
JENNIFER MUIR, County government reporter, 714-796-7813 or jmuir@ocregister.com
MARTIN WISCKOL, Politics reporter, 714-285-2867 or mwisckol@ocregister.com twitter.com/MartinWisckol
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Sanchez, the Mexican cartels and gangs are moving into subirban OC. When are you going to do something bout it? Oh, I forgot they are just looking for a better life.
Sanchez is a big mouthed jerk.
So one of the reasons the troops in Afghanistan have high morale is because they are Marines? What do I tell my son who’s in the Army, 1st Cavalry, leaving for his 3rd tour in Iraq? You have no tact.
Dina is right, do something for your constituents and get back to your district and clean up the Mexican gangs.
How hilarious! Dina doesn’t want Sanchez and the Mexican cartels moving into OC and yet Dina couldn’t spell SUBURBAN correctly. Where have you been babe? The latin community population in OC has grown year after year after year. You are obviously NOT an original Orange Countian. Wake up and smell the tamales!
You go Sanchez……….if someone out there thinks they’re better than her, why don’t they run against her next term? Put your power where your mouth is.
Gee, I would have thought the sheriff would be the one to take on the gangs. Don’t we have a sheriff around OC somewhere? Maybe in court?
And calling Sanchez a jerk is just the sort of thoughtful commentary we need during the holidays! Thanks, mindclosed.
So how much did you offer him, Loretta?
I would have wished that Sanchez would have served in the Military as opposed to the Military serving her. Get the camera Loretta is in town to have her photograph taken for the next election. I who served in the Military know her kind after having watched the in action over the years. She is what is wrong with Gov’t. She is now just part of a machine and does as she is told. She hasn’t had an original thought in her head for years. By the way, ask her if her sister is carrying a fetus or a baby. She better think before she answers. It will say much!
The last picture I saw of Sanchez, she was hugging Fidel Castro and telling the press what a great man he is. I guess she forgot about all those Latinos he lined up next to a wall and shot. Now we find out she threw a fund raising dinner for Blagojevich, another winner. Does she have any normal friends?
we need to send sanchez bakc to mexico with all the other wetbks criminals. she is a terd. she does absolutely nothing for this district and county. off with her head.
When we get rid of all the criminal beans we will also dispose of the rest of the dirty cockroach invaders. It will be just like the past when we cleansed our land of all the mexican trash. we will do it again. These mexicans are like rats. They need to be exterminated.
What has Sanchez ever done for Americans living in her district?
Sounds like this guy may be a typical sociopath?
AND MAYBE HE CONVINCED HIMSELF a little bad, a little reward so what was what he deserved, BECAuSE HE had worked hard and WAS ALSO DOING GOOD?
charms everyone round the world too..
Many Successful Business People and Politicians have a touch or more of this, but keep it in check.
EVER READ THE SOCIOPATH NEXT DOOR?
Bob, I had a long conversation with The Congresswomen, about issues facing OC, I had to fly to DC and burn fat doobies at the Dead reunion show, but at least I got to speak my mind.
I’m glad you got to talk to her directly. I hope you didn’t use to many facts and figures in your conversation, she tends to lose focus when she has to think. She is not the brightest star in the sky, if you know what I mean.