Orange County has long provided a cushy home for Republican wingnuts. Bob Dornan was the most famous, but there was also Dana Rohrabacher, Wally George, John Schmitz, and many other names that it’s probably best we try to forget. For many years, the Republican Party kind of shunted these people aside–never sanctioning them, but also never really giving them the kind of power they craved. But after Donald Trump rode the racist and misogynist wingnut wave all the way into the White House, all bets are off.
Enter Amy Phan West. On July 9, we received a news release and the above low-res photo that were “approved by Amy Phan West” stating that she would run against Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) in the 47th Congressional District. Well, it stated a lot of things. Like this:
Unabashedly pro-life, committed to ending California’s shocking SeXXX Ed curriculum (officially known as “CA Healthy Youth Act”), a believer in legal immigration and fervently committed to keeping socialism away from America’s shores, West looks forward to meeting members of the community throughout the primary season to discuss issues that affect them.
Is Bob “Every lesbian spear-chucker in this country is hoping I get defeated” Dornan secretly advising West? Because that “seXXX ed” nonsense really takes us back to 1992, though not in a good way. And West isn’t kidding, either:
Schools must stop sexualizing our children. This means teachers must be released from unions and bureaucrats and be empowered to teach our youth the fundamentals that equip them to become productive members of society.
Wait, teacher unions are sexualizing students? Never mind the sheer fantasy of all this–what is West even talking about?
The news release–which we remind you was “approved by Amy Phan West”–also contains this gibberish:
West also sees issues related to illegal immigration important since to the district is located just 100+ miles from the southern border.
Yeah, pump that shit directly into our veins. Because there’s nothing this nation needs in Washington more right now than another Republican who can’t write a declarative sentence.
West is a Westminster resident who works at a car rental company. She’s also a member of the right-wing evangelical organization Concerned Women for America (CWA), which actually explains a ton about West’s news release.
“Concerned Women for America protects and promotes Biblical values and Constitutional principles through prayer, education, and advocacy,” states the CWA mission. “Concerned Women for America is leading a movement dedicated to impacting the culture for Christ through education and public policy.”
As far as political experience is concerned, West has, well, none. She ran for the Westminster City Council in 2018, but came in fourth. This was surprising, given that she ran on a platform of “increas[ing] police to fight rising crime,” “enforcement of laws,” and “fully funding our police and fire departments.” Granted, there were 13 candidates, so her 12.1 percent of the vote is probably a solid accomplishment.
West was also a member of the Orange County Parks Commission, but apparently only for five months. The county Board of Supervisors (at 1st District Supervisor Andrew Do’s urging) appointed West to the commission in September 2018, but meeting minutes show that the February 2019 gathering was her last with the Parks Commission (the 1st District seat on the commission is still apparently vacant).
Oh, and earlier this month West posted a photo on her Facebook page of her with some “supporters” and guess who we couldn’t help but notice in the middle? Yep, that’s Republican Dave Garofalo, the disgraced former Huntington Beach Mayor who was convicted of felony corruption and thrown out of office nearly 20 years ago (and banned from ever seeking political office again). At this point, we would be shocked if Garfalo wasn’t backing West.
Then again, given that West is taking on the incumbent in a congressional district in which the Democratic Party holds a 13-point registration advantage, according to the Cook Political Report’s Partisan Voter Index, we’re sure that we’ll be hearing a great deal more from West in the future.
Anthony Pignataro has been a journalist since 1996. He spent a dozen years as Editor of MauiTime, the last alt weekly in Hawaii. He also wrote three trashy novels about Maui, which were published by Event Horizon Press. But he got his start at OC Weekly, and returned to the paper in 2019 as a Staff Writer.
Journalists would be a loose term for this guy. Nice biased, insulting article which is typically of the liberal spew that comes from OCWeekly. How about some counter opinions or at least unbiased articles for a change. I use this e-rag for the entertainment updates but wish I could cut off all there political BS
The only spew here is your gibberish. I’ve seen more consistency in a foam latte.
Anthony Pig is a journalist? He is nothing but your typical dumb leftist that hates America. California is in the state that it is in because it has been ran by Demonrats for decades. It is time to MAKE CALIFORNIA GOLDEN AGAIN (MCGA).
And here comes the Van Tran Goon Squad…or is it Janet Nguyen’s?
Good read. I read Amy Phan’s press release announcing her run, and I agree with everything that is in this article. If she can’t articulate herself in a press release running for public office, then she has no business running for public office. I can’t understand a thing in it. The last thing that we need is another anchor baby Michele Malkin wanabee spewing racist remarks as a so-called public servant. We already have Donald Trump.
I’ve interacted with Ms. West many times on the Westminster political and community boards. To be concise, she is an idiot. She’s a right wing meme machine with a pretty face. She idolizes Tucker Carlson and Donald Trump and is incapable of original thought.
That said, it would be foolish to dismiss her entirely. We live in strange times and her supporters have deep pockets.
You call yourself a journalist? If I was a journalist I’d be ashamed to claim a byline to that article!
You should learn her story before judging her so quickly. She comes from a refugee camp in Vietnam. English is her second tongue but unlike many in our country who just come for the benefit and don’t even bother to learn the language she has assimilated incredibly. Not to mention her Dad was a war hero in Vietnam against his own country! Do some research guy! Isn’t that kinda your job? Her story is unique and many of us that live in Orange County Gladys support a candidate that is truly patriotic and has family values in mind. No wingnut there guy. Go fish!
Feeling threatened a little by the legal immigrant in the running? Hmmm…
Yo, PIG-nataro, you went to school to write this crap? LOL … nothing says underachieving white man more than being a “journalist” in Maui and Southern California over 20 years. No legitimate news media outlet will hire you, so ride on the wave of Mom and Pop’s created wealth, squeeze your credit limit dry, pretend you know something, get a gig from OC Weakly and pour your heart out as a pseudo quasi semi wannabe “journalist” whose claim to fame is to blame mock shame undermine malign and hate people who do not agree with your limited views LMAO…. and you returned to OC after many years in Maui with your (LMAO) novels, coz ur maxed out credit cards and friends who won’t lend you more money only allow you to be a staff writer hired by the ex-intern-now-your-boss you maligned back in 1995. Good job, PIG-nataro!…. .best anti-Trump, anti-Republican, anti-Pham West article ever written by a Hawaiian-shirted American underachiever!… guess what, Pham West has a better life and more accomplishments than YOU, since she migrated to the USA in the 1980s…all down hill from here on in, Pig!
The best line was “low resolution” photo…. matches the low-IQ and low level of accomplishments of wannabe journalist PIG-nataro. You should get a college loan, Pig, assuming banks would lend you money, or go to a community college so you can learn about political philosophy, political theory, technology, analytics, 243 years of US history, geopolitics about California, and international relations for Asia-Pacific region. But you won’t, Pig, coz it’s easier to mock Pham West than actually be an achiever after living ALL your underachieving life wearing Hawaiian shirts in Maui and SC.
Good thing I stopped reading the OC Weekly. Used to be good and fair and balanced but now it’s biased against Republicans and opponents of illegal immigration.
The LA Times has more soul, and so do The Epoch Times and One America News Network.
The latter two outlets point out everything wrong with California and why they must be fixed.
English is her second language you moron wanna be journalist. You must have graduated from a for profit online university with no proxy on tests.
Amy Phan West simply DOES NOT have a prayer against (U. S.) Rep. Alan Lowenthal.
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