Few supporting Umberg as he takes fire from the GOP

O.C. Register columnist Steven Greenhut ripped Democrat Tom Umberg today – and as of yet no one has defended Umberg or rebutted Greenhut on this blog.

When Lou Correa was running against Lynn Daucher my fellow bloggers were singing his praises daily. Why did Correa get so much love – while Umberg is withering on the vine? Indeed, even my friends at the Liberal OC Blog have split on Umberg. Mike Lawson chose not to endorse him – opting instead to back Mark Rosen.

I have also heard that Umberg is desperate for help on the ground. He is getting money from the unions, but he has no fan base to speak of. What is going on?

My theory is that most Democrats are supporting Umberg – but they are pinching their noses at the same time. They just don’t like the guy. Latino Democrats in particular have no reason to celebrate this guy. He has never supported Latinos – indeed he has only rarely employed or otherwise supported Latinos. Believe me – many have told me that they much rather back Benny Diaz. They stick with Umberg for fear of partisan repercussions, but just about everyone I talk to wishes that Joe Dunn was their candidate instead if Umberg.

But they are stuck with Umberg. And they don’t like it. And now that the OC GOP machinery has lined up, for the most part, behind the buffoonish Carlos Bustamante, Umberg ought to be sweating it. However, he appears to be asleep at the wheel.

If Diaz could only get some more financial support from his fellow Democrats he could singlehandedly take out Bustamante. Instead they myopically continue to shuffle behind a man they don’t like, trust, admire or respect. Why? So he can be the one “no” vote on the Board of Supervisors. Umberg might be able to ally with squishy Supe Bill Campbell, and new Supe Pat Bates, but that is not assured. Diaz at least would give his fellow Latinos hope and I know he would fight for all his constituents.

If the Democrats were smart they would write Diaz a check every time they do so for Umberg. Otherwise Bustamante might sneak up on their chosen one. And Janet Nguyen continues do to well in the polls. She remains the only viable woman in the race. Wouldn’t that be something if Umberg and Bustamante nullified each other and she slipped into first place?

The Democrats need to wake up. If Umberg is their guy they better stop wasting time and get on it – even if he is loathsome. If he is not, then now is the time to go with Diaz, or even Mark Rosen. The keystone cop Republicans are finally somewhat organized and they are getting desperate. They know that all their leaders are going to look bad if they lose to Umberg. They certainly don’t want to prove me right about Bustamante.

Ultimately I believe the Reeps will wish, retroactively, that they had lined up behind Janet Nguyen. The Democrats will likely rue the day they decided to bend knee to Umberg – knowing full well that they should have gone with Rosen or Diaz.

No telling if the Democrats will ever get excited about Umberg. The only thing we know for sure is that Kermit Marsh, Lupe Moreno, Brett Franklin, Larry Phan, and Trung Nguyen are going to lose badly. And Bustamante, if he wins, will surely be a constant source of inadvertent comic relief on the Board of Supervisors…


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"Admin" is just editors Vern Nelson, Greg Diamond, or Ryan Cantor sharing something that they mostly didn't write themselves, but think you should see. Before December 2010, "Admin" may have been former blog owner Art Pedroza.