Many years ago I was proud to have contributed to an upstart young Latina Democrat in one of the most conservative corners of the nation, Orange County California, defeating an incumbent right wing nut case Republican named Bob "B-2" Dornan. Dornan makes most of the Bush administration seem sane. I donated to Loretta Sanchez's original campaign when she defeated Dornan, and I contributed to her first re-election, which finally convinced Dornan that YES, a hispanic woman Democrat really DID defeat him. Now Loretta is solidly established in Congress and I never regretted supporting her even though some consider her a "Blue Dog" democrat. I even supported her sister, Linda Sanchez, when she successfully ran for Congress more recently in another district in California.

Every year I get a HUGE number of Holiday cards from politicians from ALL OVER the country. Most are nice, but boring. Loretta Sanchez always sends a really cool card.

I can't remember the 2007 holiday card from Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, but her 2006 holiday card was interesting enough for me to comment on:

THIS year she has gone from a surfer theme to a biker theme:

As someone who is a possible successor to Barbara Boxer or Diane Feinstein for Senate, and as the woman who twice defeated one of America's most insane and conservative Congressmen, Loretta Sanchez just plain rocks!

And for those who are interested in a Latina's view of American politics and Congress in particular, I hear Dream in Color, co-written by Loretta and Linda, is a very interesting book. It is on my very long list of books to read.