Excited
Source: The Washington Post
California is a pretty “blue” state, so the likelihood of the state going for McCain is pretty slim, so Asian Americans don’t necessarily can swing the fate of the election. However, Virginia is becoming quite the battleground state – and Asian Americans make up 4.8% of Virginians. The Washington Post describes the excitement in “Asian Americans Feeling the Power – Ethnic Groups See Opportunity to Affect Outcome of Presidential Race in Va.“:
“There are more than 160,000 Asian American citizens of voting age in the state, and an aggressive registration drive is adding several thousand voters. Partisan activists and public interest groups said Asian Americans could play as important a role in this national election as they did in the 2006 Senate race in Virginia, when they helped Democrat James Webb, a Vietnam war veteran, defeat incumbent George Allen… In Virginia, for example, the Hispanic populace, at more than 250,000, outnumbers Asian Americans. But most Hispanic residents are relative newcomers and a minority are U.S. citizens. By contrast, more than half of Asian American residents in the state are U.S. citizens of voting age. African Americans are by far Virginia’s largest minority group. In 2006, blacks accounted for 19.9 percent of the state population; Hispanics, 6.3 percent; and Asian Americans, 4.8 percent.”
Asian American activist S.R. Sidarth, an Indian-American, was a tracker videotaping Senator George Allen’s campaign event that captured Allen pointing to Sidarth and calling him a racial epithet, “macaca” – which spread like wildfire on the Internet and media, helping Democrat Jim Webb to defeat George Allen! As I had blogged and someone dismissed my comment, one Asian American can make a difference. And Asian Americans can help swing the election for Obama or McCain in Virginia, which could tip the election for either of them!
How does this post make you feel?
- Fascinated
- Amused
- Bored
- Sad
- Angry
NOTE: 8Asians.com is a community, and we thank you for being a part of it. While we welcome and appreciate differences in opinion, if you're rude or you're promoting spam, we have a right to edit or delete your comment. Read our comment policy for more information.
If you see a comment that violates the 8Asians.com comment policy, you may flag the comment by mousing over the comment and clicking "FLAG."
Oh, in regards to the comment about how some won't vote for Obama because of his race, you can rest assured that there is balance. My entire extended family of about 15 people are voting for Obama specifically because he's black.
Oh, in regards to the comment about how some won't vote for Obama because of his race, you can rest assured that there is balance. My entire extended family of about 15 people are voting for Obama specifically because he's black.
It's really quite simple, it's all about the money!
-Asians that are wealthy vote Republican (tend to be East Asians, generation 1-3)
-Asian that are poor vote Democratic (Can be East and Southeast Asians)
Values don't play as much as a factor as you think, poor Asians with Asian values still vote Democratic even though those values are conservative in nature. What's a bigger factor is what generation they are, obviously the larger the number the more assimilated they will be, they will then tend to vote in the same fashion as an regular Americans.
It's really quite simple, it's all about the money!
-Asians that are wealthy vote Republican (tend to be East Asians, generation 1-3)
-Asian that are poor vote Democratic (Can be East and Southeast Asians)
Values don't play as much as a factor as you think, poor Asians with Asian values still vote Democratic even though those values are conservative in nature. What's a bigger factor is what generation they are, obviously the larger the number the more assimilated they will be, they will then tend to vote in the same fashion as an regular Americans.
The ethnic, generational, and immigration diversity of 'Asian Americans' almost guarantees it will never be looked at as a voting 'block'.
Can you imagine any other 'racial' voting block having a noticeable percentage of it voting for the candidate that voted against an apology for the treatment of one of the ethnic groups making up it's racial identity.
McCain voted against the 'Civil Liberties Act of 1988', an apology for the Japanese American internment camps and their loss of real estate and property. Yeah, local governments taking away real estate and personal property is a conservative value?
As Paul Igasaki wrote at aaa-fund.com,
"Barack Obama taught his law students about this story as a fundamental part of American Constitutional law. As a civil rights lawyer and as a community organizer, the lessons of the relocation helped define his work.".
Going back to our 1960's civil rights era Asian American roots it comes down to:
McCain who voted AGAINST an apology and redress for the Japanese American internment.
McCain who voted AGAINST MLK day.
McCain who was still using the word 'GOOK' in his vocabulary until his presidential run.
Or
Obama who grew up in Hawaii with and around a large population of Asian Americans.
Obama who was raised by an Asian step father.
Obama who's sister married an Asian Canadian.
Obama who taught Constitutional Law at Harvard with lessons learned from EO 9066 (Japanese American relocation).
As a 4th generation American of Asian ethnicity, I identify with American values. My family has been American for over a 100 years. Akrypti, please inform us Americanized Asians what 'Traditional Asian Values' are. Racial/ethnic stereotypes and sweeping generalizations = Fail
The ethnic, generational, and immigration diversity of 'Asian Americans' almost guarantees it will never be looked at as a voting 'block'.
Can you imagine any other 'racial' voting block having a noticeable percentage of it voting for the candidate that voted against an apology for the treatment of one of the ethnic groups making up it's racial identity.
McCain voted against the 'Civil Liberties Act of 1988', an apology for the Japanese American internment camps and their loss of real estate and property. Yeah, local governments taking away real estate and personal property is a conservative value?
As Paul Igasaki wrote at aaa-fund.com,
"Barack Obama taught his law students about this story as a fundamental part of American Constitutional law. As a civil rights lawyer and as a community organizer, the lessons of the relocation helped define his work.".
Going back to our 1960's civil rights era Asian American roots it comes down to:
McCain who voted AGAINST an apology and redress for the Japanese American internment.
McCain who voted AGAINST MLK day.
McCain who was still using the word 'GOOK' in his vocabulary until his presidential run.
Or
Obama who grew up in Hawaii with and around a large population of Asian Americans.
Obama who was raised by an Asian step father.
Obama who's sister married an Asian Canadian.
Obama who taught Constitutional Law at Harvard with lessons learned from EO 9066 (Japanese American relocation).
As a 4th generation American of Asian ethnicity, I identify with American values. My family has been American for over a 100 years. Akrypti, please inform us Americanized Asians what 'Traditional Asian Values' are. Racial/ethnic stereotypes and sweeping generalizations = Fail
Republicans were mostly responsible for fighting slavery but times change. Just because someone did something in the past doesn't mean he can still laud it in the present day.
Republicans were mostly responsible for fighting slavery but times change. Just because someone did something in the past doesn't mean he can still laud it in the present day.
I think you mean that Allen called Sidarth an epithet, not an epitaph!
(Editors note: Thanks for the catch. I fixed this.)
I think you mean that Allen called Sidarth an epithet, not an epitaph!
(Editors note: Thanks for the catch. I fixed this.)
I read this article a couple days back. I'm not as disturbed that Asians vote Republican, I'm disturbed that they vote for someone like John McCain. And the picture, it hurts to watch all those people holding up McCain/Palin signs. My goodness.
I read this article a couple days back. I'm not as disturbed that Asians vote Republican, I'm disturbed that they vote for someone like John McCain. And the picture, it hurts to watch all those people holding up McCain/Palin signs. My goodness.
People need to review the history books and recall which abolitionists, civil rights advocates, etc. were Republican. Many APAs are Republican because it's the party most aligned with traditional Asian values. We can critique the state of the political parties today, but some of these comments here were unconstructive, not to mention wrong.
People need to review the history books and recall which abolitionists, civil rights advocates, etc. were Republican. Many APAs are Republican because it's the party most aligned with traditional Asian values. We can critique the state of the political parties today, but some of these comments here were unconstructive, not to mention wrong.
Asian Americans voting for republicans are traitors to all the history that our people had to suffer through in order to be treated equally (or close to it).
Asian American's used to be a solid voting block for Democrats, just like African Americans; however over the year's we've lost our identity, and forgotten about our history. While older generations still feel the pain of racism and being treated as less than human, the younger generation has been de-sensitized to our struggles and have drifted off to the party that wanted to take no part in giving us our current freedoms.
Never forget, we were once looked down upon just like slaves and treated similarly in many ways. Open your eyes, we are still facing these challenges today. Especially in this election; John McCain hates gooks. Can McCain even distinguish between gook and Asian? I don't think so. Racism matters.
Asian Americans voting for republicans are traitors to all the history that our people had to suffer through in order to be treated equally (or close to it).
Asian American's used to be a solid voting block for Democrats, just like African Americans; however over the year's we've lost our identity, and forgotten about our history. While older generations still feel the pain of racism and being treated as less than human, the younger generation has been de-sensitized to our struggles and have drifted off to the party that wanted to take no part in giving us our current freedoms.
Never forget, we were once looked down upon just like slaves and treated similarly in many ways. Open your eyes, we are still facing these challenges today. Especially in this election; John McCain hates gooks. Can McCain even distinguish between gook and Asian? I don't think so. Racism matters.
I've never heard that either. From what my father has said, he's seen him and his friends starting off as Democrats as new immigrants and as they have become successful and raised families, they have become more Republican. So maybe there is some validity in that... And then you have my grandparents who won't vote Obama because he's black and says he looks like the devil. You got to love that old world motherland racism.
I've never heard that either. From what my father has said, he's seen him and his friends starting off as Democrats as new immigrants and as they have become successful and raised families, they have become more Republican. So maybe there is some validity in that... And then you have my grandparents who won't vote Obama because he's black and says he looks like the devil. You got to love that old world motherland racism.
That is very interesting - I've never heard that theory on Asian American Republicans.
Well, Virginia I think will turn blue this year...
That is very interesting - I've never heard that theory on Asian American Republicans.
Well, Virginia I think will turn blue this year...
I feel angry at the asians voting for mccain, most of them think that voting republican makes them "White"
I feel angry at the asians voting for mccain, most of them think that voting republican makes them "White"
Trackbacks
Custom Search
Recent Posts
- Chinese New Year Lanterns
- Is Kim Jong Un Dead? Assassination Rumors Hit the Internet
- Help Fight Stereoptypes With Asian Crew Clothing
- Deftones’ Chi Cheng Wakes Up From His 3-Year Coma
- SXSW 2012 Has a Nice Handful of Asian Movies
- Woman In China Gives Birth To 15 Lb Baby
- Naruto & Dragonball Now Available On Barnes & Noble Nook
Recent Comments
- : while it was pretty hilarious, it's a little disconcerting that most of the people who responded didn't use spellcheck. – What I Learned From Posting A Dragon Lady Personal Ad
- : @dcj125 Riiiiiiiiight.... cuz that's exactly what I meant with my comment. – What if Jeremy Lin Weren't Asian?
- : Why does Gawker seem to think that random Chinese citizens would know what's going on in North Korea? Seems kind of ignorant. – Is Kim Jong Un Dead? Assassination Rumors Hit the Internet
- : I'm only familiar enough on this issue with the Chinese communities in the Northeast so I can only speak to those. Along the I95 corridor... – Bonnie Tsui & “The Changing Face of America’s Chinatowns”
- : No one should ever feel "bound by the shackles of" their own heritage/culture. To feel burdened by your roots is to have the wrong attitude... – White Tigers: Being Caught Between Western And Asian Cultures
APA Events
Feb 16: Adam WarRock and Kirby Krackle: West Cost Tour Dates!!!
Feb 16: (New York, NY) Amar Chitra Katha: Monica Ferrell, Chitra Ganesh, Keshni Kashyap, and Himanshu “Heems” Suri of Das Racist
Feb 17: (Los Angeles, CA) All My Sons
Feb 18: (Stanford, CA) Stanford’s 16th Listen to the Silence Conference- Feb 18: (San Francisco, CA) NAAAP-SF Lunar New Year Gala 2012
Feb 25: (Los Angeles, CA) Past Present I Future Imperatives: Queer Space Time
Mar 3: (New York, NY) Vong Pak’s ‘Electric Shaman’ Concert
Apr 30: (Sacramento, CA) California Asian Pacific Islander Policy Summit 2012: iAdvocate
Staff and Contributors
- Editors
- Ernie Hsiung - Founder, Editor-in-Chief
- Moye Ishimoto - Co-Editor, Editorial
- Joz Wang - Co-Editor, PR & APA Outreach
[...] coverage, which is true. Asian Americans do make about 5% of the U.S. population, but this year, there are some swing states like Virginia and Nevada that Asian Americans CAN make a [...]
[...] story profiles Asian Americans who support McCain and those who support Obama. As you may know, Virginia is surprisingly a key swing state this year where there are enough Asian Americans to actua… swing the state one way or another. One part of the news piece which I think CBS got wrong was that [...]
[...] by 0.5% of the vote and where Asian Americans in Virginia voted 76% for Jim Webb over George Allen. Asian Americans comprise approximately 5% of Virgina’s population, and makes up 16% in Northern Virginia – in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. Virginia and Asian [...]