Are Asians the New Republicans?
I've often wondered why Asians -- especially in California -- weren't more solidly Republican. They fit the general profile: socially conservative, small business owners, upwardly striving.
And they're growing.
For decades, the Republican party has made (quixotic) attempts to peel off African American voters -- the huge majority of whom, as we all know, vote Democratic.
Asians, though, might be a better bet. From the LATimes:
One of the few glimmers of hope for the GOP in a poll published last week by the Los Angeles Times and the USCCollege of Letters, Arts and Sciences was the openness among Asian voters to consider Republican candidates whom many in the state, particularly other minority groups, have spurned.
Asians, it seems, are more closely aligned with Republicans on a number of issues:
Asian voters tended to be more sympathetic to Republican policies on two fronts — fiscal and social issues — which served to emphasize their potential as swing voters.
When asked whether the state's giant budget deficit should be pared through tax hikes or decreased spending, 51% of Asian voters cited spending, well above the 35% among Latinos and the 46% among white voters.
On social issues, the distinctions were most pronounced on same-sex marriage. Thirty-eight percent of Asians said same-sex couples deserved no legal recognition, and only 29% backed the right to marriage. Among Latinos, 19% opted for no recognition and 45% backed marriage; among whites 12% opposed legal recognition and 53% supported marriage.
On immigration, Asians agreed with Latinos on backing a temporary worker program and allowing undocumented residents to gain citizenship if they fulfilled certain dictates. And they favored a measure that would allow citizenship for those who graduate from college or serve in the military.
But they differed sharply on whether employers who hire illegal immigrants should be fined: Latinos disagreed and Asians strongly agreed. And on the emotional matter of whether illegal immigrants should be barred from services like emergency room care or public school admission, Latinos strongly disagreed and Asians narrowly agreed.
So why do Republicans lose that voting group so often? And so decisively? Asians in California backed Jerry Brown. And Barbara Boxer. The future of American politics -- or, should I say, successful American politics -- is going to be cobbling together a coalition from a every slice of the American pie. The African American vote may be a lost cause for Republicans. But that means they'll need to fight harder for everyone else.
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Comments:
Aug '10
Re: Are Asians the New Republicans?
One of the answers is a deeply entrenched political machine. There are so many APIA political groups sympathetic to Democratic candidates, who are willing to openly lie to constituents in support of Ds, that Republicans have a difficult road ahead of them.
Politicians like Judy Chu make good use of this machine, and its ties to Union labor, to forward their careers.
Aug '10
Re: Are Asians the New Republicans?
Well, Stanford sure whooped on Cal, has to be some help there.
How about suggesting a clawback on the Berkeley property for railroad workers reparations ? Some nice real estate in those hills .
Imagine you could find some folks in the Sacramento grievance industry willing to work for ingots.
Re: Are Asians the New Republicans?
Rob Long: I've often wondered why Asians -- especially in California -- weren't more solidly Republican. They fit the general profile: socially conservative, small business owners, upwardly striving.
And they're growing.
Definitely true. This commercial about the debt came out a few weeks ago which I thought was brilliant.
Aug '10
Re: Are Asians the New Republicans?
Although libs have tried to insinuate into the culture the notion that the votes of certain accredited victim classes have more moral weight than the votes of others, in reality a vote is a vote. So stop trying to suck up to the un-suck-uppable, and look elsewhere.
Aug '10
Re: Are Asians the New Republicans?
Here are some of the groups to which I was referring:
APIA Vote
Asian American Action Fund
Asian Pacific Americans for Progress
Chinese American Citizens Alliance
Unions
Asian Pacific American Legal Center
http://www.apalc.org/
Where are the conservative groups? Where is the conservative outreach?
May '10
Re: Are Asians the New Republicans?
Nathaniel Wright: Here are some of the groups to which I was referring:
APIA Vote
Asian American Action Fund
Asian Pacific Americans for Progress
Chinese American Citizens Alliance
Unions
Asian Pacific American Legal Center
http://www.apalc.org/
Where are the conservative groups? Where is the conservative outreach? · Nov 22 at 12:44pm
I don't begrudge you your frustration, but conservatives just don't do the affinity group thing. On the other hand, I'm cheered to know that the likes of Bobby Jindal, Nikki Haley, John Yoo, and Elaine Chou will have more influence than the rackets in your list.
May '10
Re: Are Asians the New Republicans?
Nathaniel gets at something true and important: there has been almost zero outreach to Asians. Some other reasons:
1. Asians are better students and therefore more go on to higher education -- where liberals dominate.
2. Asians like to assimilate. They tend to live on the coasts -- where liberals dominate.
3. Government plays a pretty big role in the economy of Asian countries. (The Asian Tiger economic miracles were government-directed efforts to support export-driven industries.) Republicans expound the virtues of no government and the rule of free markets. This applies to other areas of governance, as well, including healthcare.
4. Asians think in terms of society, the collective, etc. Republicans tend to talk in terms of individualism.
May '10
Re: Are Asians the New Republicans?
Matthew Gilley
I don't begrudge you your frustration, but conservatives just don't do the affinity group thing. On the other hand, I'm cheered to know that the likes of Bobby Jindal, Nikki Haley, John Yoo, and Elaine Chou will have more influence than the rackets in your list. · Nov 22 at 1:10pm
Malarkey! ;-) We try to do the affinity group thing but just suck at it. This leaves us with individuals that we try to use as iconoclastic clubs against the liberals. How often have conservatives said something like, "What can the liberals say against Condi? She's a woman and she's black!" Asians see the humor in this -- and then wonder where the Asian Republican leaders are.
Re: Are Asians the New Republicans?
Harlech
Matthew Gilley
I don't begrudge you your frustration, but conservatives just don't do the affinity group thing. On the other hand, I'm cheered to know that the likes of Bobby Jindal, Nikki Haley, John Yoo, and Elaine Chou will have more influence than the rackets in your list. · Nov 22 at 1:10pm
Malarkey! ;-) We try to do the affinity group thing but just suck at it. This leaves us with individuals that we try to use as iconoclastic clubs against the liberals. How often have conservatives said something like, "What can the liberals say against Condi? She's a woman and she's black!" Asians see the humor in this -- and then wonder where the Asian Republican leaders are. · Nov 22 at 1:31pm
I agree. There's a line, of course, between victim-cult groups and organizations that naturally form around ethnic groups -- and I wouldn't want the Republicans to pander (they pander enough, as far as I'm concerned....) -- but not communicating directly or effectively with a large (and growing) population of like-minded people is suicidal.
Nov '10
Re: Are Asians the New Republicans?
Harlech:
1. Asians are better students and therefore more go on to higher education -- where liberals dominate.
2. Asians like to assimilate. They tend to live on the coasts -- where liberals dominate.
. . .
4. Asians think in terms of society, the collective, etc. Republicans tend to talk in terms of individualism. ·
A lot of this is true. But add to it that it's hard to reach out to the group called "Asian Americans," because they are really about as different from one another as they can be. Think of the differences between a Vietnamese-American former boat person living in Orange County, an Indian-American whose educated parents stayed in the US after finishing their Ph.D.s, and a Japanese-American whose family has been in the US for more than a century, just for example. Imagine Minnesota, where the two largest Asian subpopulations are the Hmong and Korean adoptees. It's an absurdity of modern identity politics to even conceive of them as a single group.
I would love to see the Right pay more attention to Asian-Americans, but I don't think reaching for stereotypes to apply to them is an effective approach.
Edited on November 22, 2010 at 11:33pmMay '10
Re: Are Asians the New Republicans?
Can't let you go on this one, guys...
Not to make too much out of colorful language, but Bobby Jindal and Nikki Haley are much more than iconoclastic clubs (and if anyone is wondering where the Asian Republicans are...). At the risk of making some people on here very angry, that casts them as hapless figures like Alan Keyes.
Rob Long
Harlech
We try to do the affinity group thing but just suck at it.
.... I wouldn't want the Republicans to pander ... but not communicating directly or effectively with a large (and growing) population of like-minded people is suicidal.
May '10
Re: Are Asians the New Republicans?
Lucy Pevensie
I would love to see the Right pay more attention to Asian-Americans, but I don't think reaching for stereotypes to apply to them is an effective approach. · Nov 22 at 2:31pm
Rather than target the Asian community explicitly, why not just focus on those issues where the Asian community and Republicans overlap. Asian-Americans pay taxes and many are small business owners, good issues for Republicans. They are the victims of the racial preference system at many universities, and I know from experience how angry some of they families. There are other issues as well that could be leveraged.
Earlier generations of Republicans were likely not very welcoming to earlier generations of Asian Americans, especially the immigrants, but the times and the party have changed. Republicans should make a point to address the issues that are important to this population.
Oct '10
Re: Are Asians the New Republicans?
Probably because the dems have successfully painted the GOP as a racist bunch. And young Asian Americans born in the US tend to be more liberal than older generations or those living outside the US (non-US citizens).
Aug '10
Re: Are Asians the New Republicans?
You must address the groups individually. Certainly, you appeal to them by demonstrating where your policy preferences and underlying morays overlap, but you must make direct appeals.
It's called voter mobilization. It is called co-opting. It is called communicating. Just as Ronald Reagan began his Evil Empire speech by stating "I believe in the power of intercessional prayer" as a way to reach out to Evangelicals, who had voted for Carter BTW, politicians must reach out to communities specifically to demonstrate similarities.
Maybe the funding of abortion clinics in, primarily, minority neighborhoods could be compared to Chinese single child policies. Maybe Affirmative Action's discrimination against APIA students in college could be mentioned. Maybe the Garment District, of Los Angeles, and its exploitation of Chinese Immigrants could be mentioned. Maybe just pointing out the pandering and lies that the Dems are using is enough. Maybe double checking the translations that the Dems "non-partisan" allies assist with might be done as well.
May '10
Re: Are Asians the New Republicans?
East Asians (in my experience) tend to bear a slight grudge, in spite of their obvious success, due to an inherited narrative about the treatment of their grandparents in the USA. They tacitly regard the Democratic Party as the proper party for people who have complaints against the establishment.
Nov '10
Re: Are Asians the New Republicans?
Which is utterly ridiculous, as the man who did that to their grandparents is the Democrats' great saint!
May '10
Re: Are Asians the New Republicans?
Local politics in California in the big cities are exclusively Democratic. Asian-Americans interested in politics tend to start there and there is no realistic way to beat the Democratic machine as a Republican. Plus the Republicans in California are generally inept. So every CA Asian politician with a following grows up through that system.Ergo prominent national Asian-American Republicans will most likely emerge from the Midwest.
Add to that no particular cultural antipathy toward statism -- take a gander at East and South Asia -- and you find despite the pro-business strain there is not any particular fire in the belly for small government causes.
Finally the "Asian-ness" which we all are quick to assign, does not seem such a common touchpoint to members of the group. Whereas black people of Caribbean descent can get excited for a presidential candidate of African descent because of a shared U.S. experience, Chinese Americans are unlikely to become equally excited for a Vietnamese, Korean, Indian, or Japanese-American candidate.
Building up cultural diversity within the Republican party is important for a variety of reasons, but I don't think the establishment of voting blocks is a good one.
Re: Are Asians the New Republicans?
Seems like there’s an opportunity to win a lot of Korean-American goodwill presenting itself in the firm rhetorical (and physical) defense of the ROK.
Aug '10
Re: Are Asians the New Republicans?
Asians need to be reminded constantly that liberals regard them as Honorary White People, not as Honorary Black People. They're therefore not likely to be on the receiving end of the racial spoils system.