McCain losing his chance to win over the Asian American vote
There are legions of voters in this country who are completely invisible -- at least to the GOP. Even though McCain can't seem to stop talking about his war experiences in Asia (specifically 'Nam), what he hasn't been able to do is address the unique issues impacting the millions of Asian American voters in this country. And unlike George W. Bush, he can't play the blame game and cling to ignorance as this pathetic excuse.
Since the start of this election, an Asian American Advocacy group known as the 80-20 Initiative has been pressing hard for the presidential candidates to commit to issues disproportionately plaguing Asian America. Obama signed a pledge during the primaries.
And McCain?
No dice. Like I said, McCain can't see us -- something that might cost him big in November.
I get that in the past racial policies have proven divisive and polarizing, but the 80-20 Initiative isn't some radical, left-wing group asking that the presidential candidates commit to extreme racial projects. They're asking for commitments to fight the very real racism that Asian Americans face in the work force, from racialized glass ceilings to hiring discrimination practices to being consistently overlooked for federal judge appointments. And given that there's a fairly wide support for equal protection, signing wouldn't exactly cause the non-Asian American electorate to rush the streets and use it as the one issue to block a McCain administration from seeing the light of day.
But has he lost the the Asian American swing vote by not signing the pledge?
That's a different story.
As an Asian American, I can testify firsthand how incredibly frustrating it is when the issues we care about are completely removed from the political discourse. We're often told that we belong to this "model minority" who has already transcended racism and as a result, our experiences with discrimination aren't valid.
I'm not going to go into all of the reasons why the widely over-generalized "model minority" stereotype is untrue and racist. But I will say this: Telling me that you don't acknowledge my experiences isn't going to convince me that they aren't real. It's going to convince me to not vote for you.
What McCain doesn't seem to get is that by not going after voters that happen to look like me, he's going up against a political force that shouldn't be taken lightly. Asian Americans constitute roughly 5 percent of the nation - more than enough to make the difference in a race that has been so up and down. And thanks partially to an ugly history of racial-segregation practices, the power of the Asian American voting bloc is even more powerful than the numbers suggest.
This swing bloc is disproportionately located where our votes matter even more: swing states.
Going by the 2000 census data, there are nine states where the Asian American population exceeds the national average. And five have been dubbed possible swing states in the 2008 race by USA Today. These include California, Washington and New Jersey - traditionally blue states which have proven receptive to Republican candidates at the state-level, two of which Hillary Clinton won in the primaries; Virginia - a traditionally red state that is now up for grabs thanks to Obama's unprecedented popularity among African American voters; and the more traditional swing state of Nevada, another state that Obama couldn't win during the primaries.
But it's not too late for McCain to win our votes. I know this is going to sound odd coming from an Asian American, given an ugly stereotype about our physical appearance that I won't directly mention, but Sen. McCain: open your eyes!
The key to this election is often said to be in the hands of swing voters and former Clinton supporters, over one fifth of whom have already decided to support you. Asian Americans represent both. Given that we voted Hillary almost 3:1 in the California primary, it's not an incredible jump to think that a renewed effort from the McCain Camp to address issues we care about could mean more defection -- something that could reverse the McCain slide in the polls.
Joseph Bui is a writer for The Daily Californian, a student at the University of California-Berkeley and a former associate for the Hillary Clinton campaign.
Thank you Mr. Bui for pointing out that which occasionally needs revisiting; since Eisenhower, the Republican Party has more often than not turned a blind eye to minority issues. However, a close Vietnamese American friend tells us his acquaintances in Little Saigon are voting solidly McCain because "they think Democrats are Communists". With any luck, the recent economic events will get them to reconsider their manipulated bias. After global shame (immoral invasion, torture, failed Katrina response, lies, spying, cronyism, retribution, draconian economic policy favoring the wealthiest, etc.) you'd hope Asian Americans would make the obvious choice based solely on the obvious issues. But unfortunately race and Red-baiting still seem to carry the Asian American day. Too bad.
Well - according to the National Asian American Survey released on Sunday, 41 percent of Asian Americans said they would most likely support Sen. Barack Obama while 24 percent said Sen. John McCain. That still leaves a huge number of undecided voters that would be up for grabs if McCain actually addressed Asian Am issues. So your friend and the people he knows? Not representative of the Asian Am community.
Thank you for the stats. They are reassuring. However the Vietnamese community in Orange Co. California, much like the Cuban American community in Florida is very staunchly Republican. There are some defectors from that mindset, they are few. Ironically, I believe that of all the Orange Co. demographic groups, it is the Vietnamese who most utilize the New Deal and Great Society programs from Democratic administrations. Yet they still vote mostly Republican. I will apprise my friend of those statistics you mentioned. Thanks.
Thank you Bui, it was a very good article you wrote. One thing I don't understand is why lots of older Vietnamese are voting for McCain ? when I asked them what has he done for them they don't seem to really sure of themselves . Anyway I'm glad someone is talking to me.
Obam/Biden 08 !
Thank you Ms. Bui. A wonderful article aiming at a win-win prospect for both the Asian American community and the Republican Party. I'll share parts of your article with the
700,000 Asian Am. families and individuals on our email list. Want to become more active in 80-20? We can use a good writer like you and we need young blood. :-) Thanks again.
S. B. Woo
Sorry. Ms. should be Mr. My apologies. SB
Mr. Bui, your article has done great service to not only equality for a small minority group but to the nation who proclaims the leader of the world. The self proclaimation is fallable when its core is unhealthy. Your article is a wake-up call to the Republican.
The answer to why certain generation of Asian American being Republican supporter can be traced to the background of their experience of the communist incursions in Vietnam and China. They do view the Republicans are protectors and Democrats as Communists. They will not admit that Richard Nixon and not a Democrat was the first president who shoke hand with the Communist.
Lastly, 80-20 will need your telant and service.
Gary Tang
Thank you Mr. Bui for your article. Asian Americans must understand the concept of block vote. Since Obama/Biden has pledged in writing that they will break the glass ceiling for Asian Americans, it is a no-brainer who we must vote for.
I bet you it will turn out to be a huge block vote for McCain from Vietnamese Americans. From where I am if there is a vote for Obama, it will be a technical mistake. That’s the only way I can explain the incident.
Orange County, California
Can someone explain why McCain would still be getting the majority of the Vietnamese American vote?
One of the good reasons Obama chose HOPE as his goal, is to encourage everyone gets involved. This is our country and we fight for every right we deserve just like everyone else. Nice work.
Thank you Mr. Bui for the excellent article. Your point of view is balanced and accurate.
Mr. Joseph Bui:
Your points are well taken. Asian Americans (AA) are important, and when united, AA will be more important and less insivible. (Negative) and inaccurate stereotypes may lead to prejudice and discrimination. On the other hand, AA should stand up and fight for their own rights and serve the communities in order to overcome those (negative) stereotypes regardless of accuracy or inaccuracy. No one supports or saves AA except themselves.
So swing voting bloc and fighting for equal opportunities for Asian Americans are main goals of 80-20 in dealing with negative and inaccurate stereotypes, discrimination and other social injustice. We thank you for writing the article, reiterating the goals of 80-20. 80-20 definitely aims for the future of Asian Americans, especially Asian American youth. We need more AA to speak up like you. Thank you.
YT Lee (or Li YT)
Most Chinese Americans I know, who are baby boomers and younger, are not supporting Senator McCain. The more educated they are, the less likely they are to support Republicans in general. When you look at the issues and the fact that Senator Obama was willing to meet 80-20 and work for equal access for Asians while Senator McCain refused to work with 80-20, it becomes obvious who to support.
Even without the issue of equal access, when one looks at the recent Republican Rallies, especially those run by Governor Palin, they are almost 100% white and extremely xenophobic and racist. I find it amazing that the Vietnamese community is so pro Republican. How can they support a party whose core base hates and despises them?
Joseph,
You have well articulated the issues that 80-20 Initiative has been assiduously pursuing Bush administration to address during the last 8 years - but only benign neglect offered in response from the administration. We should not expect any different response from McCain who is now focusing on attracting right wing evangelical votes by selecting Palin as his running mate. Obama brings a fresh set of ideology that is inclusive of all people in America. Asian Americans must deliver an 80% block vote to Obama to show our political muscle, and to blast the glass ceiling that is besetting many Asian Americans from reaching to the rightful positions they deserve.
I'm amazed by the call of Bui to consider McCain. The Republicans provided 2 of the WORST
Presidents in modern history: Nixon and W. Bush and are responsible for running the country to the groud: economy, morality and justice, just to name a few. We do not want another 'empirical' regime and we surely do not want another Republican near the White House or Capitol.
80-20 are notorious spammers who target anyone who happens to have an Asian-sounding name. I've been getting spam from them for years.
Hi Christina,
Vietnamese Americans don’t vote for either Republican or Democrat. Political affiliation doesn’t mean too much to them. History reveals that good presidents do not depend on the parties they come from. Vietnamese Americans vote for a credible leader. Among other things, integrity, compassion, wisdom, and courage are four distinguishing characters of a credible leader. If McCain were a democrat, they would vote for him. Now you know why…
T. Nguyen:
It's just naive to assume that the President can run the country by himself alone. McCain adopted a lot of the Bush old hands in his campaign. These and other Bush associates will become the backbone of his administration (hope not!). This is NOT a selection of an emperor!