Asian is the New Republican

You remember the old fashioned saying, Brown is the new Black? In politics, I've heard variations of this: Gay is the new Black, and Hispanic is the new Black, and even Black is still the new Black.

(And some of us have even clung to the phrase 40 is the new 30, though a few years ago a friend of mine saw a young person walking by wearing a t-shirt that said 40 is not the new 30. It took a lot of self-discipline, my friend told me, not to punch the little brat in the teeth ...)

So as the Republican party tries to figure out how to make Hispanic the new Republican, it may be more useful to concentrate on winning the fastest growing ethnic group in America: Asians.

But that raises the question: why aren't they Republicans already? Charles Murray has a few thoughts on that, from the AEI blog -- with a big hat tip to the indispensable Daily Caller:

Read more here: http://ricochet.com/main-feed/Asian-is-the-New-Republican/(page)/3

Ron Villanueva — Delegate, Virginia's 21st District

A native of Virginia Beach, Ron Villanueva was involved in his community at an early age, volunteering for local organizations and elected officials on the grassroots level. He soon began working as a Legislative Aide for Senator (then Delegate) Frank Wagner.

In 2002 Ron became the youngest person ever elected to Virginia Beach City Council, winning an At-Large seat. In 2006 he was re-elected as the top vote getter, with over 50% of the ballots cast, running in a field of 10 candidates.

On City Council Ron worked to hold the line on taxes and promote economic growth, such as by attracting international businesses like Operation Smile to Virginia Beach, and working with local leaders and private business to expand operations of others.

His support of the Town Center office/restaurant/shopping complex has further enhanced the business profile of the area, and Ron’s efforts were instrumental in preserving one of the key economic engines of Virginia Beach, Oceana NAS, which was at one time a target to relocate.
In 2009 Ron won the 21st district House of Delegates seat in Virginia Beach, becoming the first Filipino-American (Fil-Am) elected to Virginia state government.

In his first session in Richmond, Ron successfully carried legislation allowing Virginia to drill for oil and natural gas offshore in the Atlantic Ocean. Ron also focused on helping Virginia recover from a slumping economy by opposing tax increases and working to ease the blow of severe budget cuts, on education, healthcare and transportation. (see Legislation section of web site for more details on Ron’s legislation)

Ron is partner at SEK Solutions, a government and military services provider. A graduate of Old Dominion University, Ron spent 8 years in the Coast Guard Reserves. He and his wife Cathy are raising four children and attend St. Marks Church.

[Official Bio from the Delegate's Website]

John Yoo: Why Aren’t Asians Republicans?

 

 

I’ve enjoyed the thought-provoking posts on why Asian Americans went for Obama in such large numbers — at 70 percent, more than any other ethnic group aside from African Americans. My AEI colleague Charles Murray makes some excellent points, as do Rob Long and Ricochet member TheSophist, who sounds like he was separated at birth from me.

 

In fact, having spent some time talking with Norman Podhoretz, author of the excellent Why are Jews Liberals?, on the National Review cruise, I’ve been inspired to write a book on Asians and politics. Taking off on Norman’s book, I may perhaps call it “Are Asians Liberals?”

To me, the similarities between Jews and Asians are compelling. Both have higher incomes and educational levels than the average American. Both hail from a number of different countries and often emigrated here with high amounts of human capital but low levels of material capital. Both come from cultures — despite the broad definition of Asian — that respect and prize scholarship and intellectuals. Both are discriminated against — unconstitutionally, in my view — in college and university admissions, and once, no doubt, in government hiring and contracting. Both prize family values and seem to be more religious than the average voter.

Continue Reading → http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/334436/why-arent-asians-republicans-john-yoo#

Filipino Republicans gather to Watch Presidential Debate

                    


LOS ANGELES, Calif–All eyes were on the second presidential face-off between the incumbent President Barack Obama and his challenger Governor Mitt Romney on Tuesday night. During the 90-minute town hall style debate, both candidates touched on the economy, the environment, and gun control.

There was that question of when the White House fully acknowledged that terrorists attacked the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. And then there was the expected attempt to appeal to women voters, with Romney flip flopping on his stand on contraceptives.

Filipino Republicans gathered a private home in Monterey Park to watch the debate hoping that Romney can solidify his campaign.

 “Romey is sustaining his ability to lead and I think Obama is not making a difference now. It’s just the same Obama talking about not knowing or accepting his problems during his 4 years,” said California Republican delegate Cecil Ramos

Filipinos Leaning Towards Romney

LOS ANGELES – Based on the findings of the 2012 National Asian American Survey (NAAS), Filipinos are showing the most support for presidential candidate Mitt Romney among all Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI) racial groups.
According to the survey, the 38 percent of Filipinos supporting the former Massachusetts governor is the strongest degree of endorsement for Romney among all AAPIs.

Among Filipinos, 27 percent identify themselves as Republicans, while only 24 percent identify themselves as Democrats. Meanwhile, almost half of Filipinos (45 percent) claim to be independent or non-partisan.

Filipinos who identify themselves as Republicans outnumber those who identify themselves as Democrats. The survey also found that a larger portion of Filipinos now identify with the Republican Party than any other Asian American group. This sudden growth of Republican support is a big shift from prior surveys, according to the NAAS.

In 2008, 50 percent of the Filipino community voted for President Barack Obama (the Democrat candidate back then) while 46 percent voted for Republican Senator John McCain.

Continue reading → http://www.asianjournal.com/fil-am-news/3-filamnews/17837-fil-ams-lean-towards-romney-survey.html

Fil-Am GOP Leader Lauds Romney-Ryan Economic Plan

SAN FRANCISCO – About 30 Filipino-American seniors from all over the Bay Area gathered Thursday morning at a community center in a largely Filipino enclave in the heart of San Francisco’s South of Market district.

Along with their regular breakfast and a mental health workshop, Rudy Asercion, who directs the West Bay Filipino Multi-Services Inc., also served up a good dose of politics, rallying them to register and vote. He also invited them to the center that evening to watch the vice presidential candidates Joe Biden and Paul Ryan in their first and only televised debate.

A recent national survey of Asian American voters found that Filipinos show the highest level of support for GOP presidential candidate Gov. Mitt Romney. But, at this local debate-watching party at West Bay, opinions are split among supporters of him and Pres. Obama , with some voters still undecided about whom to support.

Watching the debate, Asercion says Congressman Ryan hammered two key issues that resonate strongly with the Filipino electorate: the economy and health care.

Asercion is the chair of the National Organization of Filipino-American Republicans and an elected member of the San Francisco Republican Party Central Committee.

Continue reading → http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=9a37c343636310f31c2aa3225526d30f

Rising Asian-Amer​ican Political Star From Calif. is Romney’s Chief Policy Director

Lanhee Chen in 2007. (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

By Frank Stoltze One of Mitt Romney’s top advisors is a rising Asian-American political star from Southern California. As Romney’s chief policy director, 34-year-old Lanhee Chen plays a key role in advising the Republican presidential nominee on foreign and domestic issues. At the GOP Convention in Tampa in August, Asian-American journalists from around the country couldn’t wait to talk to Lanhee Chen.

They peppered him with questions about Mitt Romney’s immigration policy and views on Asia. Chen responded to one of the reporters, “Well, I mean obviously there are some challenges in the region. China is becoming increasingly aggressive in the South China Sea.”

  Chen, dressed in a sport coat and open collar, answered questions easily, until a reporter asked a more personal question, about his role as one of the few prominent Asian Americans inside a Republican campaign for president. “I’m not really ever sure what to say about that, but it is interesting to look around and realize that most people don’t look quite like you do,” said Chen.

Read more »

Live From Tampa: Asian-Republican Summit A Huge Success

Washington, D.C. — The Asian Pacific American Republican Network says the Republican National Convention from August 28-30 in Tampa, FL, clearly showed who Asian Pacific Americans should support to lead our country forward in this difficult time.

 

The Network says Romney extols America’s spirit of freedom and entrepreneurship and to build our own businesses and careers.

 

The Network says Romney believes that hard-working individuals should keep more of their earnings instead of funding inefficient and wasteful government programs. Therefore, taxes should be kept as low as possible.

 

Read More: http://aapress.com/editorial/apia-in-support-of-romney/
 

 

 

          Live From Tampa: Asian-Republican Summit A Huge Success

 

After several busy weeks and literally hundreds of e-mails, the first Asian-American Republican Summit attracted a huge crowd at the stately St. Petersburg Lyceum. Board of Equalization Member Michelle Steel, Steven Fong, Susie and Joel Angeles were heroes!

It putting together this event, these four really pulled off a feat! Without seeking anyone’s permission they put on a really great, quality event!

But it was not an easy endeavor. First they had to secure an available venue. Secondly they had arrange for private transportation for people to get there. Finally they had to put together a list of top notch speakers that would attract a large number of Asian-American Republican.

When the Honorable Elaine Chao, Secretary of Labor in the administration of President George W. Bush, agreed to Michelle’s request that she’d be the featured speaker — that led to a cascade of elected Asian Republican officials to want to attend the Summit!

Quite by surprise Leehan Chin, Governor Romney’s policy director and all around wunderkind spontaneously accepted Michelle’s invitation and the summit committee was off to the races.

 

Read More: http://www.flashreport.org/blog/2012/08/27/live-from-tampa-asian-republican-summit-a-huge-success/

Michelle Mai Selesky - The Asian-American dream and the Republican Party

By Michelle Mai Selesky

Senator Rand Paul in his speech to the Republican National Convention Wednesday night highlighted the personal stories of Southeast Asian immigrants, including the Taing family from Cambodia and Vietnamese brothers Hung and Thuan Trinh, who risked their lives to sail to America on a boat from Vietnam. He told us about the risk they took to flee their war-torn countries – a risk often unimaginable to many of us born in the United States – to find freedom, peace and opportunity in the country we call home.

As a second-generation Vietnamese-American, I was proud and encouraged to see Republicans not only praising immigrants who worked hard to build their own success, but calling attention to the often politically-overlooked group of Americans who so embody the American dream and are increasingly important to the future of our country.

Some interesting facts to consider: Asians recently surpassed Hispanics to become the largest group of immigrants to the United States, with Asians approaching 40 percent of immigrants in 2009 while immigrants of Hispanic origin were just over 30 percent. To add to that, the number of Asian-Americans running for Congress this year has more than tripled since 2008.

Republicans take note: As the Asian-American population continues to grow and become more and more politically engaged we have a huge opportunity – and a huge responsibility – to include Asian-Americans into our party that promotes and defends our shared values of family, small business ownership, and freedom from big government.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/08/31/asian-american-dream-and-republican-party/#ixzz27skxlXDQ


Michelle Mai Selesky is the Communications Coordinator at Gingrich Communications where she orchestrates radio and media opportunities for the former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and his co-authors, in addition to promoting speeches, book signings, Newt.org, and DVD and audio marketing. She also serves as the Communications Director of the Young Conservatives Coalition (YCC).

Michelle holds a Masters Degree in Political Management from the Graduate School of Political Management at George Washington University. In 2007, she graduated with honors from UCLA, where she earned a B.A. in Political Science and served as team captain of the UCLA Women's Gymnastics team. Before joining Gingrich Communications, Michelle was a production assistant intern at The Michael Reagan Show in Los Angeles. She currently works and resides in Washington, DC.

Romney courts Asians in Northern Virginia

FAIRFAX, Va. -- Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney reached out to Northern Virginia's fast-growing Asian-American population during a campaign stop here Thursday as he looks to lure more voters under his party's tent to help him get over the finish line in a state he badly needs to win this November.

Romney invited five women to speak before him, including three Asian-Americans, who represent a population in Virginia that ballooned by 72 percent in the last decade and now make up 6.5 percent of the state's 8 million residents. It's a demographic that Romney is actively courting to offset President Obama's advantage among black and Hispanic voters, and it could help even the score in Democratic-leaning Northern Virginia.

Read More: http://washingtonexaminer.com/romney-courts-asians-in-northern-virginia/article/2507956

Satirical Tweet and photo by Democratic campaign staffer Kelly Steele aimed at Republican candidate for governor Rob McKenna leads to calls for apology

The photograph of Rob McKenna at last week’s Asian Pacific American Community Summit in Tacoma has been making the rounds on the web. It shows McKenna waiting for the sometimes lengthy translations of his and Jay Inslee’s answers during a joint appearance at the summit held every four years.

While it is not exactly flattering, it doesn’t display anything more than a guy having to stand on a stage with a neutral expression while a dozen translations of various Asian and Pacific Islander languages were completed.

Read more here: http://blog.thenewstribune.com/politics/2012/09/27/satirical-tweet-and-photo-by-democratic-campaign-staffer-kelly-steele-aimed-at-republican-candidate-for-governor-rob-mckenna-leads-to-calls-for-apology/#storylink=cpy

Mitt Romney's Message to the Asian-Americans

Is the GOP about to have an (Asian American) evangelical problem?

(The Washington Post) Few Americans know that Asian Americans voted largely in favor of Obama when he ran against McCain in 2008.

 

 Little is known about how Asian Americans vote because most studies that evaluate vote choice and turnout are conducted in one or two languages and are usually not large enough to identify the diversity of political opinion in Asian America.

But a recent survey, the 2012 Pew Asian American Survey, focuses specifically on Asian Americans’ political and religious views and the results are rather surprising.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/guest-voices/post/is-the-gop-about-to-have-an-asian-american-evangelical-problem/2012/08/03/a01c5772-dd8b-11e1-8e43-4a3c4375504a_blog.html

Republican hopeful Romney appoints Indian-American in bid to win over Asian vote

Indian-American Akshay Desai has been roped in by the U.S.'s Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney for his outreach to the Asian-American community ahead of the crucial November 6 presidential elections.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-2183296/Republican-hopeful-Romney-appoints-Indian-American-bid-win-Asian-vote.html#ixzz22bSAoRed

Asian Americans For Mitt Romney

PoliticalNews.me - Aug 03,2012 - Mitt Romney Announces Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders For Romney Community

Mitt Romney announced his Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders for Romney community.

“Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have wonderful cultures that enrich all of America,” said Mitt Romney. “For generations, members of this community have contributed to our country, started new businesses and invented new products, and served with honor and distinction in the fight to protect freedom all around the world. I am honored to have the support of such great Asian Americans, and look forward to working with them to get our country on the right track again.”

“I am honored that Governor Mitt Romney asked me to serve as the national chair of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders for Romney,” said former Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao. “Having worked in previous presidential administrations, I know Governor Mitt Romney has the experience and the character to tackle the problems that are facing our nation. Americans are suffering, and it will take new leadership to put this country on a path to prosperity and full employment.”

“I am pleased and honored to serve as a national co-chair for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders for Romney,” said Universal Health Care CEO Akshay Desai. “As a businessman, I know all too well what it takes to make it in the private sector. When I hear President Obama tell small business people that “somebody else” made their success happen, I know that he is not cut out to turn around our economy. Mitt Romney is the change we so desperately need, and I look forward to having him in the White House.”

National Chair

Elaine L. Chao, 24th U.S. Secretary of Labor (2001-2009)

National Co-Chairs

Congressman Steve Austria (R-OH)
Akshay Desai, CEO of Universal Healthcare
Former Assistant U.S. Attorney General Viet Dinh
Former Congressman Charles Djou, (R-HI)
Former Director of the U.S. Mint Edmund Moy
Former Congresswoman Patricia Saiki, (R-HI)
Ambassador Sichan Siv

http://www.mittromney.com/coalitions/asian-americans-and-pacific-islanders-for-romney

Mitt Romney must win over Asian voters

By Shawn Steel

 If Mitt Romney wants to reach 270 electoral votes, and win the presidency, he must aggressively target Asian-American voters.

Asians -- Chinese, Japanese, Indians, Filipinos, Vietnamese and Koreans -- are the nation's wealthiest, most highly educated and most aspirational voting demographic. Their numbers have grown by more than 40 percent in the last decade, and they are concentrated in key electoral battleground states like Nevada, Michigan, Colorado, Ohio, Florida, Virginia and Pennsylvania.

Despite surveys showing Asian-Americans as more favorable toward Obama and government than the general public, their actual voting behavior in recent elections offers Romney an opportunity. Look to 2009, the year Republicans recovered from the Obama blowout and stormed back to retake the governorships of Virginia and New Jersey.

Republican Bob McDonnell targeted Asian-Americans energetically, even though they constitute just 5.9 percent of Virginians. He employed multiple strategies, such as asking Asian business owners to publicly communicate their support by putting McDonnell signs in their storefronts. His campaign communicated with Asian-American voters in their native languages in everything from mailers to radio ads to yard signs. A postelection survey of Asian-American voters in Northern Virginia found that nearly 60 percent voted for McDonnell.

Middlesex, New Jersey's second most populous county, is a perennial Democratic bastion, but in 2009, it went for Chris Christie by 48 percent to 44 percent -- almost precisely his statewide margin. Not coincidentally, Middlesex now has among the highest percentages of Asian-Americans outside of Hawaii and the San Francisco Bay area.

Asian-American voters are not immune to the national backlash against Obama's big government blowout. Their values and attitudes, by and large, hew more closely to the GOP economic policies, emphasizing hard work, parental involvement in education, the permanence of marriage and family unity.

They link success to individual achievement rather than government beneficence. Romney doesn't need to win the Asian-American vote outright. It would be enough to improve substantially on the 35 percent that John McCain won. Given the clusters of Asian-American voters who now reside in battleground states, a serious outreach strategy along the lines of McDonnell's successful gubernatorial campaign illuminates a pathway to victory.

There are hundreds of media outlets in battleground states through which Romney can reach Asian-American voters cheaply in their native languages -- especially to Korean, Vietnamese and Filipino audiences, where pro-Republican sentiment is strongest. The Korean Times, for example, has 13 bureaus in the U.S. and a daily edition circulation larger than the Los Angeles Times.

Nevada, Michigan, Colorado, Ohio, Florida, Virginia and Pennsylvania between them hold 111 of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. Obama carried them all in 2008. Romney needs to flip them. Asian-Americans comprise, on average, 3.8 percent of the population of those states, which could exceed the margin in a close election. A relatively modest investment by Team Romney in Asian outreach, out of the tens of millions it will pour into these states, could put him in the White House. And if, as Democratic strategists fear, turnout by Asian-Americans and other minorities falls below 2008 levels, the decline would occur chiefly among Obama supporters, amplifying any inroads that Romney makes.

 

Shawn Steel is California's Republican National Committeeman and a former chairman of the California Republican Party.

2012 Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders Republican Convention