The Asian Conservative

At an event in Arkansas this past Saturday, Governor Bobby Jindal recently said

“The country fired us from our congressional majority in 2006. Why? The country didn’t stop being conservative. The Republican Party did,” Jindal told a gathering of Arkansas Republicans. “We became what we came to Washington to change — the party of earmarks and government spending. The party needs to stop worrying about what to do to fix itself. Let’s worry more about fixing our country. Then the party will fix itself.”

With this being said, it’s also being reported that Governor Jindal will also be giving the GOP response to President Obama’s first speech to Congress. I find this quite interesting on many levels.  Namely, this prominence he’s been taking.  As President Obama did in the 04 DNC conventions it seems as if the Republican party may be testing a new face for the leadership we are in much need of.  I can only hope his response will be Uplifting, idealistic, and filled with enough unity rhetoric to carry him further among the populous.

Congressmen Mitch McConnel and John Boehner had this to say

“Gov. Jindal’s leadership during a time of recovery in Louisiana, his commitment to real government reform, and his protection of hardworking American families make him an excellent choice to offer Republican solutions for the challenges which lay ahead,”

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It seems the Obama administration has capped executive compensation for financial companies that received bailout money from the fed at $500,000.  I’m guessing most people would think that’s fine and by no means do I think they are wrong to believe that.  I certainly believe that taxpayer money should not get wrapped up in executive payments.  However, I think the government shouldn’t be investing in failing companies in the first place. And, let’s not forget that not all financial companies wanted TARP money.  They were forced!  And, now because of this will be bullied into succumbing to.. shall i dare say it… “socialism”!

While I’m all for stopping the eccentric self indulgence of fat cat executives who mis-use company funds and cost thousands of jobs for their lack of business ethics and management, I don’t believe taking this step without the appropriate consideration across all of government be put in place.  Simply put, you have to believe that there are many many people out there that make salaries exceeding $500,000 through contracts that the federal government grants  (Tom Daschle case).

Is it really fair?

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I recently started a discussion at Rebuildtheparty.com on minorities in the GOP.  It has been quite interesting to see the responses from grassroots participants looking to fundamentally shift the coarse of the Republican party.  If you are a member of Rebuildtheparty I encourage you to stop by and give the discussion your two cents.  You’ll find a rather insightful discussion with some real people looking to solve this issue.

Aside from the participation there, I want to bring the same topic over to The AsianConservative to see what kind of responses we can generate.  I look forward to your comments.

Let’s talk about minorities. As the last election clearly showed, there are few minorities in the GOP, which is shameful. There is simply no excuse why Blacks, Asians, Hispanics, Native Americans, and other groups don’t have strong representation within the GOP. How can we fix this? What can we do to help the conservative cause among Minorities?

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Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White

Politics aside I just finished a remarkable book on Asian racial identity titled “Yellow: Race in America beyond black and white” by Frank Wu and wanted to offer it as a recommendation to our readers here at the AsianConservative. I found it to be stunningly accurate in its portrayal of growing up in America with an Asian heritage. Mr. Wu easily managed to bring an insightful piece together on Asians and their identity, politics, representation, and exclusion from American society. “Yellow” brings a fresh perspective on the often discussed Black and White divide, which I believe forces readers to reconsider what we think that we know about race itself.

I urge you to pick up a copy today and drop us a note on your thoughts and perspectives on what Mr. Frank Wu has started with “Yellow”. Also, as an added bonus, 10% of royalties from the sale of Yellow will be donated to the Leadership Conference on Civil rights Educational Fund and to the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium

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The Inaugural process always gives me goose bumps and President Obama’s is no exception.  As a matter of fact, being a history buff and after hearing his address I can honestly say hands down it is the most defining and uplifting speech any President has given at his Inauguration.  It was idealistic, uplifting, pragmatic, and delivered in only a way a great orator like Obama can deliver.

Let’s also not forget the crowd.  There was a phenomenal turnout, possibly the largest ever and one that pales in comparison to that of President George W. Bush’s.

“Why am I hailing Obama”, you may be wondering.  I haven’t converted to the left, nor have I began to side with President Obama’s proposed legislation’s, nor have I defected from the right in what some say is the darkest hour of the GOP. Simply put, this is a lesson in leadership, political theatrics, motivational speech, and unconventional campaigning that Republicans must learn from.  We have 4 years (possibly 8 years) to redefine our party and set coarse for a new GOP, a better GOP, and most of all an uplifting GOP.  Let’s put our minds together and set that coarse.

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As an effort to help grow Asian Conservative consciousness a current list of conservative Asian politicians would be a most valuable resource to have.  Building this compilation dawned on me when the relatively unknown Republican Anh “Joseph” Cao of Louisiana unseated 9 term Democrat William J. Jefferson.  While I’m a resident of California and not Louisiana, I’m certain that I not only speak for myself but for others in wanting to know the who’s who of conservative politics in the Asian community.  I will be updating this post regularly with updates on Asian politicians as I discover them.  To start out with I am adding local politicians in Silicon Valley.  I encourage my readers to help by submitting people in counties and offices I’ve failed to mention.

California

1. Gwan Alisantosa – Milpitas Unified School District Trustee
2. Grace Mah – Santa Clara County Board of Education
3. T.N. Ho – Santa Clara County Board of Education
4. Raymond Chui
5. Van Tran
6. Naraj Singh
7. Teddy Choi
8. Charles Hahn
9. Hon. Michelle Steel - California State Board of Equalization District 3
10. Janet Nguyen - Orange County Board of Supervisors

Oregon

1. Dave Kim
2. John Lim

Nevada

1. Cheryl Lau

New Hampshire

1. Saghir Tahir

South Carolina

1. Nikki Randhawa Haley

Texas

1. Angie Chen Button

Utah

1. Curtis Oda

Washington State

1. Tan Lam

Louisiana

1. Bobby Jindal - Governor of Louisiana
   
2. Anh “Joseph” Cao

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While we’re a bit late in reporting this, having just discovered that untested Republican opponent - Anh “Joseph” Cao, unseated nine-term Democrat U.S. Representative William Jefferson brings a promise and a smile to us here at the Asian Conservative.  We’re looking forward to following Representative Cao and what the future may hold.

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The current scene of Asian Pacific Americans in Congress is 100% left of center. Not only is this lopsided but also surprising, considering that the total number of representation is minuscule. To this date, only the states of California, Hawaii, Virginia, and Louisiana have now or at one time or another had Asian representation in Congress. This number totals twenty-two and historically has been represented by the Democratic Party.

Our current representation holds at 6 in Congress. Current Democratic Senators such as Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka of Hawaii or Democratic House Representatives such as Norman Mineta, Mike Honda, and Doris Matsui of California, David Wu of Oregon, Robert C. Scott of Virginia, and Mazie Hirono of Hawaii.

Conservatively, our legislators consist of Jay Kim of California and former Representative and now governor of Louisiana Bobby Jindal.

While I prefer a stronger conservative base, the miniscule number of representation is surprising. Especially considering the Asian population densities in areas such as Nevada, Washington, Texas, and Florida. The Nevada Asian population is over 88,000 and growing, The state of Washington counts over 447,000, Conservative Texas with a whopping 920,000, and swing state Florida counting over 360,000. These numbers should tell us that if united properly, a constituency could be activated for conservative Asian politics to flourish. And, that with the recent election of Governor Bobby Jindal, in the southern state of Louisiana, hope should be given that an even playing field exists for a new generation of Asian Americans to practice public service.

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The second largest ethnic group, after Hispanics are Asian Americans.  And, with the 15MM estimated Asians in the United States this is a potentially huge bloc of voters.  With these numbers you would imagine Asian Americans as having a strong voice in American politics.  However, that is far from the fact.  Asian representation is minuscule as compared to other ethnic blocs.  For instance the Jewish community with roughly 6MM+ citizens here in the United States has 37 members in Congress as compared to the 8 Asian Pacific Americans represented.

With so much potential, this under representation is at the heart of what we are trying to accomplish here at “The Asian Conservative”.  Not only do we want smart conservative able-bodied Asians in leadership positions but also that we carry a huge voting bloc that needs to have their concerns and wishes addressed.

The Asian Pacific American population is the fastest growing minority population in the United States and holds key electoral presences not only in California and Hawaii, but also Florida, Texas, and Virginia; all key battle ground states this past election.  Looking at a further analysis of the 2006 national exit polls, Asians show to be equally divided in their party identification.  This close margin is a sure sign that the Asian vote can be a swing constituency.   And, if courted properly will help the Conservative cause.

Another notable concern is the lack of participation among some Asian demographics.  As reported by Politico, in the state of Nevada, Asian voter turnout was between 31 – 36%, a very clear signal that either political party is not activating these minorities.  Also notable is the participation of Asian cultures in Oregon.  Despite Oregon’s particularly large Asian demographic, the politically unattached Asian population ranks as high at 37%.

These numbers should come as a realization that there is a huge opportunity for the Asian conservative to impact American politics, as we know it today.  If we are successful with The Asian Conservative we will be able to do just that.

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The Asian Conservative is an Internet column and association of traditionally valued, limitly governing, and fiscally responsible Asian Pacific Americans.

We deeply feel that the conservative consciousness of Asian Americans are developing and that we are coming to realize that our values and beliefs are more in line with conservative thinking than that of any other political party.

As Asian Americans we feel that despite our successes both economically and socially, we lack the presence in the heart of the political institutes of this country. We believe that given the current lack of involvement in politics and under-representation of Asian political figures, our interests and values cannot be served faithfully.

The Asian Conservative’s mission is to offer the Asian American community genuine political leadership by representing their aspirations, concerns, and lifestyles.  We stand to promote Asian men and women to participate in politics, at all levels, with the aspirations to offer up congressional and governing candidates.

We welcome you to join us, by spreading the word as we build this institution for the conservative cause.

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