The Asian Conservative

Last week President Obama decided to send 30,000 more troops into Afghanistan with hopes that the U.S. can surge now and withdraw by around 2011.

The New York Times has an interesting article on How Obama made the decision. I have to admit that after reading the article I am more accepting of the decision to put more troops in Afghanistan. At least now we have an idea of the information and assumptions that Obama had in making the decision.

What do you think of his in-depth decision-making process? After reading the article, did it change your opinion of his decision?

jeff Events, People, Policy

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?

ryan Policy 500k, ceo compensation, tarp

Happy Chinese New Year Folks, It’s the Year of the Ox, which is coincidentally (?) Obama’s astrological sign according to the Asian calendar.

Obama wants money for education, contraceptives, alternative energy spending, infrastructure (roads, bridges, etc.), and tax breaks. Other interesting things include a “buy American” clause. I haven’t read any more into it than that.

Critics dislike the long-term nature of the plan. Infrastructure will inevitably take a long time for the trickle down because of the time it takes to pass the bill, figure out what needs to get built, apportion money, approve contracts and so on. I, for one, like the long view because we definitely need better roads and bridges.

What do you think of the stimulus plan?

Links:

The BBC has a nice rundown –
Q &A: Obama Stimulus Plan. 

Update:

CSPAN compares House vs. Senate stimulus plans American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Interesting proposed changes: increase homeland security allotment from $1.1B to $5.0B. Reduce education spending by $3.0B?

WSJ Map of which states get stimulus help, I’m happy to see that Michigan gets a lot of help per capita for job training. The manufacturing sector people are going to need it.

jeff Economics, Policy stimulus plan

Yesterday President Obama announced a plan to impose a $500,000 maximum salary cap for executives or CEOs of companies taking US bailout money.

Many people, especially those on Wall Street cried foul because it reeks of socialism, or at least non-capitalistic behavior.

Of course on the other hand, the Government wouldn’t have had to do this if the idiots hadn’t given themselves multi-million dollar bonuses despite posting multi-billion dollar losses (or going bankrupt or otherwise). These overpaid executives unfortunately are the face of current modern politicians: mega-wealthy predominantly white males that get away with everything.

The folly of these executives is a clear case why the GOP should “re-brand” itself.

jeff Economics, Events, Policy bailout

Ignorant. Irreverent. Uneducated. Irresponsible. These four words used to describe me as a voter. I joined AsianConservative because I was a non-voter but now I care.

Until this election I was willfully ignorant of ballot measures and political agendas. Being eligible to vote since 2000 I probably voted 4 (at most 5) times. As shameful as it is I probably cannot pass a basic 8th grade civics test. I had a good Civics teacher. I forget his name but he was memorable as a character. He kind of reminded me of the gym teacher, Mr. Buzzcut, from Beavis and Butthead. Unfortunately I’ve forgotten most of my Civics.

I would vote for people but not paper. By “paper” I mean the paper on which our laws and legal mumbo jumbo is written. I would stroll into a polling place and check the boxes for President, Governor, Senator, etc. and then skip the rest of the voting sheet ignoring ballot measures and propositions and all that jazz. I would say that my indifference towards ballot measures could primarily be attributed to irrelevance. At the time most measures could fall into a sparse few categories: (A) raise/lower taxes, (B) approve Indian casinos, or (C) name a street after somebody.

With the 2008 election, however, I realized that the “paper” voting options can be equally as important as the people. Do you oppose discount bus fares for war widows? Your vote could help your cause. Do you approve of medical marijuana? Ferndale, Michigan voted on a measure to allow medical marijuana dispensaries (it passed). One Issue that I was particularly interested in were the high-speed rail from San Francisco to Los Angeles (it passed). Real hot-button issues in California included Gay marriage, teen abortions, and congressional redistricting (that’s hot button?). The issues that we vote on seriously impact the quality of your life and mine.

Why should you care about voting? Why you should tell your friends and family to vote too? Here’s why: the votes for some of the California ballot measures passed by wire-thin margins. Sure there are some no-brainers like discount bus fares for war widows but other ballot measures often pass or fail by razor thin 1%-2% margins, maybe less. That could could be just a few hundred votes depending on the voter turnout in your community. My network on Friendster MySpace Facebook AsianConservative alone could swing that vote.

Knowing the ability of a ballot to impact my life, and knowing the ability of my vote to decide a ballot’s fate makes it ever more important to stay up-to-date on things happening in your community, city, and state legislatures. I found the California Secretary of State website that lists California Ballot Measures that will be headed to the polls. If you find any for your state, county, city, school district, or even Home Owners Association, post it in the comments. Vote AsianConservative and Vote often!

California Ballot Measures http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_j.htm

jeff Policy Asian Conservatives, asian voters, voting

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.

ryan Policy Asian American, asian congressman, Asian Conservative, Asian Conservatives, Asian Republicans, Conservative, GOP, Minority Conservatives, Public office, Republican

According to a New York Times article from 12/9/2008, minorities now account for 50% of the population in the largest U.S. Cities and percentages continue to grow broadly across small towns and suburbs. This being the case, Asian conservatives should strive to increase the public’s awareness of Asian opinion. Minorities have a growing voice in the United States and it is imperative that Asian Americans (especially Asian Conservatives) be recognized as an influential force among the voting public.

In the 2008 elections for instance, California witnessed the impact minority voters imparted on public policy. In particular the voter ballot for Proposition 8: whether or not gay marriage should be banned in California. A “yes” on Prop 8 was against gay marriage, a “no” on Prop 8 was in favor of gay marriage. During the 2008  elections the popular media obsessed over “the Black vote” and the “Latino vote” because these two minorities groups historically have low voter turnouts. In contrast to past elections minorities came out in droves to vote — mostly for Obama.  These “new” (or renewed) voters had a decisive impact on the fate of Proposition 8 because both groups overwhelmingly voted in favor of Proposition 8 - consequently banning Gay marriage in California.

The important point here is not approval of Gay marriage. Rather, the outcome that the United States and American media heard in the voices of Black and Latino communities via their ballots. America now knows that these two constituencies have the power to sway a vote. A power that I previously wouldn’t have assumed. Asian conservatives (and Asians in general) should strive to achieve similar recognition in other public endeavors.

My intent as a member of this AsianConservative.com is to get people interested in  and aware of the Asian conservative opinion. I encourage public servants, advertisers, American media,  Mayors, Governors, Congressmen, and Presidents to think to themselves “What do Asian Conservatives in America think of this?”

jeff Policy Asian American, Asian Conservative, Asian Conservatives, Asian Democrats, Asian Liberals, Asian Republicans, GOP, Minority Conservatives, Republican

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.

ryan Policy Asian Conservative, Asian Conservatives, Asian Republicans, GOP, Minority Conservatives, Republican