The Asian Conservative

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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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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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?”

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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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