Posted on 07/24/2004 2:24:18 PM PDT by GulliverSwift
Kerry, Bush accused of ignoring Asian voters
BY KARL SCHOENBERGER
Knight Ridder Newspapers
SAN JOSE, Calif. - (KRT) - Underscoring the sensitivity of ethnic identity and being included in presidential politics, Asian American media outlets are accusing Democrats and Republicans of ignoring Asians in their efforts to attract minority voters.
New California Media, a San Francisco-based advocacy organization representing ethic media nationwide, took aim at the Kerry-Edwards campaign last week after the Democratic ticket announced it would spend $1 million on advertising in Latino media and $2 million to reach African Americans, but said nothing about reaching out to Chinese, Filipino, Indian and other Asian Americans. Together those groups account for nearly 5 percent of the U.S. population, but less than 2 percent of registered voters.
The issue is more about symbolism than ad revenues, several prominent Asian American journalists said at a news conference Wednesday in San Francisco. While wealthy Asians are highly valued for their political fundraising potential, they said, Asian citizens are taken for granted when it comes to counting ballots.
Though their numbers are smaller, Asian Americans are growing at a rate nearly equal to Latinos - the nation's largest minority group. Yet Asians are emerging as the invisible electorate.
"If they have an ad budget for other minorities, why not Asian Americans?" asked Tim Lau, vice president of the Western edition of Sing Tao Daily, a Chinese-language newspaper with a U.S. circulation of more than 100,000. "We're seen as good campaign donors, but we're not taken seriously as voters. I'm disappointed in the lack of sincerity in the Kerry campaign, and I don't think Bush is any different."
Litto Gutierrez, editor-in-chief of the 60,000-circulation Philippine News, said he was upset because the Kerry campaign media strategy "sends the negative message that some ethnic communities count more than others. I don't care so much about selling ads. But I want them to send the message that every one of our votes counts."
Sandy Close, director of New California Media, said the group targeted the Kerry campaign because of this week's Democratic convention in Boston. "We'll move on to the Bush campaign when the Republican convention approaches," she said.
The Kerry campaign responded quickly. In a letter to Close, campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill wrote that "it has always been the intention of the campaign" to advertise in Asian American media, and that it was working with advisers to "determine the best way to invest our resources." She gave no details, however, and Close said the group had asked to meet with campaign officials.
Rep. Mike Honda, D-Calif., who heads the Congressional Asia Pacific American Caucus and serves as a Kerry adviser, said the candidate had assured the caucus that "Asian Americans will not be an afterthought."
"They understand the Asian American community is large but that it's also not monolithic," Honda said. "It breaks down into so many ethnic groups and languages, and it is so complex that it takes a sophisticated effort to reach out to voters."
Likewise, the Bush campaign has not detailed its media plans for reaching Asian Americans. "We enjoy great support from Asia Pacific Americans," said campaign spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt. "We will continue our dialogue with every community."
Nationwide, the Asian community grew by 42 percent between 1990 and 2000, and the U.S. Census bureau projects that by 2050 it will account for 8 percent of the population. A 2002 report showed 2.5 million registered Asian voters out of 4.7 million eligible.
Nearly four out of every 10 Asian Americans live in California, according to the 2000 Census. That's one explanation for the lack of urgency in getting the campaign message out: California is solidly Democratic and not in play in the Electoral College contest that will decide the winner in November. But Honda said significant pockets of ethnic Asian voters could make a difference in swing states, such as the Chinese in Washington state, Filipinos in New Jersey and even the Hmong in Minnesota.
Matt Fong, the former Republican state treasurer and senatorial candidate, said that Asian American voters could be important in deciding local and even gubernatorial races but that they were not a high priority in presidential politics.
"Yes, there are Asian Americans living in the battleground states, but you're not going to get a proper bang for the buck by spending media dollars on them," he said. "You need to invest time and develop trust with them in the off-years, or it won't matter at election time."
Feelings of political exclusion are acute in the Chinese American community, which represents one-quarter of all Asian Americans. The Committee of 100, an organization of high-profile Chinese Americans, has raised the question of racial bias among the general public as one reason for Asians' disproportionate representation at the national level. Only seven of 535 members of Congress have Asian ancestry.
"Asian Americans feel they face a glass ceiling, and that's true in politics as well as in corporate life," said John Chiang, a member of the Committee of 100 who serves on California's State Board of Equalization. "I don't think we're being taken for granted in the presidential election, but we're not very high in the queue."
Asian Americans feel they face a glass ceiling, and that's true in politics as well as in corporate life
That's BS. The average Asian makes more money. And Asian students do better on tests than white students.
The politicians ignore them because they know that Asians do not need welfare money. They know how to use their brains.
since when do asians get the right to vote!!!
Asians, especially second generation, integrate themselves completely and thoroughly into the general population. Totally self reliant and ought to be natural Conservatives.
William Hung doesn't like lurkers.
In other words, it's about the money.
I'm a bald voter, and I feel ignored.
Don't know about Asians, but substitute the word "conservatives" and you'd be dead-on accurate.
But statistically they, like conservatives, know how to take care of themselves and are more indepdent.
Yeah, I was wondering the same. Why do I care who Chinese, Indians, etc. would vote for?
this is an AMERICAN election, or so I thought
They are going to vote on the left anyway, so it makes no sense for Bush to pander to them.
IOW, it's Kerry's problem, just as the blacks in the NAACP are Kerry's. Bush rightly recognizes that it makes no sense to waste his time with people who will never vote for him anyway. Ever notice that Bush doesn't have campaign outreach for communists either? Kerry doesn't have to because he already has the CP/USA's endorsement, LOL!
I can't even imagine how left out the Aussies must feel.
We are all Americans (well, most of us are except for the Democrats and illegal aliens) there's no need for any candidate, especially Bush, to pander to any ethnic group. What's next? A press release from Polish-Americans complaining about being ignored?
I would like to agree, but I can't entirely. I grew up in NYC close to Chinatown and have several asian american friends, mostly chinese.
The one thing I noticed in my friends, and their freidns, and other chinese acquaintences I have had, is that they are extraordinarily motivated by fear. Rather than "moving towards" a positive goal, it always seemed to me that the mindset "moved away" a negative state.
To me, that's a 1/2 empty mentality and regardless of entrepenurship, I don't think it comes from a place of self reliance and resourcefulness, or a positive state of mind - rather it comes from a place of terrible fear and anxiety over a real or percieved threat, potential poverty, or an otherwise state of 'want.'
That isn't necessarily a mindset that leads one to conservative thinking. Thinking that simply because a culture takes to entrepeneurship that they will make natural conservatives isn't a well founded conclusion.
Does this jive with anyone else's experiences?
That is a powerful force. It might bump up the need to work hard, study hard, learn the language well, all that. Someone who has a distinctive look different from most of those around would want to make himself as desireable as possible to be accepted in the community. When I go to the Gospel church to play with the gospel choir and combo and I am the most different looking one there I need to calm down a little extra and get with the music. It's a natural thing. People around can help by relaxing a little, too.
I would say the fear of failure is a powerful motivation for one to work for success. It also makes one conservative. Isn't self-reliance one of those conservative values.
If the Asian-Americans play their cards right, they can easily become the swing vote in key, close elections.
Definitely. Since Asian immigration is lower than Hispanic immigration, the Asians hopefully assimilate better and view issues in the traditional manner as regular Americans -- without regard to race/ethnicity. Issues like taxes and defense should be more important to any American voter than special legislation for special skin colors.
"They understand the Asian American community is large but that it's also not monolithic," Honda[D] said. "It breaks down into so many ethnic groups and languages, and it is so complex that it takes a sophisticated effort to reach out to voters."
Unlike Hispanics, who all share the Spanish language (if they don't already share English with the rest of us), each Asian group speaks a completely different language.
There are many ethnic Asian Americans opposed to the communist governments in Asia, so they could be cultivated to vote against Kerry, but the effort would be better advanced within communities and social networks, not by spending a lot of money to produce advertisements in a dozen different languages for small audiences.
Of course, there are other recent Asian immigrants who come from and still love those communist countries. Maybe they'll support Kerry, if they vote yet? I just hope they learn to share our (Americans') best interests for the future.
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