Vietnamese-Americans Back Bush
Saturday, August 07, 2004
LOS ANGELES — The John Kerry (search) many Vietnamese-Americans remember is not the hero promoted by the Democratic Party, but the ex-soldier who returned to the United States to denounce the Vietnam War.
"His close association and anti-war activity make him known as Mr. Jane Fonda," said Frank Jao, who fought in the South Vietnamese army against the communist North.
Jao emigrated to California, and now is the Donald Trump of Orange County's Little Saigon (search), the largest Vietnamese community outside of Vietnam. In this area, 58 percent of the residents are registered Republicans.
While older Vietnamese-Americans may see Kerry as a turncoat, many younger voters are more open-minded, said Christian Collet, a pollster with Pacific Opinions Research (search).
"There is definitely a handful ... that wants to put war behind them and move forward with a constructive dialogue with Vietnam. And to that extent, John Kerry will get a handful of votes from those people," Collet said.
Another reason Vietnamese-Americans criticize Kerry is that he has worked to block a bill forcing communist Vietnam to clean up its human rights abuses (search). The bill passed 410 to 1 in the House, but Kerry blocked it in the Senate. Kerry has claimed that the best way to improve abuses in Vietnam is to engage the communists, not punish them.