Why Asian Americans Voted So Overwhelmingly For Obama

TBI ^ | 12-1-2012 | Menzie Chinn

[blam]

Why Asian Americans Voted So Overwhelmingly For Obama

Menzie Chinn, Econbrowser
Dec. 1, 2012, 7:18 AM

Menzie Chinn is a professor at Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs

Noahpinion asks: “[W]hy did Asian-Americans break so strongly for Obama? I provide my (slightly different) answer.

As Noahpinion observes, given Asian American’s higher than average income, the Romney-esque argument that the group is one of “takers” not “makers” cannot be correct (of course, there is little empirical content to this particular thesis, anyway). 2012 was not an isolated event, by the way.

I am not a political scientist, and so am not particularly well-qualified to provide a proper quantitative analysis. But I can at least relay some thoughts based upon my own experiences on why some Chinese-Americans of a certain background might not feel comfortable with the Republican party. First, consider the composition of the party leadership, as represented by the new House Committee Chairmen:

Source: DailyKos.

Of course, it’s the policies that matter more. And here, I think the key factor of importance to Chinese-Americans is pragmatism (the generation of my parents -- who came from China -- saw enough rigid, dogmatic ideology run amok, thank you very much), and a belief in progress by way of science and technology. In this vein, Richard Posner speculates that Asian-Americans lean toward the Democratic party, despite the low-tax rate stance of the Republican party, because:

... being well educated as a group, Asian Americans may be disturbed by the hostility to science, particularly evolutionary biology, which Republican supporters and politicians have exhibited of late.

Charles Murray tries to explain Asian-American voting as pure mis-apprehension, to wit:

(snip)

[Mike Darancette]

That 70% is probably mostly non-Christian.

[Crucial]

Let’s face facts here. Everyone who voted Obama did it because it is cool to hate white men these days. White heterosexual men are the new n-words......everyone hates us. It’s almost liberating to come to terms with that.

I am white. I’m a pig, I’m scum and I don’t deserve to be on this planet. That is the message the left sends to me everyday of my life

Couldn't agree with you more. That's why I don't trust many non-white males. I'm still nice to everyone in general and believe that everyone deserves the same opportunities but I still believe that everyone should live up to the same standards and I let everyone know that.

Most minorities are infected with hate for white males and in too many cases, if you're a white female, embarrassment for white males.

[blueunicorn6]

I enjoy the sunkenciv threads. Lovely photos. Interesting archeological finds. But science without skepticism and critical review is just a religion. I grew up with scientists telling me that there would be no more oil by 1980. I grew up with scientists telling me that the environment would be so polluted that women would no longer be able to breast feed their babies. I grew up with scientists telling me that we better all move to the equator because pollution was going to bring on another ice age that would cover North America with 50 feet of snow. Have there been scientific successes? Of course. But there have been failures. There has been science for profit. There has been scientific arrogance unmatched by any other section of our society......except for maybe professional basketball players. And if scientists are so stodgy that they can’t take a little ribbing, well, in the words of that great scientist Robin Williams, “Joke ‘em if they can’t take a f**k.”

[Yardstick]

I worked with a bunch of foreign grad students for a few years -- mainly Chinese and Indian but others as well -- and I'm convinced it's a cultural thing. They see the Republican party primarily as representing an ethnic group, namely traditional American WASPs, that is hostile or uninviting or just plain "other" than their own. The Republican party feels to them, on some deep level, like an enemy or a competitor, and to support it would constitute a kind of capitulation or selling out on their part.

It really comes down to ethnic pride or solidarity or something, except that these terms don't quite capture the subtlety of it. What's interesting is that these students would acknowledge that the core values of the Republican party were closer to their own in many ways. But there was just something there, a sense that the Republicans were the party of the other team, that trumped this and amounted to a barrier that they couldn't get beyond.

And in some ways they are exactly right. The old idea of the melting pot sounds friendly enough but it really is pretty brutal. It is a euphemism for assimilation, and people who have any measure of ethnic pride, which Asians and others certainly do, will naturally and understandably resist it. Technicalities like tax policy are small potatoes compared to issues of identity.

Simply put, the Republican party is the party of assimilation. This will always put it at a disadvantage with ethnic types. The reason the trend has strengthened against Republicans is that the Democrat party has been drifting leftward and becoming more hostile to and alienated from America's founding culture. In an abstract sense, the Democrat party is itself an unassimilated alien in America, with Obama the ultimate symbol of that "otherness".

[Drew68]

The Daily Koz a radical gay left wing website is propaganda and the source for this crap !

So you think we won Asian-Americans?

Every election post-mortem, Daily Kos included disagrees.

[blueunicorn6]

My goodness. If 70% of them vote Democrat, then why would you expect to see any elected as Republicans? Last time I looked, the Republican Party Platform didn’t end with, “Except for Asians because we don’t like them”. Come over and run as Republicans. I’ll vote for you, if you’re conservative. I donated money to a black man’s campaign. Alan Keyes is a conservative. You can be purple, we don’t care, as long as you’re conservative. Look at the Democrats. They went out of their way to have a white man defeat a black man for congress in Florida. There’s the party that doesn’t like people who aren’t white. The Democrats keep throwing their black kapos like Jesse Jackson out there, and the blacks blindly follow them. This guy’s whole article is propaganda and baloney.

[Drew68]

That’s because we don’t wallow in lies, but you do, obviously.

Lies! Lies! Lies! It's all lies! Yes, we actually won the election, the Senate and gained in the House! Isn't Fantasyland a great and magical place?

[Road Glide]

“This was a very big disappointment for me when I heard that about 70% of Asians voted for Obama.”

I believe the number was a bit more than 70% — actually, about 73%, three out of four.
Even Hispanics voted only 71% for Obama. Asians (as a group) are MORE supportive of the democrats than are Hispanics!

Have you learned anything from this?

Look at the chart in the original article above.

Of four ethnic groups, only one is “trending away” from voting for the ‘rats.

Which one is it?

[SierraWasp]

Orientals are generally the nicest and most intelligent people on the planet (unless they are PO'd Ninjas or Shoguns)!!!

I have observed among a fairly large number a tendency toward conformity, compliance and a comfort zone of complying with conventional/mains-stream media pronouncements so as to be accepted into our society as rapidly as posssible. They are especilly impressed with Hollywood's influence.

Conservatives, as you know prefer the rugged individualism almost to a fault that makes many asiatics uncomfortable.

I'm as proud of my former far eastern clients, friends and associates as I am of anyone else I know. So please withhold the standard accusation of any sort of racism in my expression of thought and observation. Thank you one and all...

[mosesdapoet]

I’m reading dozens of FR pile-on , dumb. dummer, and dummmist,vacuous replies. TBI is quoting Daily Kos who is quoting LaFollettte School of ...all far left publications...Only a few comments point this out. There might be one or two who are actually picking up the direction the author is taking us to. That’s the use of the global warming excuse to do so some massive social engineering. Namely shrink the suburbs and place population into controlled “sectors”. Nor are they linking that opus by Chinn to the administration policy on uses of energy supply. Coal,nat gas, oil, etc and the costs.

[A_perfect_lady]

The problem is they’re calling Muzzies, Arabs and everyone else from East, West, Central Asia “Asians.”

You may have hit on something there. That used to be something only Europeans did, but as most liberals are drooling Europhiles, and that chart did not have any data from Middle Easterners... I think you nailed it.

[Road Glide]

“Simple explanation for voting:
1. People who do not have a Biblical background tend to vote liberal (other non-Biblical religion, or pretend believers).
1. People who do have a Biblical foundation and are faithful or making an attempt to live by values tend to vote conservatively.”

If you read John Derbyshire’s excellent book, “We Are Doomed! Reclaiming Conservative Pessimism”, you will find that the assertions you just made above are quite wrong...

[ruthles]

You are absolutely right. Many Asians own businesses and they are famous for “cooking the books.” They hide their money, so they are not and will not be taxed. They are parasites ripping off this country.

[mosesdapoet]

I’m reading dozens of FR pile-on , dumb. dummer, and dummmist,vacuous replies. TBI is quoting Daily Kos who is quoting LaFollettte School of ...all far left publications...Only a few comments point this out. There might be one or two who are actually picking up the direction the author a Menzie Chinn is taking us to.

That’s the use of the global warming excuse to do so some massive social engineering. Namely shrink the suburbs and place population into controlled “sectors”. Nor are they linking that opus by Chinn to the administration policy on uses of energy supply. Coal,nat gas, oil, etc and the costs.

Now early in the campaign Romney actually brought this up and then dropped it. GWB’s former campaign chair was on Mark Levin’s show hawking his book about it, and Santorum is talking about it.

[mjp]

Mi<And here, I think the key factor of importance to Chinese-Americans is pragmatism (the generation of my parents — who came from China — saw enough rigid, dogmatic ideology run amok, thank you very much)

Pragmatism is the philosophy of the postmodernists. Postmodernism is the nihilistic anti-conceptual mentality. They reject ideology because they reject principles and believe that there are no absolutes.But, they are tolerant of the politics of pluralism and eclecticism with their resulting mixed economy.People with this mentality believe that conservatism is reactionary nostalgia and verbiage left over from a discredited past.

[rockrr]

Cool pic ;-)

I’ve hired three Asian-Americans over the last few years and couldn’t be more pleased at how it turned out. Two are 2nd generation Americans - one Vietnamese, one Korean. The other is a Chinese immigrant. He has had more of a challenge with both language and social skills to learn and/or overcome.

I didn’t hire any of them for their politics and never inquired any of them as to their preferences but was quietly pleased when each of them revealed their apprehension at the thought that Øbongo might be reelected.

[Steve Van Doorn]

Thank you for your insight. Sad but she is likely correct

[Steve Van Doorn]

Can you point me to a post or a thread that is anti-science that you are referring to on FR?

Thank you

[dennisw]

Lots of Asian immigrants are impoverished these days or lower middle class. So they see the free for all anarchy and idiocy here and clamp on the Gov’t tit same as the other minorities. They are running lots of scams that involve free Gov’t money and dodging taxes. Many immigrants believe that paying taxes is for suckers.

One favorite Chinese scam is bring over elderly parents (legally) and get them on the SS disability system, subsidized housing and medicaid. This is their retiremant plan. take take take from those who kicked into the system via SS taxes

[presently no screen name]

Thanks for demonstrating the loser you are. It didn’t take much!