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In just two decades, Asian-American support for the Democratic presidential candidate more than doubled, from the 31 percent Bill Clinton got in 1992 to the 73 percent cast for President Obama in 2012, according to exit polls.
This shift followed the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, developments that freed anti-Communist Asian immigrants – those with roots in China or Korea, for example – from single-issue ideological concerns that had previously drawn them to the Republican Party.
Today, Asian-Americans, a population of 17.2 million, are among the fastest growing constituencies of the Democratic Party.
In some ways, Asian-American voters, combining personal wealth, entrepreneurial success, high incomes, traditional family values and a strong work ethic, would seem to be ideal recruits for the more conservative political party. Nonetheless, the Republican Party has steadily lost their support.
The accompanying chart, provided by Karthick Ramakrishnan, a professor of public policy and political science at the University of California, Riverside, shows the steady movement of Asian-Americans away from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party.
Asian-Americans have the potential to transform the Democratic coalition. They add a large block of voters who combine economic and educational achievement with deeply felt liberal convictions.
According to Taeku Lee, a political scientist at the University of California, Berkeley:
Asian-Americans are, their vaunted educational and economic successes notwithstanding, a group that has in various contexts experienced differential treatment and a group that in various contexts identifies as a minority group.
In addition, Lee wrote in an email responding to my inquiry:
Today’s Asian Americans are not only liberal on the expected issues like health care reform, immigration reform, and educational reform, but they also seem to espouse liberal views across a wide range of unexpected issue areas like environmental politics, affirmative action, and the like. We even find, in our 2012 National Asian American Survey, that nearly 2 out of every 3 Asian Americans who report earning more than $250,000/year supported an approach to reducing the federal budget deficit that would raise taxes on those earning more than $250,000-a-year.
The cumulative score on all three SAT tests – critical reading, math and writing – was 1654 (out of a possible 2400) for Asian-Americans, 1576 for whites, 1277 for African-Americans, and 1343 for Mexican-Americans.
A 2005 study published in the Social Science Quarterly, “The Opportunity Cost of Admission Preferences at Elite Universities,” by Thomas J. Espenshade, a professor of sociology at Princeton, and Chang Y. Chung, a statistician at Princeton’s Office of Population Research, found that “Asian applicants are the biggest winners if race is no longer considered in admissions” at “three highly selective private research universities” which the authors declined to identify. The Asian share of those accepted at such institutions would grow from 23.7 percent to 31.5 percent, they wrote.
Asian-American resistance to race-based affirmative action surfaced in California last year when leaders of the Democratic-controlled State Legislature considered putting a referendum before the voters to restore race-conscious admission policies at public colleges and universities. Asian-American voters flooded legislators with phone calls and emails opposing race-based preferences, prompting three Asian-American Democratic state senators to declare their opposition. Legislative leaders dropped their plans for a statewide referendum.
Affirmative action aside, support for the liberal agenda is solid among the broad population of Asian-Americans.
Janelle Wong, a professor of American studies at the University of Maryland, emailed in response to my query:
Asian Americans tend to support a strong social safety net and stronger role for government in everyday life.
Wong noted that on a key polling question that tests political ideology, “58 percent of Asian Americans, versus 39 percent of the U.S. population in general, supports a ‘bigger government with more services’ over a ‘smaller government with fewer services.’ ”
The same tilt to the left is clear on other issues, according to Wong: “Asian Americans are more likely than the U.S. public in general to support Obamacare and to support environmental protection over economic growth.” In the case of immigration, support among Asian-Americans for a path to citizenship for the undocumented has grown steadily, Wong writes, “so, as the Republicans’ rhetoric on immigration has become more punitive, the community has actually moved in the opposite direction.”
The political liberalism of Americans of Asian descent is notable given their affluence, success in the marketplace and the high status of jobs they hold.
Asian-Americans, according to the Pew Research Center, “are the best-educated, highest-income, fastest-growing race group in the country.”
In 2014, median household income for Asian-Americans was $74,297; for whites, $60,256; for Hispanics, $42,491; and for African-Americans, $35,398.
Three out of five in the Asian-American work force have a college degree, compared with 37 percent of whites, 27 percent of African-Americans and 18 percent of Hispanics. Fifty percent of Asian-Americans have managerial or professional jobs, compared with 39 percent of whites, 29 percent of African-Americans and 20 percent of Hispanics.
Asian-Americans also stand apart from other Americans of all races and ethnicities in family structure. The percent of out-of-wedlock births among Asian-Americas in 2013 was 17 percent, just over half the 29.3 percent rate for whites and far below the 53.2 rate for Hispanics and the 71.5 percent rate for African-Americans.
On the divisive issue of abortion, Asian-Americans are more liberal than the general electorate. By 17 points (54-37), Asian-Americans believe abortions should be legal in most or all cases, compared with an eight point spread (51-43) in the general public, according to the Pew Research Center.
What can we make of all this data? There are a few preliminary inferences.
The first is that despite their affluence, Asian-Americans are on course to become a mainstay of what Stan Greenberg, the Democratic pollster, calls the “rising American electorate”: the liberal alliance of black and Hispanic minorities, single women and young voters.
In this respect, Asian-Americans are similar to another minority voting group with strong Democratic ties, American Jews. They, too, have incomes and educations well above average. The Pew Research Center found that 42 percent of Jewish households had an income of $100,000 or more, compared with 18 percent of all American households. Along similar lines, 58 percent of Jews have college degrees, compared with 29 percent of the entire population.
Jewish support for Democrats is similar to that of Asian-Americans. According to Pew, 70 percent of Jews identify themselves as Democrats or lean toward the Democratic Party, and 22 percent are Republican or lean Republican. Asian-Americans share with blacks, Hispanics and Jews an experience of previously marginalized status and social exclusion. These four constituencies also share a belief that a commitment to hard work and self-reliance does not conflict with a belief in a strong government and a reliable safety net.
Such views stand in direct contrast to those of the Tea Party and Wall Street wings of the Republican Party, both of which see self-reliance and big government as antithetical to each other.
It may prove that the values that Asian-Americans, Jews, blacks and Hispanics share will create sufficient cohesion to sustain a liberal coalition, even as some members of the coalition fail to ascend the socioeconomic ladder in lockstep with the others. That is the current conundrum of the upstairs-downstairs American left.
Their Republican adversaries, who have themselves fielded a multiracial and multiethnic set of presidential candidates, are determined to fight fire with fire, as they claim to be the party most committed to upward mobility. When voters go to the polls a year from now, these Republican claims will be tested as never before.
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When my family gathered for Thanksgiving soon after the 2008 Presidential election and the topic of the election came up, I was shocked that just about everyone at the table was pleased with Obama's victory. Shocked because more than half of my family is entirely or partially Chinese and quite conservative on various issues. My sister-in-law, Chinese from southeast Asia, was raised Catholic and has long been something of an anti-abortion activist. My adult nieces and nephews and second cousins include business owners and managers and a military officer. As they talked it became somewhat clear why they had all become D voters: They had all felt the sting of bigotry, sometimes direct and sometimes subtle, solely because of their Asian facial features. They felt that the Republican Party and Republican partisans either condoned or were silent in the face of racism that they had personally experienced. While they didn't "love" the Dems, at least they didn't collude in hate. The rise of the Tea Party and the "conservative movement" have only increased their alienation from the Republican Party.
No mystery- the same experience I have in daily life. The smarter, more educated people I come into contact with understand the importance of institutional structures such as affordable health care for everyone, access to good education, environmental protection, a strong social safety net etc..
They know these elements are necessary for a general sense of social unity, fairness and inclusion among citizens of all incomes and having these guarantees reduces discontent and social unrest and in the long run benefits everyone. Those who are less thoughtful and subtle in their thinking tend to believe their interests are better served by a short term me or them approach. It isn't necessarily about being selfless (although having empathy for others helps)- the liberal perspective can be understood, if one wishes, solely in terms of long term self interest.
As the article points out, part of the answer is the "Republicans’ rhetoric on immigration has become more punitive." While intuitive, this seems questionable given that much of the anti-immigrant fervor has been recent. On many social issues including immigration and gay marriage, Republicans had actually moderated.
Part of the answer may be Edsall's own point - " end of the Cold War, developments that freed anti-Communist Asian immigrants – those with roots in China or Korea." Not only is the Cold War less of an issue, but the countries from which many Asians emigrated had strong governments which, in part, mirrors Democrats call for an activist government.
But the biggest explanation for the Asian swing to Democrats may simply be the overall swing of affluent and urban Americans to Democrats. Most Asians live on the coasts and near urban areas which have become increasingly liberal. Driven in large part by Obama's popularity, the affluent have also become liberal as another piece by Edsall demonstrates. The affluent support higher taxes and environmental regulation because they can afford it. Interestingly, this alignment stops when it hurts Asians directly - e.g. affirmative action. No one likes to be singled out.
It is easy to overgeneralize, but many traditional Asian cultures support collective security rather than individualism. To me not a surprise that in general they would support the party that is in favor of collective health care and protected retirement benefits.
As an Asian-American I can say that many among us are not comfortable with the bible thumping that the Republicans do. Also, Republican attitudes on Guns make us uncomfortable as it represents a fringe group that trumps logic even within the Republicans. As far as welfare and tea party type of politics goes, I think these are at best side issues, more ideological than real. Asian-Americans should realize that their welfare is at the bottom of the Democratic party priorities and as far as political appointments are concerned, they will always favor Blacks and Hispanics over Asians. Republican party has made more high profile Asian appointments and more Asians have won elections on the Republican ticket but have largely been individual effort rather than party sponsorship. In sum, neither party cares for Asian-Americans but there is more opportunity on the Republican side as Republicans and Asians are just indifferent to each other while the Republicans are openly hostile to Blacks and Hispanics and the sentiment is returned.
i dont disagree of Asian American being more loyal democrat. but comparing their SAT scores and other achivements with other races is unfair. Being Asian myself i feel uncomfortable with these stats as it gives illusion that Asians are smarter than others which is not true. Truth is that Asian who are able to come to USA are already from the middle or upper and educated class from their country so comparing them from from all classes of white black and hispanics is unjustified.If you correct this Bias with other races then difference in scores and other achievements will become statistically insignificant. If we are so smart then why our native countries are so poor and underdeveloped?
It is actually not that difficult to understand. Most people from India, China , etc. are pretty good at math because we either are smarter or have parents who made us do our homework. Second, we have all experienced to some degree or other, the arrogant condescension of people who are inferior to us, like Carly Fiorina and Donald Trump. Third, we are not, for the most part, literal fundamentalists.
I have married into an East Asian family, and my sense is that the absolute highest value is placed on education for Asian families across the economic spectrum. There is no way the Asian people I know and love could support a party that seeks to dismantle public education and defund and weaken state universities. Therefore, they will not vote Republican.
It doesn't take much historical digging to get to the underlying cause here. In 1924, the Johnson-Reed Act, AKA the Alien Exclusion Act, was passed. It excluded all Asians (and many southern Europeans) from immigrating to this country. When Republican vitriol towards immigrants is tossed so matter-of-factly, it tears open old wounds caused by bigoted legislation enacted during the lifetime of many older Asian-Americans.
When GOP supporters questioned the citizenship of Obama--a man of color with a "foreign-sounding" name--they did not realize how that offended Hispanics and Asian-Americans, who know well the experience of being considered not American regardless of their birth and citizenship. The Republican themes of anti-immigration and return to a (whiter) golden age haver become increasingly transparent, so it is no wonder that Asian-Americans and Hispanics increasingly identify as Democrats. The article is helpful in outlining as well the generally moderate to liberal positions of Asian-Americans on social and economic issues.
I may not speak for all Asian Americans, but most of us will not vote for people who demonize immigrants and cannot comprehend science. That pretty much rules out most republicans.
Asian American support for the Democratic Party should not be surprising.The Republican Party demographics reveal a party that is whiter, older, and more likely to attract religious fundamentalists. Their Nativist rhetoric and legislative history have become increasingly anti-immigrant since George H.W.Bush signed the Immigration Act of 1990. Republican black voter suppression and racist immigration rants and policies send a clear message to all racial and ethnic minorities. Asian Americans have not forgotten the Chinese Exclusion Act and the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII.When the Democratic Party endorses the Dream Act and Republicans oppose it, ethnic minorities take notice.In an increasingly pluralistic America, the Republican Party is losing the Demographic war. Asian Americans, Latinos, and Back voters tend to support Democrats. Demographers tell us that by 2050 the United States will no longer be a majority white country.Will the Republican Party still be here?
Maybe not insulting or demonizing everyone who is not your base might be a start if the GOP wants to make inroads into this community. Also, the disdain the GOP leadership & base shows for education and reason coupled with overt religiosity are other reasons for the Asian community to give the GOP a pause.
Higher diversity of the Democratic Party appeals to the new immigrant. As an immigrant of fifty years I have voted for the candidates who I thought would best represent the interest of the majority. More often that party iturns out to be the Democratic Party
Do not want to generalize here, but would you attend a party where the door mat says "for whites only"? This is exactly the message inadvertently given off by the GOP. Apart from that, GOP is also the party of, anti-science, pro-gun, and pro-ultra-Christian. All of which we Asian-Americans are very afraid of. So no big surprise here. When given the choices, the intelligent people always go where their intellect tells them they are invited. The only Asians I know who are GOP card holders are the money-worshipers or ultra-religious types.
I am one of the Asian American success story that this article mentioned. I came to the US to go to college in the 70s' with no money. I worked as a janitor, dishwasher, waiter, etc, and put myself through engineering school, then received 2 more Masters' degrees. I totally agree with this article. I did not realize that this is how most of my fellow Asian-Americans feel. For many years I attended a mostly Asian Southern Baptist church. I finally couldn't stand their conservative rhetoric (derived from the Republican party) and left the church. I am so much happier not having to listen to the Bill O'Reilly nonsense. Worst of all, I live in Arizona - home of Sheriff Joe and his "if you are not white, you are illegal." I know what and who I will be voting next year.
Another reason might simply be the urban-rural divide. I speculate that Asian- and Jewish-Americans are more urbanized than whites Hispanics, or African-Americans. City folks vote Democratic and country folks vote Republican.
What you wrote is not really true of Asians who came to this country, often leaving family behind for individual advancement. As an Asian American I don't consider myself communitarian in the least. In fact, having been raised in the midwest, I have some quite libertarian tendencies. However, I can't belong to a party that considers white Christian males true Americans and everyone else secondary. Why would I join a party that doesn't really like me?
This is a welcome article. However, even this article carried a few serious myths about Asian Americans, as delineated below.
1) Asian Americans face the lowest glass ceiling at the managerial level, when compared to all other American racial groups and women, unlike what the author has stated.
2) Party affiliation characteristics of Asian Americans are drastically different from those of Jewish Americans. About 50% of Asian Americans are registered as Independents, while the Jewish Americans have very few Is. Of the remaining 50%, Asian Americans' D/R ratio is 3/2.
Only one national Asian American organization has preached and pushed for an Asian American bloc vote, since its establishment in 1998. It is the 80-20 PAC. The increasingly larger bloc vote for the Democratic presiden-tial candidate is due mostly to 80-20’s endorsement. Your chart is proof. Before 80-20’s establishment and first endorsement, the majority of Asian Americans voted Republican. Immediately thereafter, increasing majorities of Asian Americans voted Democrat.
However, 80-20 doesn’t identify with the Democratic Party like the other minorities. 80-20 has consistently advocated a swing bloc vote in order to induce the 2 political parties to compete to serve Asian Americans' rightful interests. The Republican party may finally have gotten 80-20’s message this year.
As an Asian-American who used to live in California and New Jersey, I can say I hardly ever experienced blatant racism. However, hearing and reading the GOP's anti-black and anti-Hispanic positions, I could not help but feel they were anti-minority. Also, my upbringing taught me that a society works best when everyone works together, so the me-first ideology of the GOP repels me. Finally, the incredible corruption and injustice in my old country, the Philippines, made me realize good governance is necessary, not no governance as the GOP would have it. This is why I have never voted for a Republican and never will as long as they believe what they believe. So why am I in Canada? Because anyone who holds GOP positions can never be elected here.
conservatives employ dog whistle techniques to mobilize their base. These are heard by many Asian Americans, but with the opposite effect. For example, Sarah Palin's "let's take our country back" statements. Asian Americans know that that's a call to white Christian Americans to push back the hard earned gains made by Asian Americans, Jews and other groups that have excelled in American due to their hard work and strong family values. GOP efforts to roll back public education, lower standards, impose religion and corrupt science are also offensive to many Asian Americans. The effects of the Asian exclusion act and the Japanese American forced interment are well understood by families that have been here for three or four generations, and it's not hard to hear echoes of those polices in the rhetoric of the modern GOP.
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conservatives employ dog whistle techniques to mobilize their base. These are heard by many Asian Americans, but with the opposite effect. For example, Sarah Palin's "let's take our country back" statements. Asian Americans know that that's a call to white Christian Americans to push back the hard earned gains made by Asian Americans, Jews and other groups that have excelled in American due to their hard work and strong family values. GOP efforts to roll back public education, lower standards, impose religion and corrupt science are also offensive to many Asian Americans. The effects of the Asian exclusion act and the Japanese American forced interment are well understood by families that have been here for three or four generations, and it's not hard to hear echoes of those polices in the rhetoric of the modern GOP.
As an Asian-American who used to live in California and New Jersey, I can say I hardly ever experienced blatant racism. However, hearing and reading the GOP's anti-black and anti-Hispanic positions, I could not help but feel they were anti-minority. Also, my upbringing taught me that a society works best when everyone works together, so the me-first ideology of the GOP repels me. Finally, the incredible corruption and injustice in my old country, the Philippines, made me realize good governance is necessary, not no governance as the GOP would have it. This is why I have never voted for a Republican and never will as long as they believe what they believe. So why am I in Canada? Because anyone who holds GOP positions can never be elected here.
This is a welcome article. However, even this article carried a few serious myths about Asian Americans, as delineated below.
1) Asian Americans face the lowest glass ceiling at the managerial level, when compared to all other American racial groups and women, unlike what the author has stated.
2) Party affiliation characteristics of Asian Americans are drastically different from those of Jewish Americans. About 50% of Asian Americans are registered as Independents, while the Jewish Americans have very few Is. Of the remaining 50%, Asian Americans' D/R ratio is 3/2.
Only one national Asian American organization has preached and pushed for an Asian American bloc vote, since its establishment in 1998. It is the 80-20 PAC. The increasingly larger bloc vote for the Democratic presiden-tial candidate is due mostly to 80-20’s endorsement. Your chart is proof. Before 80-20’s establishment and first endorsement, the majority of Asian Americans voted Republican. Immediately thereafter, increasing majorities of Asian Americans voted Democrat.
However, 80-20 doesn’t identify with the Democratic Party like the other minorities. 80-20 has consistently advocated a swing bloc vote in order to induce the 2 political parties to compete to serve Asian Americans' rightful interests. The Republican party may finally have gotten 80-20’s message this year.
What you wrote is not really true of Asians who came to this country, often leaving family behind for individual advancement. As an Asian American I don't consider myself communitarian in the least. In fact, having been raised in the midwest, I have some quite libertarian tendencies. However, I can't belong to a party that considers white Christian males true Americans and everyone else secondary. Why would I join a party that doesn't really like me?
Another reason might simply be the urban-rural divide. I speculate that Asian- and Jewish-Americans are more urbanized than whites Hispanics, or African-Americans. City folks vote Democratic and country folks vote Republican.
I am one of the Asian American success story that this article mentioned. I came to the US to go to college in the 70s' with no money. I worked as a janitor, dishwasher, waiter, etc, and put myself through engineering school, then received 2 more Masters' degrees. I totally agree with this article. I did not realize that this is how most of my fellow Asian-Americans feel. For many years I attended a mostly Asian Southern Baptist church. I finally couldn't stand their conservative rhetoric (derived from the Republican party) and left the church. I am so much happier not having to listen to the Bill O'Reilly nonsense. Worst of all, I live in Arizona - home of Sheriff Joe and his "if you are not white, you are illegal." I know what and who I will be voting next year.
Do not want to generalize here, but would you attend a party where the door mat says "for whites only"? This is exactly the message inadvertently given off by the GOP. Apart from that, GOP is also the party of, anti-science, pro-gun, and pro-ultra-Christian. All of which we Asian-Americans are very afraid of. So no big surprise here. When given the choices, the intelligent people always go where their intellect tells them they are invited. The only Asians I know who are GOP card holders are the money-worshipers or ultra-religious types.
Higher diversity of the Democratic Party appeals to the new immigrant. As an immigrant of fifty years I have voted for the candidates who I thought would best represent the interest of the majority. More often that party iturns out to be the Democratic Party
Maybe not insulting or demonizing everyone who is not your base might be a start if the GOP wants to make inroads into this community. Also, the disdain the GOP leadership & base shows for education and reason coupled with overt religiosity are other reasons for the Asian community to give the GOP a pause.
Asian American support for the Democratic Party should not be surprising.The Republican Party demographics reveal a party that is whiter, older, and more likely to attract religious fundamentalists. Their Nativist rhetoric and legislative history have become increasingly anti-immigrant since George H.W.Bush signed the Immigration Act of 1990. Republican black voter suppression and racist immigration rants and policies send a clear message to all racial and ethnic minorities. Asian Americans have not forgotten the Chinese Exclusion Act and the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII.When the Democratic Party endorses the Dream Act and Republicans oppose it, ethnic minorities take notice.In an increasingly pluralistic America, the Republican Party is losing the Demographic war. Asian Americans, Latinos, and Back voters tend to support Democrats. Demographers tell us that by 2050 the United States will no longer be a majority white country.Will the Republican Party still be here?
I may not speak for all Asian Americans, but most of us will not vote for people who demonize immigrants and cannot comprehend science. That pretty much rules out most republicans.
When GOP supporters questioned the citizenship of Obama--a man of color with a "foreign-sounding" name--they did not realize how that offended Hispanics and Asian-Americans, who know well the experience of being considered not American regardless of their birth and citizenship. The Republican themes of anti-immigration and return to a (whiter) golden age haver become increasingly transparent, so it is no wonder that Asian-Americans and Hispanics increasingly identify as Democrats. The article is helpful in outlining as well the generally moderate to liberal positions of Asian-Americans on social and economic issues.
It doesn't take much historical digging to get to the underlying cause here. In 1924, the Johnson-Reed Act, AKA the Alien Exclusion Act, was passed. It excluded all Asians (and many southern Europeans) from immigrating to this country. When Republican vitriol towards immigrants is tossed so matter-of-factly, it tears open old wounds caused by bigoted legislation enacted during the lifetime of many older Asian-Americans.
I have married into an East Asian family, and my sense is that the absolute highest value is placed on education for Asian families across the economic spectrum. There is no way the Asian people I know and love could support a party that seeks to dismantle public education and defund and weaken state universities. Therefore, they will not vote Republican.
It is actually not that difficult to understand. Most people from India, China , etc. are pretty good at math because we either are smarter or have parents who made us do our homework. Second, we have all experienced to some degree or other, the arrogant condescension of people who are inferior to us, like Carly Fiorina and Donald Trump. Third, we are not, for the most part, literal fundamentalists.
i dont disagree of Asian American being more loyal democrat. but comparing their SAT scores and other achivements with other races is unfair. Being Asian myself i feel uncomfortable with these stats as it gives illusion that Asians are smarter than others which is not true. Truth is that Asian who are able to come to USA are already from the middle or upper and educated class from their country so comparing them from from all classes of white black and hispanics is unjustified.If you correct this Bias with other races then difference in scores and other achievements will become statistically insignificant. If we are so smart then why our native countries are so poor and underdeveloped?
As an Asian-American I can say that many among us are not comfortable with the bible thumping that the Republicans do. Also, Republican attitudes on Guns make us uncomfortable as it represents a fringe group that trumps logic even within the Republicans. As far as welfare and tea party type of politics goes, I think these are at best side issues, more ideological than real. Asian-Americans should realize that their welfare is at the bottom of the Democratic party priorities and as far as political appointments are concerned, they will always favor Blacks and Hispanics over Asians. Republican party has made more high profile Asian appointments and more Asians have won elections on the Republican ticket but have largely been individual effort rather than party sponsorship. In sum, neither party cares for Asian-Americans but there is more opportunity on the Republican side as Republicans and Asians are just indifferent to each other while the Republicans are openly hostile to Blacks and Hispanics and the sentiment is returned.
It is easy to overgeneralize, but many traditional Asian cultures support collective security rather than individualism. To me not a surprise that in general they would support the party that is in favor of collective health care and protected retirement benefits.
As the article points out, part of the answer is the "Republicans’ rhetoric on immigration has become more punitive." While intuitive, this seems questionable given that much of the anti-immigrant fervor has been recent. On many social issues including immigration and gay marriage, Republicans had actually moderated.
Part of the answer may be Edsall's own point - " end of the Cold War, developments that freed anti-Communist Asian immigrants – those with roots in China or Korea." Not only is the Cold War less of an issue, but the countries from which many Asians emigrated had strong governments which, in part, mirrors Democrats call for an activist government.
But the biggest explanation for the Asian swing to Democrats may simply be the overall swing of affluent and urban Americans to Democrats. Most Asians live on the coasts and near urban areas which have become increasingly liberal. Driven in large part by Obama's popularity, the affluent have also become liberal as another piece by Edsall demonstrates. The affluent support higher taxes and environmental regulation because they can afford it. Interestingly, this alignment stops when it hurts Asians directly - e.g. affirmative action. No one likes to be singled out.
No mystery- the same experience I have in daily life. The smarter, more educated people I come into contact with understand the importance of institutional structures such as affordable health care for everyone, access to good education, environmental protection, a strong social safety net etc..
They know these elements are necessary for a general sense of social unity, fairness and inclusion among citizens of all incomes and having these guarantees reduces discontent and social unrest and in the long run benefits everyone. Those who are less thoughtful and subtle in their thinking tend to believe their interests are better served by a short term me or them approach. It isn't necessarily about being selfless (although having empathy for others helps)- the liberal perspective can be understood, if one wishes, solely in terms of long term self interest.
When my family gathered for Thanksgiving soon after the 2008 Presidential election and the topic of the election came up, I was shocked that just about everyone at the table was pleased with Obama's victory. Shocked because more than half of my family is entirely or partially Chinese and quite conservative on various issues. My sister-in-law, Chinese from southeast Asia, was raised Catholic and has long been something of an anti-abortion activist. My adult nieces and nephews and second cousins include business owners and managers and a military officer. As they talked it became somewhat clear why they had all become D voters: They had all felt the sting of bigotry, sometimes direct and sometimes subtle, solely because of their Asian facial features. They felt that the Republican Party and Republican partisans either condoned or were silent in the face of racism that they had personally experienced. While they didn't "love" the Dems, at least they didn't collude in hate. The rise of the Tea Party and the "conservative movement" have only increased their alienation from the Republican Party.
S.B. submitted a comment on it. NYT picked it to be the 3rd best comment among the 357 comments it has received. Many went there to recommend
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ongo READ my comment. When you get there, look to the comments column to the right. Go to the "NYT Picks 23" on the top row. Go to the 3rd comment. If you like it, click on "recommend". That is how WE EMPOWER ourselves by "doing what Americans do" and make our voice heard. Thank you.
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sabatia7
Berlin, NH1 day agoWhen my family gathered for Thanksgiving soon after the 2008 Presidential election and the topic of the election came up, I was shocked that just about everyone at the table was pleased with Obama's victory. Shocked because more than half of my family is entirely or partially Chinese and quite conservative on various issues. My sister-in-law, Chinese from southeast Asia, was raised Catholic and has long been something of an anti-abortion activist. My adult nieces and nephews and second cousins include business owners and managers and a military officer. As they talked it became somewhat clear why they had all become D voters: They had all felt the sting of bigotry, sometimes direct and sometimes subtle, solely because of their Asian facial features. They felt that the Republican Party and Republican partisans either condoned or were silent in the face of racism that they had personally experienced. While they didn't "love" the Dems, at least they didn't collude in hate. The rise of the Tea Party and the "conservative movement" have only increased their alienation from the Republican Party.
Greg Thompson
St. George, Utah1 day agoNo mystery- the same experience I have in daily life. The smarter, more educated people I come into contact with understand the importance of institutional structures such as affordable health care for everyone, access to good education, environmental protection, a strong social safety net etc..
They know these elements are necessary for a general sense of social unity, fairness and inclusion among citizens of all incomes and having these guarantees reduces discontent and social unrest and in the long run benefits everyone. Those who are less thoughtful and subtle in their thinking tend to believe their interests are better served by a short term me or them approach. It isn't necessarily about being selfless (although having empathy for others helps)- the liberal perspective can be understood, if one wishes, solely in terms of long term self interest.
Princeton 2015
Princeton, NJ1 day agoAs the article points out, part of the answer is the "Republicans’ rhetoric on immigration has become more punitive." While intuitive, this seems questionable given that much of the anti-immigrant fervor has been recent. On many social issues including immigration and gay marriage, Republicans had actually moderated.
Part of the answer may be Edsall's own point - " end of the Cold War, developments that freed anti-Communist Asian immigrants – those with roots in China or Korea." Not only is the Cold War less of an issue, but the countries from which many Asians emigrated had strong governments which, in part, mirrors Democrats call for an activist government.
But the biggest explanation for the Asian swing to Democrats may simply be the overall swing of affluent and urban Americans to Democrats. Most Asians live on the coasts and near urban areas which have become increasingly liberal. Driven in large part by Obama's popularity, the affluent have also become liberal as another piece by Edsall demonstrates. The affluent support higher taxes and environmental regulation because they can afford it. Interestingly, this alignment stops when it hurts Asians directly - e.g. affirmative action. No one likes to be singled out.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/07/opinion/how-did-the-democrats-become-f...
Fred Davis
Paris1 day agoIt is easy to overgeneralize, but many traditional Asian cultures support collective security rather than individualism. To me not a surprise that in general they would support the party that is in favor of collective health care and protected retirement benefits.
Rahul
Wilmington, Del.1 day agoAs an Asian-American I can say that many among us are not comfortable with the bible thumping that the Republicans do. Also, Republican attitudes on Guns make us uncomfortable as it represents a fringe group that trumps logic even within the Republicans. As far as welfare and tea party type of politics goes, I think these are at best side issues, more ideological than real. Asian-Americans should realize that their welfare is at the bottom of the Democratic party priorities and as far as political appointments are concerned, they will always favor Blacks and Hispanics over Asians. Republican party has made more high profile Asian appointments and more Asians have won elections on the Republican ticket but have largely been individual effort rather than party sponsorship. In sum, neither party cares for Asian-Americans but there is more opportunity on the Republican side as Republicans and Asians are just indifferent to each other while the Republicans are openly hostile to Blacks and Hispanics and the sentiment is returned.
M.A H
lasvegas1 day agoi dont disagree of Asian American being more loyal democrat.
but comparing their SAT scores and other achivements with other races is unfair.
Being Asian myself i feel uncomfortable with these stats as it gives illusion that Asians are smarter than others which is not true.
Truth is that Asian who are able to come to USA are already from the middle or upper and educated class from their country so comparing them from from all classes of white black and hispanics is unjustified.If you correct this Bias with other races then difference in scores and other achievements will become statistically insignificant.
If we are so smart then why our native countries are so poor and underdeveloped?
ss
florida1 day agoIt is actually not that difficult to understand.
Most people from India, China , etc. are pretty good at math because we either are smarter or have parents who made us do our homework. Second, we have all experienced to some degree or other, the arrogant condescension of people who are inferior to us, like Carly Fiorina and Donald Trump. Third, we are not, for the most part, literal fundamentalists.
Mimi Morris-Kim
Hopewell Township, NJ1 day agoI have married into an East Asian family, and my sense is that the absolute highest value is placed on education for Asian families across the economic spectrum. There is no way the Asian people I know and love could support a party that seeks to dismantle public education and defund and weaken state universities. Therefore, they will not vote Republican.
Frank
South Orange1 day agoIt doesn't take much historical digging to get to the underlying cause here. In 1924, the Johnson-Reed Act, AKA the Alien Exclusion Act, was passed. It excluded all Asians (and many southern Europeans) from immigrating to this country. When Republican vitriol towards immigrants is tossed so matter-of-factly, it tears open old wounds caused by bigoted legislation enacted during the lifetime of many older Asian-Americans.
Ray T
The East1 day agoAsian Americans are diverse there is no point of grouping us together as a single entity. This is a meaningless label with no statistical value.
Golden Rose
Maryland1 day agoWhen GOP supporters questioned the citizenship of Obama--a man of color with a "foreign-sounding" name--they did not realize how that offended Hispanics and Asian-Americans, who know well the experience of being considered not American regardless of their birth and citizenship. The Republican themes of anti-immigration and return to a (whiter) golden age haver become increasingly transparent, so it is no wonder that Asian-Americans and Hispanics increasingly identify as Democrats. The article is helpful in outlining as well the generally moderate to liberal positions of Asian-Americans on social and economic issues.
Shalabey
New York, NY1 day agoI may not speak for all Asian Americans, but most of us will not vote for people who demonize immigrants and cannot comprehend science. That pretty much rules out most republicans.
don shipp
homestead florida1 day agoAsian American support for the Democratic Party should not be surprising.The Republican Party demographics reveal a party that is whiter, older, and more likely to attract religious fundamentalists. Their Nativist rhetoric and legislative history have become increasingly anti-immigrant since George H.W.Bush signed the Immigration Act of 1990. Republican black voter suppression and racist immigration rants and policies send a clear message to all racial and ethnic minorities. Asian Americans have not forgotten the Chinese Exclusion Act and the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII.When the Democratic Party endorses the Dream Act and Republicans oppose it, ethnic minorities take notice.In an increasingly pluralistic America, the Republican Party is losing the Demographic war. Asian Americans, Latinos, and Back voters tend to support Democrats. Demographers tell us that by 2050 the United States will no longer be a majority white country.Will the Republican Party still be here?
KV
Tallahassee, FL23 hours agoMaybe not insulting or demonizing everyone who is not your base might be a start if the GOP wants to make inroads into this community. Also, the disdain the GOP leadership & base shows for education and reason coupled with overt religiosity are other reasons for the Asian community to give the GOP a pause.
Raghunathan
Rochester23 hours agoHigher diversity of the Democratic Party appeals to the new immigrant.
As an immigrant of fifty years I have voted for the candidates who I thought would best represent the interest of the majority.
More often that party iturns out to be the Democratic Party
theni
phoenix23 hours agoDo not want to generalize here, but would you attend a party where the door mat says "for whites only"? This is exactly the message inadvertently given off by the GOP. Apart from that, GOP is also the party of, anti-science, pro-gun, and pro-ultra-Christian. All of which we Asian-Americans are very afraid of. So no big surprise here. When given the choices, the intelligent people always go where their intellect tells them they are invited. The only Asians I know who are GOP card holders are the money-worshipers or ultra-religious types.
Concerned Reader
Boston23 hours agoIt amazes me that so many people reading the NY Times believe this tripe.
The GOP has two Indian-American governors and an African-American as their leading candidate for President. Are they just faking it?
Meng
Phoenix22 hours agoI am one of the Asian American success story that this article mentioned. I came to the US to go to college in the 70s' with no money. I worked as a janitor, dishwasher, waiter, etc, and put myself through engineering school, then received 2 more Masters' degrees. I totally agree with this article. I did not realize that this is how most of my fellow Asian-Americans feel. For many years I attended a mostly Asian Southern Baptist church. I finally couldn't stand their conservative rhetoric (derived from the Republican party) and left the church. I am so much happier not having to listen to the Bill O'Reilly nonsense. Worst of all, I live in Arizona - home of Sheriff Joe and his "if you are not white, you are illegal." I know what and who I will be voting next year.
William
Alhambra, CA22 hours agoAnother reason might simply be the urban-rural divide. I speculate that Asian- and Jewish-Americans are more urbanized than whites Hispanics, or African-Americans. City folks vote Democratic and country folks vote Republican.
sk
Raleigh22 hours agoWhat you wrote is not really true of Asians who came to this country, often leaving family behind for individual advancement. As an Asian American I don't consider myself communitarian in the least. In fact, having been raised in the midwest, I have some quite libertarian tendencies. However, I can't belong to a party that considers white Christian males true Americans and everyone else secondary. Why would I join a party that doesn't really like me?
S. B. Woo
Newark, DE21 hours agoThis is a welcome article. However, even this article carried a few serious myths about Asian Americans, as delineated below.
1) Asian Americans face the lowest glass ceiling at the managerial level, when compared to all other American racial groups and women, unlike what the author has stated.
2) Party affiliation characteristics of Asian Americans are drastically different from those of Jewish Americans. About 50% of Asian Americans are registered as Independents, while the Jewish Americans have very few Is. Of the remaining 50%, Asian Americans' D/R ratio is 3/2.
Only one national Asian American organization has preached and pushed for an Asian American bloc vote, since its establishment in 1998. It is the 80-20 PAC. The increasingly larger bloc vote for the Democratic presiden-tial candidate is due mostly to 80-20’s endorsement. Your
chart is proof. Before 80-20’s establishment and first endorsement, the majority of Asian Americans voted Republican. Immediately thereafter, increasing majorities of Asian Americans voted Democrat.
However, 80-20 doesn’t identify with the Democratic Party like the other minorities. 80-20 has consistently advocated a swing bloc vote in order to induce the 2 political parties to compete to serve Asian Americans' rightful interests. The Republican party may finally have gotten 80-20’s message this year.
Francis Gabriel
Toronto21 hours agoAs an Asian-American who used to live in California and New Jersey, I can say I hardly ever experienced blatant racism. However, hearing and reading the GOP's anti-black and anti-Hispanic positions, I could not help but feel they were anti-minority. Also, my upbringing taught me that a society works best when everyone works together, so the me-first ideology of the GOP repels me. Finally, the incredible corruption and injustice in my old country, the Philippines, made me realize good governance is necessary, not no governance as the GOP would have it. This is why I have never voted for a Republican and never will as long as they believe what they believe. So why am I in Canada? Because anyone who holds GOP positions can never be elected here.
doug mclaren
seattle21 hours agoconservatives employ dog whistle techniques to mobilize their base. These are heard by many Asian Americans, but with the opposite effect. For example, Sarah Palin's "let's take our country back" statements. Asian Americans know that that's a call to white Christian Americans to push back the hard earned gains made by Asian Americans, Jews and other groups that have excelled in American due to their hard work and strong family values. GOP efforts to roll back public education, lower standards, impose religion and corrupt science are also offensive to many Asian Americans. The effects of the Asian exclusion act and the Japanese American forced interment are well understood by families that have been here for three or four generations, and it's not hard to hear echoes of those polices in the rhetoric of the modern GOP.
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