It's not as big an ethnic milestone as Barack Obama's victory in the presidential election, but congratulations are in order for Louisiana Republican Anh Cao, who recently became the first Vietnamese-American elected to Congress. Cao defeated the scandal-plagued Democratic incumbent William Jefferson, who is under indictment for a a variety of crimes.
Interestingly, Vietnamese-Americans are among the few minority groups who generally don't vote Democratic (Republican identifiers outnumber Democrats by 2-1 in the Vietnamese community). Cuban-Americans and Russians are among the other exceptions. Almost certainly, the experience of living under communism accounts for the similar political orientations of these three otherwise disparate groups. That experience tends to make them more hawkish on foreign policy and less supportive of government intervention in the economy in the domestic realm. The article about Cao linked above notes that his father was imprisoned in a communist "reeducation camp."
Curious, does this hold true for other ethnicities that lived under/fled communism? Like non-Taiwanese Chinese? What about other Hispanic groups who lived in leftist regimes?
And does the reverse work? Do those who fled oppressive right-wing regimes (Chileans under Pinochet, for example) vote Democrat?
Interesting question. I don't know about the Chinese. Chinese-Americans overall tend to vote Democratic, but I've never seen stats that separate those who fled mainland China from Taiwanese and descendants of the longstanding pre-1949 Chinese-American community. The other leftist regimes in Latin America weren't nearly as bad as communist ones, so those who fled them probably aren't as anti-leftist as the Cubans.
And does the reverse work? Do those who fled oppressive right-wing regimes (Chileans under Pinochet, for example) vote Democrat?
Possibly, at least if the right-wing regime is in some way linkable to the Republicans. However, it's hard to differentiate this from the general pattern of minority ethnic groups tending to vote Democratic.
I'll have my first cup of coffee shortly and cease being a lefty.
The above is only partly in jest. You should have been around to hear the excuses for the camps and the smears of the boat people.
it might not be all that remarkable; this might have something to do with the dramatic demographic change that came in Katrina's wake.
Given the economic relations between the two countries, will protectionism/free trade become an issue Chinese-Americans vote on? That is, how strong are the ties to the home country among those Chinese-Americans who have become citizens, and how much will they influence their politics?
As another poster noted upthread, the original party primary was postponed due to Hurricane Gustav. This pushed the party run-off elections back, and thus pushed the general election back.
The black community was tired of supporting Bill Jefferson, but they weren't going to vote against him. What happened this time is that most people just decided to ignore that last election. The Democrats didn't do any of their usual get-out-the-vote activities on Jefferson's behalf. The Republicans, however, worked the turn-out very hard. The Vietnamese-American community was obviously very excited, and the few Republicans in the district (it's about 2/3 registered Democrats) sensed an opportunity, so they turned out. All that together allowed Cao (who is a really great guy) to squeak out a victory.
He'll almost certainly be defeated in 2010, once the local Democratic community consolidates around one candidate after what will no doubt be a bruising Democratic primary.
Can we not call it a gaffe when a politician actually speaks the truth? Shouldn't we be celebrating that?
Are you sure those are good examples? I am not saying you are wrong but think about what you are saying.
Cao was running against an extremely corrupt Congressman who was caught with money in his freezer. Even so, the only reason he won appears to be because African-American turnout was SO low.
The candidate Cohen was running against was running an openly racist campaign.
Excuse me? Exactly who was the major party, ethnic minority Presidential candidate in 2004 who blacks could have voted for as an alternative to Sen. Kerry?
Also, you might note that the districts of Mr. Cao (Orleans Parish, Louisiana, aka New Orleans) and Comrade Cohen (Shelby County, Tennessee, aka Memphis), are in the South. As far as reasons for not supporting Mr. Obama, that his executive experience was much less than that of the Republican VP candidate is a non-racial reason. Other than his race and speeches that were one empty platitude after another, reasons for supporting him were?
According to the only polling done comparing the knowledge of facts and issues, Obama supporters were significantly more ignorant. See www.HowObamaGotElected.com That's not a racial difference.
IF Pres. Elect Obama, in fact, represents a "post-racial" age for the US, you might try attempting to put that idea into practice.
I think his honesty is admirable.
Also, I think his defeating of William Jefferson (if the bribery charges against him are true) is actually doing Democrats a favor.
I suspect Eastern Europeans also tend rightward in their voting, just on the basis of the ones I speak to. But I don't have any general data on that.
Is that party affiliation or voting surveys? I am not sure they are synonymous. Is there any rule against party members voting for the other guy?
LOL! Everyone trashed that piece of sh*t polling. Even the WSJ!
Also, I think his defeating of William Jefferson (if the bribery charges against him are true) is actually doing Democrats a favor.
Exactly right. It relieves Speaker Pelosi of an embarrassment that she was forced to defend as part of the House institution. As a Democrat, if I was able to vote I would have voted for Cao. Assuming the district demographics are similar to pre-Katrina, he will enjoy his two years in the House but will be defeated for reelection. Democracy did its job.
At least now Smokey can stop using Jefferson as a poster boy for the Democrats.
Could you provide a cite for this, or is this statement just wishful thinking? I only ask because I have about 100 friends and relatives who "liv[ed] under communisim", but who are not "more hawkish foreign policy and less supportive of government intervention in the economy in the domestic realm."
This statement adds about as much value as "all conservatives are ..."
Defeating a corupt politician is a good thing for Lousiana and America. If it also helps Democrats then that's unfortunate from my partisan perspective, but still very much a good thing.
Nitpick: it's Lousiana so there won't be a bruising Democratic primary. There will be a French style first round, which may well involve a bruising competition between multiple Democratic candidates and Cao, followed by a run-off (if needed) between the top two finishers. It's still likely that Cao will lose in 2010.
I am guessing that Congressman Cao will lose in 2010, just as Senator Begich will lose in 2014.
They could get a lot more votes from any number of groups with that approach, but they're going to stay the course of anti-intellectualism and culture warfare at least until they've lost a few more elections.
So do I.
FWIW, most of the Vietnamese-Americans I have known tended to be GOP members but view issues through a lens which is anything but party-line GOP. It will be interesting to see whether Cao is defeated in 2010. I am not as sure as others that he will lose his re-election. We will see.
Best wishes to him.
Plus, I happen to be a big fan of our primary system. While we have our political problems, we are also much less bitterly partisan on most state issues than other states. The open primary system we maintain is a key component of that, I think.
"Exactly who was the major party, ethnic minority Presidential candidate in 2004 who blacks could have voted for as an alternative to Sen. Kerry?"
Sharpton and Carol Moseley Braun. And how well did Doug Wilder and Jesse Jackson do in their runs? Not well at all, of course.
But back to the main point: Black voters, being about 12% of the populace, have ALWAYS voted for White candidates. Ask Michael Steele and Ken Blackwell how well the Black voted turned out for them in 2006! But White voters (especially in the South) still have a hard time pulling the trigger for a Black candidate under the exact same circumstances. Want proof? Look the the Obama vote among White Dems. If not for Blacks, Asians and Latinos giving an overwhelming percentage to Obama, he loses a lot of states like Florida, Virginia, Indiana, etc.
"Other than his race and speeches that were one empty platitude after another, reasons for supporting him were?"
How about the fact that HE, unlike his opponant, chose not to name a moron as his second in command?
I like your spinning on the "non-racial reasons" for opposing Obama. But you will note that I did not mention Obama in my post at all. You chose to bring him in the mix, but that just obfuscates the issues. But my point is is simple: name the Black representatives of majority White districts in the US House? Hard to figure out, isn't it? You know why? Because there are none.
Better yet -- what do you thinks the odds are that a Black Republican could win the Idaho and Utah primaries? It sounds nutty to even ask the question, doesn't it? But there are no "non-racial" reasons why you laugh when I even broach the subject. The reality is that White voters simply will not rally to a Black candidate as much as Black voters will rally to a White candidate.
I think you would be surprised. As a former Utah resident, I suspect that a conservative black Republican would be welcome with open arms--and most Utah Republicans would have no problem votiing for him or her in both primaries and general elections.
I would also note that the two most recent Republican black Congressmen, J.C. Watts of Oklahoma (1995-2003) and Gary Franks of Connecticut (1991-1997), both represented districts that were majority white.
The plagiarizer?
The liar?
But for some strange reason Vietnamese in Australia vote left along with all other identifiable ethnic minority groups.
This isn't true. Keith Ellison represents a 75% white district in Minnesota. Gwen Moore represents a 55% white district in Wisconsin. Andre Carson represents a 63% white district in Indiana. David Scott represents a plurality-white district in Georgia.
I have lived in two major southern cities in the past twenty odd years, and both have elected black mayors (Andrew Young and Ron Kirk) with widespread white support --including Republican support in the case of Kirk (Dallas mayoral races are nominally nonpartisan).
incumbent William Jefferson.This showed to the world that
the American people are very well educated.They voted for a
good and honest person.I am a strong religious believer,what
William Jefferson did was wrong and it was bad KARMA GOD
condemned him for his honesty.Now Louisiana has a governor
of Indian origin and a congresman of Vietnamese origin.Some
day in the future Louisiana may have a US Senator of another
race.I am a conservative Republican,I believe abortion is
a killing of an unborn baby please keep in mind that if your
mother had n abortion you would not be reading this blog.
Notice that I never commented about any of this. But to keep first history happy, and in the interest of gender diversity, may I instead nominate the two corrupt Senators who represent me and my entire state? Thank you:
Senator Barbara ["Bouncer"] Boxer kited over a hundred checks, made out to "cash," to the U.S. Postal Service's Senate Post Office.
Her checks bounced. Over a hundred of them.
Sen. Boxer refused to make good on the checks. Despite this, she kept on writing more and more of them [and it is no credit to the USPS that they aided and abetted her deliberate lawbreaking by continuing to cash her worthless checks].
Eventually, a postal worker got fed up, and blew the whistle to the media. Boxer promptly coughed up the cash -- which she could have done all along -- and skated. Free pass. No harm, no foul, right?
Question: if you had bounced even one check made out to 'cash' to the U.S. Postal Service, what do you think would happen to you? [Keep in mind this is a legal blog. This is an open book test. Take your time answering.]
Next, we have Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who abused her position as Chair of the Senate Military Appropriations subcommittee, in order to steer tens of millions of dollars in no-bid contracts to her husband, Richard Blum. Since Cali is a community property state, Feinstein was personally enriching herself by abusing her public trust. Can you say "culture of corruption"?
Now that Rep. William Jefferson has lost his election, I will lay off of him, and I trust this will satisfy first history. If not, it can't be helped.
Same with alqaida guys who endorsed mccain..
You fail to live up to your name.
Best you can do b-rob? Shall we review some of Joe the Gaffer's memorable mind benders in this campaign?
President FDR addressing America on TV in 1929;
Getting his info on how folks are doing by going to Katie's restaurant in his hometown of Dover, Del. (which closed over 20 years ago);
That the US and French troops defeated Hezbolah in Lebanon so that there is the opportunity now for NATO to deploy a peacekeeping force there;
Not being aware that the Office of President of the Senate is a duty of the VP created by the Constitution;
And, those are just a few of Biden's Gaffs in this campaign. Shall we recall Biden copping the life history of a UK Labor Party leader (in addition to plagarizing his speech)?
You're right. Biden isn't a "moron." He's a pathological liar. Great pick for 1 heartbeat away.
I also like the way you decided to change your allegation. Last I checked, Idaho and Utah aren't considered Southern states. Your tired canard was that it was the racism of Southern whites that kept people of color from being elected in Southern states -- people like Gov. Jindal (R., La.) (who's also Roman Catholic -- got to get the religious angle in there somewhere, right?). Oh, that's right, Jindal isn't black enough to be a "person of color." Some people consider Maryland a Southern state -- below the Mason-Dixon line and it was a slave state until 1865. Elected a Lt. Gov., Republican, who was black. It must have been all those White Republicans voting against him when he ran for US Senate is the reason he lost (the "he's an 'Uncle Tom'" campaign in the black community had nothing to do with it).
Just keep slicing your bread thinner and thinner -- we can already see through it. If you actually decide to look, you will too.
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