Posted on 11/17/2009 6:43:01 PM PST by HokieMom
Prowling through the election returns in the governor races two weeks ago, I was surprised to find that Middlesex County, New Jersey, voted for Republican Christie over Democratic incumbent Corzine by a 48%-44% margin, almost exactly the same as Christie’s 49%-45% statewide margin. Middlesex County has been a Democratic county for as long as I have been studying election returns (going back to the 1960 election). In close elections it voted 58%-42% for John Kennedy in 1960, 46%-43% for Humphrey in 1968 (when he failed to carry New Jersey), 51%-47% for Carter in 1976, 46%-38% and 56%-32% for Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996, 60%-36% for Gore in 2000, 56%-43% for Kerry in 2004 and 60%-39% for Barack Obama in 2008. Historically it was a white working class county, with old industrial cities like Perth Amboy and New Brunswick; its county Democratic leader was often the major Democratic power broker in state politics. You know the territory if you’ve ever driven through the intersection of the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway.
Yet it voted for Christie over Corzine.
*break*
Plus, down in Virginia, Fairfax County, which is 16% “Asian only” and which like Middlesex County voted 60%-39% for Barack Obama, voted 51%-49% for Republican Governor-elect Bob McDonnell. McDonnell campaigned heavily in Fairfax’s immigrant communities and clearly made some inroads there.
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/polls.main/, Nationally, Asian voters went 62%-35% for Barack Obama over John McCain in 2008, a number boosted by the fact that Obama carried Hawaii Asians, who make up 30% of the state’s electorate, by a 68%-30% margin. But the election results in Middlesex and Fairfax Counties for 2009, with economic issues playing a greater and different role than they did in 2008, suggest that Republicans can make significant gains among this growing segment of the electorate.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonexaminer.com ...
The key to Christie's victory in Middlesex can be seen in the precincts in Edison and the Iselin CDP in Woodbridge. These towns have the highest % of Indian Americans in the United States, and voted for Christie (white working class Woodbridge proper went for Corzine). South Brunswick, which has been a center of migration for more affluent East Indians (and, to a lesser extent, Chinese) also went for Christie.
Barone says, “Nationally, Asian voters went 62%-35% for Barack Obama...” I’m surprised. I thought they had better sense.
The Democrat’s debt programs and high taxes equal a pocketbook issue. Or wallet, if you prefer. It is a universal issue for almost everyone with good business sense.
If this really is a trend, it’s very nearly the best news ot the year.
Then there are the Chinese-Americans, and it depends on whether you are dealing with a CBA or an ABC how they usually come down, and that'll differ by where they live.
Filipinos have been drifting to the Republicans for many years but aren't quite all there (See Michelle Malkin ~ she can probably write books about the problem), and then there are the Vietnamese ~ a mixed bag.
I think by now most Asian-Americans have figured out that Obama is doing such a lousy job in such a non-thinking way that it will be a gazillion years before any of them get a shot at the Presidency.
Plus, most of the ones I know are church goers. That alone should keep them in the GOP camp.
Asian immigrants, at least in New York and New Jersey, have been given the line over the last 30 years that the Republicans were racist white Christian fundamentalists who wanted to prevent upstart immigrants from prospering (yes, the Dems have literally said this on several occasions). Even though East Asians are (per Pew) the least religiously observant racial group in America, many are also entrepreneurs, which is why the emphasis on pocketbook issues helped McDonnell in NoVa among this demographic.
East Asians have traditionally had the lowest rate of religious observance of any racial demographic, per Pew and other surveys. However, it varies widely according to ethnic group: Koreans and Filipinos tending to be churchgoers, while Japanese and Chinese Americans are more secular.
McDonnell reached out to the large Vietnamese-American population here in my county. He appeals to their pro-business, pro-family, and anti-gang/crime stances.
With the Chinese I am not surprise. The Lee Wen Ho spy scandal during the Clinton admin where the GOP went after a Chinese American scientist was the Dryfus Affair for the Chinese Americans. Chinese Americans tend to be more socially conservative and vote GOP, but after the hardline anti Communist China theme of the spy scandal, the voting habits shifted. Personally I think Lee was guilty (missing classified tapes were found in his home), but the GOP head of the nuclear lab went public with the allegations too early, thus the FBI probe was bungled. Clinton that time was having illegal campaign contribution problems involving the Chinese, so he also probably ran interference. Net result is we probably do not know if Lee was a spy or not, but his Dem operatives in the Chinese community was able to frame the issue as another conservative GOP witch hunt motivated by racist feelings and jealousy of a rising Asian power. Unfortunately the local spin was successful because ask most Chinese Americans what they think of the Lee spy allegations, and they probably will say it is a GOP racially motivated witch hunt.
“Barone says, “Nationally, Asian voters went 62%-35% for Barack Obama...” I’m surprised. I thought they had better sense.”
Nothing personal intended, but if you had any clue as to the outreach efforts of the Democrats when it comes to Asians, this would make perfect sense. To Republican leaders, Asians, Blacks, Hispanics, they’re all the same...and reaching them is hopeless. The Democrats OWN their media, advertise in their languages, and control the rest of their contact with mainstream America. They spend ALL of their time talking about immigration, particularly family unification (while conveniently ignoring Gay Marriage, crime and all of their other favorite past-times), whereas Republicans typically cannot distinguish between a border-crossing Mexican and a well educated, very productive Asian.
Obviously it’s not true that Asians are just another failed minority in the US - starting with their divorce rates being something like 10% (i.e., they could teach the Republicans a whole bunch about family values) - and (generally) much higher incomes and education levels. Perhaps if the Republican leaders noted that there are MILLIONS of Asians (I’ll admit, not as many as their are blacks or Hispanics, but millions of people, many of them with a TON of money)...they’d realize that it might be worth spending a few minutes on them.
But then again, I’m probably dreaming.
Hopefully, we're getting smarter as this month's elections imply.
More importantly, the Asian populationS (note the plural) is large enough in places like New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia to swing said states (although Jersey would still be a squeaker at best, a la the 2009 gubernatorial election). I don’t really see the Japanese American population in Hawaii swinging GOP anytime soon, nor will the Chinese/Vietnamese/Filipinos be enough to overcome the white liberal/hispanic Dem vote in Cali.
McDonnell had Congressman Joseph Ahn Cao campaign for him in Fairfax county. However, with the Right steaming mad at Cao for being the lone GOP to vote for PelosiCare, the Left is playing up the anger at Cao as proof that conservatives don’t like Asians.
McCain and his handlers are a good example of what's wrong with the Republican national leadership.
They can't sell a political philosophy...because they don't have one.
Their sole objective is to get elected.
However, they can't seem to come up with a good reason why they should be elected.
Sounds like a Rahm tactic. Conservatives love Asians. It' socialism they don't like.
“Hopefully, we’re getting smarter as this month’s elections imply.”
I certainly hope so...but we’ll need to get our new governors into the party leadership positions, so that the dufusses that are their can be dragged into doing the right thing.
“nor will the Chinese/Vietnamese/Filipinos be enough to overcome the white liberal/hispanic Dem vote in Cali.”
Spoken like a true Republican leader (again, no offense intended, just trying to make another point). According the US Census, there are twice as many Asians in California as blacks - yet it was the blacks who were able to keep marriage between a man and a woman on the Prop. 8 vote (and now they’re HATED by the gays). Also as the Democrats have proven with Jews, you don’t need a lot of people, but you do need them to be unified and not afraid to give you money.
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06000.html
” McCain and his handlers are a good example of what’s wrong with the Republican national leadership.
They can’t sell a political philosophy...because they don’t have one.
Their sole objective is to get elected.
However, they can’t seem to come up with a good reason why they should be elected. “
EXACTLY!! and that is why they fear Sarah so much (and feared Reagan).
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