Posted on 10/14/2012 4:55:10 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
SAN FRANCISCO – About 30 Filipino-American seniors from all over the Bay Area gathered Thursday morning at a community center in a largely Filipino enclave in the heart of San Francisco’s South of Market district.
Along with their regular breakfast and a mental health workshop, Rudy Asercion, who directs the West Bay Filipino Multi-Services Inc., also served up a good dose of politics, rallying them to register and vote. He also invited them to the center that evening to watch the vice presidential candidates Joe Biden and Paul Ryan in their first and only televised debate.
A recent national survey of Asian American voters found that Filipinos show the highest level of support for GOP presidential candidate Gov. Mitt Romney. But, at this local debate-watching party at West Bay, opinions are split among supporters of both men, with some voters still undecided about whom to support.
Watching the debate, Asercion says Congressman Ryan hammered two key issues that resonate strongly with the Filipino electorate: the economy and health care.
Asercion is the chair of the National Organization of Filipino-American Republicans and an elected member of the San Francisco Republican Party Central Committee.
“[The economy], to Filipino-American Republicans is key,” says Asercion, who is the highest-ranking Filipino-American Republican in the nation. “We want a team that is committed to turning the economy, turning the country around in the right direction…”
During Thursday’s debate, Ryan reiterated the GOP ticket’s five-point economic plan, which focuses on: energy independence; improving education and job skills training; getting the deficit and debt under control; curtailing unfair trade practices; tax breaks for small businesses and overturning Obamacare.
Ryan said that if elected, his and Romney’s plan would “strengthen the middle class and get the economy growing at 4 percent, creating 12 million jobs over the next four years.”
Asercion said many Filipino Americans were hit hard by the recession, including many of the West Bay center’s clients, making the economy the most important issue for the community in this year’s election.
“Everybody’s having a hard time; they know the country is not headed to the right direction,” he says. “That’s what many Filipino Americans are waiting for, that the country gets back on track. So that’s why I believe Filipinos want a change in the administration. Personally, I think the Obama administration has run out of ideas.”
Asercion adds, “There’s an intensity right now with this presidential race, there’s a buzz for Romney [among the community], which I didn’t see for McCain. It’s completely different now because people, Filipinos are hurting.”
Juanita Nimfa Gamez, while viewing the debate at West Bay, says she’s planning to vote for Romney because the current administration has failed to deliver on its promises.
“The Obama administration was given four years to change things around,” she says. “They keep saying that they’re for the middle class, but right now as we speak, the middle class is getting poorer and poorer.”
Gregorio Ferrer, who calls himself a long-time Democrat, says it was Obama’s poor performance during the first presidential debate that has shaken his confidence in the president. The 85-year-old Filipino World War II veteran says he was impressed with Romney’s delivery and articulation of his plans to turn the economy around. But Ferrer notes that he is waiting for the next two presidential debates before he makes a decision.
Rodel Rodis, a Filipino-American community leader and Democrat, supports the president’s actions to lift the country out of the recession.
“President Obama is getting us back on track with 43 months of steady growth, unemployment is down, the stock market has doubled and the economy is on its way forward,” Rodis says. “But what the Romney-Ryan team want to do is bring us back to the Bush era.”
He adds, “The very same people that drove the economy to the ground by creating two wars that cost trillions of dollars on a credit card as Vice-President Biden said in the debate; by deregulating Wall Street and which Romney now proposes to do…they are looking at the numbers without looking at what caused that big recession.”
On the health care front, which many Filipino American voters are closely watching, Ascercion and Rodis have divergent views, especially when it comes to Medicare.
Ryan wants to turn it from the insurance plan it now is that directly pays medical bills for the elderly, into a voucher plan, under which seniors will be given a fixed subsidy to buy their own insurance. Critics say that seniors will be forced to pay out of pocket when their insurance plan maxes out.
Asercion defends Ryan’s plan, saying that it will keep Medicare from going bankrupt. “It’s important to put a new plan in place,” he asserts.
But Rodis says that Romney’s remarks earlier this year that 47 percent of the U.S. population are “moochers” living off of government handouts is insulting to his community, many of whom depend on Social Security.
“Many Filipino Americans are living off of Social Security ...... and these are the people Romney looks down upon in complete disdain,” he says.
And, he adds: “Obama has always committed to look out for everyone, especially the most vulnerable in our society. It truly is dangerous for Filipinos and everyone receiving these benefits, if people like Romney and Ryan (were) to be elected.”
Asercion says he believes the outcome of last night’s debate between Biden and Ryan is a wash. He called Biden “a skilled debater,” but notes that, “what’s important now will be the outcome of the next two presidential debates.” Those debates are scheduled for Oct. 16 and 22.
Meantime, the Filipino-American community in the Bay Area will be holding a town hall meeting http://www.balitangamerica.tv/fil-am-vote-2012]:Fil-Am to discuss the two presidential candidates on Oct. 18. It is hosted and organized by The Filipino Channel [TFC] TV network at their studios in Redwood Shores.
Uh, almost EVERYONE in the Philippines speaks some English and many are fluent. It’s taught from grade school to post doc. Just ask lulu16. remember, the Philippines belonged to the United States from 1898 to 1946!!And these HAVE to be US citizens or they couldn’t vote here!
Filipinos are also strong Catholics and Zero really did piss off a lot of Catholics with the contraceptive issue.
But all of them aren’t mental patients are they?
Because that’s what the article is about.
Hey, what do I know?
Maybe every one of them are mental patients.
You tell me, you’re the one advocating them.
Good for you LuLu. I have only good comments about people from the Philippine Islands. Good to have your comments on Free Republic.
Thank-you. Our subculture demands we fly straight and never do anything that calls into question our worthiness to be included as citizens; we are so happy to be Americans. I am as American as my old bouffant Barbie. When people ask about my exotic looks, I always say, “I am American of Filipino descent.” Anyone who comes to my home, at some point reads from the constitution and brings one home with their goody bag. Filipinos intentionally fly under the radar, and that hyphenated nonsense is repugnant to us.
Attending a breakfast & mental health workshop at an ethnic community center makes one a mental patient or a “retard” to you? So everyone who has ever seen a psychologist, minister, counselor, social worker or doctor about any personal issue or complaint is crazy? That’s probably most of the people in this country. Should they even be able to vote? LOL
You betcha, Vet. And I think if there was some hanky-panky with illegal voting, the Filipino community would turn that culprit in. We don’t stand for civic lawbreaking. The Spanish-American war was the best thing that happened to the Philippines. Serving with the Americans in WWII is a point of honor for us. Many still revere General MacArthur of : “I shall return,” fame. When I think about it, many Filipinos are really Americans in waiting.
Isn’t there still a political party in the PI that wants statehood?
If only all those born on these shores had your gratitude and appreciation for the uniqueness that is embodied in our Constitution.
However much it's been mangled over the years, it's still the codification of the noblest political experiment in world history.
Thanks for the post 2DV, and for the ping.
happy Monday ;-)
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