Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Why Asian Americans Voted So Overwhelmingly For Obama
TBI ^ | 12-1-2012 | Menzie Chinn

Posted on 12/01/2012 6:50:41 AM PST by 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)

(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: asians; election; romney
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 101-109 next last
This was a very big disappointment for me when I heard that about 70% of Asians voted for Obama.
1 posted on 12/01/2012 6:50:50 AM PST by blam
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: blam

There is no hostility to science in the Republican Party this is such a blatant lie. The conservative movement is loyal to facts and not hype. Global warming is hype. It is motivated by billions of dollars of grant money and socialist government control, not science. I thought we were on the way to exposing that, but there is a resurgence.


2 posted on 12/01/2012 6:55:52 AM PST by ilgipper (Obama supporters are comprised of the uninformed & the ill-informed)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: blam

Asians voted for Obama for the same grab bag of reasons as the other Dem. constituencies. The warmth of Mama Obama’s vast milk filled breasts and the cheap thrill of ‘virtue blather’.


3 posted on 12/01/2012 7:00:52 AM PST by Hans
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: blam
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.

If this is true, then Asians are not nearly as smart as assumed. When the government robs you of most of your money and your freedom, creation vs. evolution will be the last thing on your mind.

4 posted on 12/01/2012 7:05:48 AM PST by Right Brother
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Hans

The only Chinese here are communists that were allowed to leave their country and are here only to shift communism here.

It is why the voted for democrats.


5 posted on 12/01/2012 7:05:49 AM PST by edcoil (It is not over until I win.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: ilgipper

I can’t figure out how they pulled it off, but ANYTHING a liberal just happens to spit out of their mouth is instant fact.

Add to this that ANYTHING anyone ONE PERSON, who happens to claim they are conservative says is instantly added as part of our permanent platform, while the same doesn’t apply to them.

If a looney toon on the right says something , we’ll then that’s how all conservatives feel and is central to our core.

If a looney toon (i know they all are....lol) on the left says something, the same does not happen. For example; the PETA people or environmental terrorists, global warming fraudsters.

In the end, as so many of us say and so many posts point out. We have no control over the MSM narrative and overwhelmingly most voters and young people only feel what is “right” is the values espoused by CNN or the latest immoral sitcom characters’ on t.v. universe.

I’m in the camp right now that says we don’t have any next move, I’m hoping someone comes up with something effective, but sometimes you need to recognize defeat =(.


6 posted on 12/01/2012 7:06:02 AM PST by Individual Rights in NJ (Let's settle somewhere new?~ I'm thinking places people call "blue".)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Hans
The warmth of Mama Obama’s vast milk filled breasts...

Thanks. That horrific visual has just ruined my next three meals. :)

Perception is everything, and right now Asians perceive Republicans as racist, nativist, and anti-science. The GOPe has done exactly nothing to counter this largely false Democrat caricature, so the party is reaping the rewards of its inaction.

7 posted on 12/01/2012 7:07:06 AM PST by Mr. Jeeves (CTRL-GALT-DELETE)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: blam
"... 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."

I think this is a load of crud. I am 1/2 Japanese via my mother's side. Both of my parents live in Riverside County, CA. Dad is in the aerospace business and (luckily) is doing very well for himself.

My entire family is Republican. Always has been and always will be. We weren't raised to be stupid and lazy.

After the election, my mother was extremely upset. She knew Romney could not win CA, but was hopeful he would take the electoral college votes and win the presidency.

She told me that she listens to local "asian" radio stations and reads the "asian" papers (she is multilingual and can understand both Korean and Japanese). Anyhow, she said that if anyone tells you that Asian's voted for Obama because of anything other than handouts, don't believe a word of it. The local Asian media is just as bad as the MSM. She said there are so many tax cheats and people ripping off the system (SSI, illegal immigration), that of course they will vote Dem. They are afraid of having their candy taken away. The cheating is rampant in the Asian community in many places. She is resentful and angry that these people have no integrity or honor. She's "old school" and believes in honesty and hard work. Anything else makes one "lose face".

8 posted on 12/01/2012 7:08:15 AM PST by grimalkin (Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. Friedman)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Berosus; bigheadfred; Bockscar; ColdOne; Convert from ECUSA; ...

“Source: DailyKos”

And, so much for that.

The idea that the Demagogic Party is *not* mired in its own inflexible idealogy and is instead pragmatic and science-oriented is ridiculous.

Thanks blam.


9 posted on 12/01/2012 7:13:17 AM PST by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: blam
There is something wrong with this Asian love for obama...
I know many Asians and they all hate obama and his socialist ideals. Every Asian I know are Republican or independent....
I have to stop my wife who is Chinese from throwing something at the TV when obama is on.
10 posted on 12/01/2012 7:16:04 AM PST by baddog 219
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: blam
This is a no brainer. After 1990, most Asains immigrated to USA are people from China and they are used to having handouts from the government. I talked to some and all of them want the FREE healthcare. Especially they have their parents come over to stay with them. WHY NOT?
11 posted on 12/01/2012 7:16:46 AM PST by color_tear
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: blam

Sick of hearing it... sorry. Every hyphenated American ethnic group voted for Obama. They are simply not Americans. They are simply divisive folks, whose sole identity is wrapped in their divided nature. Like attracts like.. A divided person, whether it be ethnic, or pathological will vote for the divider in chief. True Americans who shed their diversity for freedom and liberty for all are the only ones opposing Obama. We are definitely in the minority. Historically, diversity and division is the downfall of any culture. Even ours. Becoming liberals is the only tactic left for Republicans and I will have no part in it. /rant


12 posted on 12/01/2012 7:17:50 AM PST by momincombatboots (Back to West by G-d Virginia.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: blam

Sick of hearing it... sorry. Every hyphenated American ethnic group voted for Obama. They are simply not Americans. They are simply divisive folks, whose sole identity is wrapped in their divided nature. Like attracts like.. A divided person, whether it be ethnic, or pathological will vote for the divider in chief. True Americans who shed their diversity for freedom and liberty for all are the only ones opposing Obama. We are definitely in the minority. Historically, diversity and division is the downfall of any culture. Even ours. Becoming liberals is the only tactic left for Republicans and I will have no part in it. /rant


13 posted on 12/01/2012 7:17:50 AM PST by momincombatboots (Back to West by G-d Virginia.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: blam

It’s way beyond time to adjust our immigration policy.

I find nothing in the constitution that requires us to destroy our country by importing masses of people who are not freedom lovers. There are plenty of marxist paradises to go to if that’s what immigrants desire without importing them here to likewise turn our republic into just another socialist cesspool.

Immmigration: (i) very low numbers, and (ii) very selective candidates who have unique skills we want and who yearn for freedom from government and are self reliant.


14 posted on 12/01/2012 7:22:03 AM PST by SharpRightTurn ( White, black, and red all over--America's affirmative action, metrosexual president.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: blam

Let’s face facts here. Everyone who voted Obama did it because it is cool to hqte 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. Thatis the message the left sends to me everyday of my life.


15 posted on 12/01/2012 7:25:17 AM PST by Catholic Canadian
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: blam; All

My brothers wife is Asian (Chinese by way of Jamaica and then Canada) and can assure you that none of her family voted for Obama. And, doubt that any Asian-American who came from former British territories in the Caribbean would vote Obama (most were run off by Blacks when the Brits granted independence to the Caribbean islands)

Since Asian-Americans come from all different backgrounds and naions....it is really hard to believe 70% of Asians voted for Obama. Most Asians I know are hard-working and sacrifice to provide for their families....they would not support Obama


16 posted on 12/01/2012 7:25:55 AM PST by SeminoleCounty (Illegal Aliens do not pay Social Security...Employers do)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: blam

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


17 posted on 12/01/2012 7:26:10 AM PST by AAABEST (Et lux in tenebris lucet: et tenebrae eam non comprehenderunt)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: blam

Asians hate whitey. Simple as that.


18 posted on 12/01/2012 7:29:58 AM PST by y6162
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ilgipper; SunkenCiv
There is no hostility to science in the Republican Party this is such a blatant lie. The conservative movement is loyal to facts and not hype.

Unfortunately it is not a lie. THIS is a very big challenge for conservatives because we have been tarred with it, and not entirely unfairly so. You see it here. Almost every SunkenCiv thread or Asronomy Picture of the Day thread gets spammed by a strong anti-science crowd.

I am a scientist and a conservative, and I can tell you that conservatives have lost that argument. Virtually every scientist I know is convinced that conservatives are anti-science. You cannot change the perception by saying it is not so. There is a lot of hard work to do to dispel that view.

19 posted on 12/01/2012 7:33:55 AM PST by AndyJackson
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Catholic Canadian

See tagline


20 posted on 12/01/2012 7:36:36 AM PST by CatherineofAragon (Support Christian white males---the architects of the jewel known as Western Civilization)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 101-109 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson