Super Tuesday surprise: I blew it. I predicted Super Tuesday would determine our Democratic candidate for president, and I was wrong. Instead we are faced with a close contest between two electrifying, history-making candidates: Clinton versus Obama. I love it. I have never seen so much enthusiasm, participation and political activity among the Asian Pacific Islander community.
API loyalty pays off for Clinton: The Clintons’ long-term relationship with API voters paid off big in California, New Jersey and New York. Clinton garnered an amazing 75 percent of the API vote in California, which definitely helped her 10 percent victory over Obama for the jackpot prize of delegates.
Obama still gaining momentum with API voters: I am also impressed by the continuing momentum of the campaign of Obama, a relative newcomer to API communities outside of Illinois. The recent endorsements by AsianWeek, a growing list of API elected officials, and former Clinton appointees such as the well-respected former Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta demonstrate Obama’s growing strength among API voters.
API delivers the votes, but where’s the recognition?: The race between Clinton and Obama is so close that both campaigns will have to pay more attention to the API community. Upcoming state primaries with a significant API voter base include Texas and Hawai‘i, which is 41 percent Asian Pacific Islander American.
During the past months of presidential rallies and debates, I listened intently for some reference to our community. I recall only hearing the word “Asian” mentioned once by Obama during his discussion of immigration reform. When the media discussed polling statistics, the minority vote breakdown generally included only Latinos and African Americans. When I look at TV campaign ads or mailers, I rarely see Asian faces among other ethnic minority supporters. It is as if our community does not exist, even though statistics show we are the fastest-growing minority group in the U.S. Here in California, I was relieved to see Congressman Mike Honda on stage at the L.A. debate, and state Controller John Chiang onstage with Clinton in San Jose and San Francisco.
My greatest disappointment with all the candidates visiting California is their missed opportunity to visit an Asian community venue during the beginning of the community’s most celebrated holiday, the Lunar New Year. These same candidates would not have missed visiting at least one Latino venue during Cinco de Mayo, and we saw how all the candidates attended African American churches on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
In spite of this oversight, dedicated API campaign supporters continue to donate time and dollars to help these candidates win. Is it asking too much for these candidates, in return, to demonstrate some form of public recognition? Congressman Mike Honda expressed our mutual frustration best: “When a community is mentioned in a public debate or forum, you all of a sudden exist in the minds of people, the media and the country.”
Time for the API community to take responsibility: The current crop of API campaign staff has made valiant efforts to get resources and attention for their communities. But, I realize through my own experience that the campaign mentality is dictated by the campaign managers, top-down. Other than a Kam Kuwata or Mona Pasquil, this community does not have enough seasoned campaign operatives who have direct access to the top layer of national campaign managers to influence the candidate’s schedule or public talking points. Therefore, it is up to this community to become more vocal in challenging these campaigns for equal resources and attention. Hopefully, with the recent flurry of media coverage of the API votes in California, presidential campaigns will get the message that this community has the power to deliver the winning margin.
This community needs to provide a one-shot opportunity, which presidential candidates can’t refuse, to address a national API audience. In 1987, under the umbrella organization of the National Democratic Council of Asian Pacific Americans, a small group of us produced the first public forum for Democratic presidential candidates to address API issues. National organizations representing the diverse API groups and Democratic API elected officials from all states gathered together to hear the presidential candidates.
APIA Vote is convening a similar unified national forum but is expanding the base to both Democrats and Republicans on May 17 at the U.C. Irvine Bren Event Center, which holds 5000 people. Here’s an opportunity to see which presidential candidates respond to the call.
