The Obama grassroots office opened on March 22 in Philadelphia Chinatown due to the generosity of building owner and Obama supporter Lee Deng, and the efforts of United People for Obama, Asian Americans for Obama, South Asians for Obama and many other groups.
Anna Perng and Matt Chea of United People for Obama, Nina Ahmad of APA for Progress, HaiPei Shue, Andy Toy and others led scores of Pennsylvanians and out-of-state volunteers in an incredible voter registration drive. The volunteers, who all together spoke 14 languages, registered hundreds of new Asian and Latino voters. The volunteers also canvassed churches, mosques, markets and businesses, reaching an estimated 3,000 people over three days.
Christopher Nguyen directed several English and in-language video PSAs shown on YouTube for Vietnamese communities in Pennsylvania. The videos featured film director Ham Tran, actor-signer Cat Tien and director Timothy Linh Bui.
The weekend started with New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson’s endorsement of Sen. Obama, calling his former opponent a “once-in-a-lifetime leader” and someone who “will be an outstanding commander in chief.”
— Cate Park and Keith Kamisugi
AAPIs for Hillary is branching out in Pennsylvania in advance of the April 22 primary. Pennsylvania’s demographics mirror Ohio, a state that Hillary won. Efforts are also underway in the May 6 primary states of Indiana and North Carolina.
Brad Baldia organized a dinner on March 25 in Philly’s Chinatown with other Hillary supporters. For AAPIs for Hillary volunteers canvassing across Pennsylvania, especially in the economically depressed Rust Belt, the sentiment among voters is that Hillary Clinton is the one with the insight and expertise to fix the country’s economic woes. As Clinton supporter Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA 35th), a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, has said: “We need help, not hope.” Indeed, the latest Quinnipiac poll shows Hillary doubling her Democratic primary lead in Pennsylvania from 6 to 12 points.
The API Caucus for the California Democratic Party meets in San Jose on March 28, and it is working to maximize the number of AAPI delegates who go to the Democratic National Convention; the goal for API delegates is 9 percent of the 441 delegates.
Hillary is confirmed for another California trek on April 3, greeting supporters in San Francisco, Menlo Park and Los Angeles.
— Julie D. Soo
Today I received a letter from Sen. John McCain in anticipation of the National Asian American Republican Coalition meeting on April 23 in Phoenix. Coalition Co-chair KV Kumar and I have been working to reorganize the group and refocus our goal for this 2008 election. We have invited many Asian Americans, and the response has been very warm. We expect to have more than a hundred attendees from all over the country.
My suspicion is that this election will secure our nation’s safety and security against imminent war with Iran and a possible terrorist attack to our homeland. And what more can we expect from a person like John McCain, a war hero from the Vietnam era.
Large numbers of voters of Asian descent have indicated that at present there is no one that can provide the kind of strong sense of security to our families and our homeland but McCain.
— Manny Wong