Not long ago, the Republican National Committee did something out of the
Not long ago, the Republican National Committee did something out of the ordinary: The party issued a formal statement marking Diwali, an important Hindu holiday.
“Diwali and the lighting of the Diya celebrate the victory of light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance,” read the salutation from GOP headquarters in Washington, which bid good tidings to “our Hindu, Jain and Sikh friends” and ended with the traditional greeting “Saal Mubarak!”
It was a small step toward addressing a big concern.
After years of divided loyalties, Asian American voters have swung heavily behind the Democratic Party and its candidates, posing a serious threat to Republicans whose political base — older, whiter, more conservative — is shrinking by the day. (Although referred to as the Asian American community, “communities” might be a better word to reflect the diversity of groups tracing their roots from the Indian subcontinent to the Far East.)
The problem is every bit as acute as the GOP’s widely chronicled difficulties with Latino voters. Though fewer in number, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population and a rapidly expanding part of the electorate, nationally and in battleground states such as Florida, Nevada, North Carolina and Virginia.
On paper, at least, Asian Americans would seem highly receptive to the Republican Party and its philosophy of low taxes, small government and bootstrap initiative. On average, Asian Americans — with roots in China, India, Japan, South Korea, Pakistan and numerous other countries — are wealthier and better educated than the general population and have a long tradition of entrepreneurship. “They should be coming to our party en masse,” said Shawn Steel, a former California GOP chairman, who has worked for years to expand political support among minority voters.
But Asian Americans have shifted dramatically away from the Republican Party over the last two decades — more so than any other voting group. In 1992, Republican George H.W. Bush won 55% of the Asian American vote against Democrat Bill Clinton. Last year, President Obama won 73% against Republican Mitt Romney, a better showing than the president’s 71% support among Latinos, according to exit polls.
Asian Americans also expanded their ranks in Congress, electing their first representatives from Illinois and New York and sending the Senate its first Asian American woman, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii.
When a South Korean diplomat came calling recently on Democratic Rep. Ami Bera, the stop in this Sacramento suburb was a gesture of friendship, a lobbying effort and a reflection of the new reality in American politics.
Bera, 48, of Elk Grove, beat longtime GOP Rep. Dan Lungren in his second try, becoming only the third Indian American congressman in history. He was helped immensely by campaign contributions from Asian Americans across the country and a district, created after the 2010 census, with a larger minority population.
The son of Indian immigrants, Bera followed a classic upwardly mobile path, becoming a physician and associate dean of the UC Davis School of Medicine before entering politics.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-asian-american-voters-20131208,0,6145540.story#ixzz2mrdNjH7l