Asian-Americans were once considered to be natural allies of the Republican Party.

Asian-Americans were once considered to be natural allies of the Republican Party. They tend to embody the conservative identity better than any other minority group in America. The U.S. Census and surveys by the Pew Research show them to be the highest-income, best-educated and fastest-growing ethnic group in the United States.

However, Asian-Americans have been moving away from the GOP during the past few elections. In the 2012 election, President Obama received an overwhelming 73 percent of the Asian-American vote.

The mainstream Asian culture promotes family values, hard work, self-sufficiency and fiscal responsibility, which is similar to many core values of the Republican Party. However, as an Asian immigrant, here are some reasons that Asian-Americans are feeling alienated from the GOP.

Many Asian-Americans do not feel they are welcomed to the Republican Party. Republicans are often seen as strict, tough and serious, and not so friendly to foreigners. Yet, the GOP has done an impressive job in Asian outreach in Colorado, as the Republican Party has invested in real efforts to engage the Asian community.

Many GOP candidates often use religious language to demonstrate their values and beliefs. However, Asian culture in general is not a Christian culture. The GOP’s message, based on Christian language, does not connect to most Asians. Asian-Americans would be willing to accept many Christian values, but only if the GOP is able to convey their values and beliefs in a meaningful and sensible way.

The GOP’s emphasis on abortion does not resonate with Asian voters, and often alienates them. Asian-Americans are social conservatives, but most of them are not Christian conservatives. Asian tradition does not encourage premature marriage or single parenthood. Many Asians also believe that parents should be responsible to provide a stable family and sufficient financial resource for their children.

Asian voters do not generally support the welfare state. Having a large number of children before the parents are ready, living in poverty, and relying on government welfare or charity support is very unattractive to many Asian women. The GOP could potentially attract many more female voters if it could become moderate on women’s issues, such as only emphasizing the late-term abortion ban, particularly for those who have not converted to Christianity. Polling shows that more women than men support an abortion ban after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

The Iraq war under the Bush administration is another issue that made Republicans less appealing. Asia has been strongly influenced by Buddhism, which is dedicated to the core values of peace, tolerance, compromise and nonviolence. To this day, the expensive and seemingly unjustified Iraqi war is still cited by many Asian-Americans who fail to support the GOP.

http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_26083647/how-gop-can-reach-asian-americans