Asian Americans: Republican or Democrat?

Asians are rarely are put into films or movies, and when shown, often they act the same as “generic California/New York city” in culture. In some ways this is because it is always assumed they will integrate without problems. Yet rarely is the “back-story” of their family’s culture shown, or the problems of the pull between conservative “old country” versus American values.

The last film highlighting Asian immigrants was Gran Torino, by Clint Eastwood. Then there was Mississippi Masala. (By the great Mira Nair) But I bet you can count on one hand the number of Asian stories on TV or movies.

What is not recognized is that “Asian values” has a lot more in common with the values of the Christian right than with the values of the elitist left. So in the “culture wars”, many traditional Asians stand on the same side of these issues as Christian “fundamentalists”.

Another problem is that many Asians come from entrepreneurial families, and so in financial matters, they may sympathize with the frugal in the “tea party” movement.

And then there is the immigration debate dilemma.

Many were poor on arrival, and needed a “hand up”. For this reason, many Asian immigrants would be natural for the Democratic party, and feel uncomfortable with the Southern Republican establishment, with it’s racist taint.

But the social values in the Democratic party, one that is rabidly pro abortion and pro socialism, also goes against much of traditional Asian values, such as the importance of the family, a work ethic, and recognition of the virtues of capitalism. This makes many Asians more at home in the Republican party.