Will Asian-Americans keep trending Democratic?

[Verily]

As they assimilate more their politics won't vary too mcuh from the mainstream

As they assimilate, they will join the other minorities in voting more strongly Democratic. Many Asian immigrants, except the Japanese, hold (or held) some loyalty to the Republicans out of anti-communist sentiment, sort of a muted version of the Cuba effect. (Vietnamese immigrants obviously have a particular grudge against the Democrats for the Vietnam War; that's closer to the full strength of the Cuba effect.) However, the anti-communist Republican vote, though slower to fade among immigrants, is fading away even there.

[Verily]

Those who fled Communism (Vietnamese) or dread Communism in their ancestral homeland as a genuine menace (Koreans)  are probably more likely to vote Republican than those who have no memory of a Communist menace (Indians, Pakistanis, and Japanese). Ethnic Chinese might have family ties to the People's Republic of China, whose ideology isn't especially Marxist. 

For Koreans the menace is not the People's Republic of China, but instead the DPRK.   

For Korean voting patterns, see Palisades Park, NJ. Just over 60% for Obama, was 37% Korean in 2000 (now probably close to if not over 50%), most Korean in the country by far. Other demographics in the town are mostly whites who probably broke around 55-45 Obama, so the Koreans were likely close to 70% for Obama. Turnout was dismal in Palisades Park, too, only about 55% against a county-wide turnout of about 70%, which means that Koreans, or at least the ones around here, also don't vote much (but do register).

Of course, there's an added dimension to this as at least Koreans in the NYC area are mostly evangelical Christians while I would guess that Koreans on the West Coast more closely mirror the demographics in Korea with more Buddhists and non-religious cultural Buddhists.

[Verily]

Thats weird. An Asian friend of mine said most Asians are conservatives, himself included.

Depends on the context. Chinese in San Francisco are generally the least Democratic group in the city, for example--although they still vote 60+% Democratic. And which group you're talking about, since Vietnamese and some small groups like political exiles from Burma tend to be more conservative. There are also a fair few recent Christian converts among some Asian groups, some of whom may be extremely conservative. But by and large the Asian population is quite Democratic; how liberal or leftist they are is something of a different story.

[Verily]

I feel Koreans are the most evangelical and most socially conservative asian group out there. At least they are the best at indoctrinating it into their kids. Other younger asians are very socially liberal, mostly because they grew up around socially liberal whites in suburbs. Of course I am speaking from a Californian perspective and things are probably very different in Texas.

Asians just pick up on their surroundings for the most part.

The Koreans in my area are generally very religious and are the exact opposite of the typical ideology of Seattle's nonreligious, fiscally conservative suburbs.

As they are in mine.

Here, too... But they don't vote that way.

[Verily]

Probably because Republicans are the white, anti-foreigner party, as of now

Possibly. There's probably a local-dynamic aspect of it, too. Around here, in the most heavily Korean town, the Democrats are a mix of Italians, Koreans and Hispanics while the Republicans are all Italians. Until the Italian machine collapses, Koreans won't vote Republican, but they might vote for a Korean Republican in droves. (This is for Borough Council and Mayoral elections, but it spills over to higher office.)

[Verily]

Imagine where those Italians would go if the GOP nominated a fobby Korean

It depends on whether the Democrats nominated a Korean (or Hispanic), too, or not. I think the Koreans would vote net Republican locally if it were a Korean v Korean race. But maybe not. I mean, Pal Park was something like 65% Obama, and the Italians vote net Republican/break-even (see the heavily Italian towns nearby) while there aren't a ton of Hispanics (~15%), so the Koreans must have been strong for Obama. And Kerry also got over 60% there, so it's not Obama's "Asian appeal".

Part of the problem with weighing all of this is not knowing exact demographics currently. Palisades Park has gone from 7% Asian in the 1980 Census to 18% in 1990 to 41% in 2000, to likely well over 50% in 2010, the vast majority of that Korean, but I can't be certain of numbers at all until the 2010 Census. My sense is that the town must be predominantly Korean by now, given what the downtown looks like (more Hangul characters than Latin ones), but maybe not.

There are only two Koreans on the Borough Council, but three Italians and one woman who might be Italian or Hispanic going by her surname (all Democrats). Some of that probably has to do with low Korean turnout, of course; Palisades Park has really low turnout at every election, which must be the Koreans not voting.

Except that the surrounding towns are all 15-25% Korean and have normal-looking turnout rates nonetheless, so maybe it's some quirk specific to Pal Park, or the result of massive voter turnover as the Italians and other native English speakers move out and the Korean immigrants (and Hispanics) move in. Palisades Park tends to be where the newest Korean immigrants move, while the Koreans in neighboring towns have been in the US for a decade or so or are even in some cases second generation (although most adult Koreans in this part of NJ are still first generation).