Will Asian-Americans keep trending Democratic?

[DanielX]

The US Census bureau counts middle easterners as whites.

Nitpick: not all Muslims are middle easterners. In fact, most aren't.

OTOH, its damn near impossible to tell where "white" ends and "Asian" begins in much of western and south Asia. The majority population of India is probably genetically closer to Europeans than most Japanese are... 

[Jaggerjack]

The US Census bureau counts middle easterners as whites.

Nitpick: not all Muslims are middle easterners. In fact, most aren't.

I know that; there are tons in the Indian subcontinent and Indonesia.

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Well obviously...

[auburntiger]

A question: define "Asian". Half the world's population lives in Asia, and includes countless ethnic groups.

Another thing: how is this trend changed if you remove Muslims? Quite a few Asians are Muslims, and since 2000 they have trended Democrat quite substantially (outside of a few groups).

Also, how do the different types of Asians compare to other Americans who live in the same areas? Most Asians are concentrated in left-leaning areas to begin with - big coastal cities like San Francisco and New York. For example, I don't know the exact demographics but even if Chinese-Americans in San Francisco voted 80% Democrat+Green they'd probably be to the right of white San Franciscans!

I'm three-quarters Asian-American, Korean, to be exact. to call oneself Asian, I'd say you'd have to have over 50% of your ancestry be Asian. But I really don't have any "Asian" qualities. I was born in San Diego, but my parents (from Memphis) adopted me at 6 months. So I look "Asian" (slanted eyes) but I'm culturally southern and act "white" as they say.

whenever I hear someone describe me or anyone else as "Asian", people mean Asian Oriental (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Indonesian, etc.)

[Хahar 🤔]

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[Flying Dog]

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[Хahar 🤔]

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[War on Want]

A question: define "Asian". Half the world's population lives in Asia, and includes countless ethnic groups.

Another thing: how is this trend changed if you remove Muslims? Quite a few Asians are Muslims, and since 2000 they have trended Democrat quite substantially (outside of a few groups).

Also, how do the different types of Asians compare to other Americans who live in the same areas? Most Asians are concentrated in left-leaning areas to begin with - big coastal cities like San Francisco and New York. For example, I don't know the exact demographics but even if Chinese-Americans in San Francisco voted 80% Democrat+Green they'd probably be to the right of white San Franciscans!

No not really, they would be just as liberal. What really makes large cities for the Democrats is their large amounts of African-Americans almost universally. Even Minneapolis is almost 17% Black and it is one of the whitest cities in America.

[Sbane]

A question: define "Asian". Half the world's population lives in Asia, and includes countless ethnic groups.

Another thing: how is this trend changed if you remove Muslims? Quite a few Asians are Muslims, and since 2000 they have trended Democrat quite substantially (outside of a few groups).

Also, how do the different types of Asians compare to other Americans who live in the same areas? Most Asians are concentrated in left-leaning areas to begin with - big coastal cities like San Francisco and New York. For example, I don't know the exact demographics but even if Chinese-Americans in San Francisco voted 80% Democrat+Green they'd probably be to the right of white San Franciscans!

No not really, they would be just as liberal. What really makes large cities for the Democrats is their large amounts of African-Americans almost universally. Even Minneapolis is almost 17% Black and it is one of the whitest cities in America.

Actually you are wrong about SF, EMD. Although Asians in SF vote overwhelmingly for democrats, they are certainly not as liberal as the whites there. BTW this thread is one of the most hilarious one I have read in a while.

[War on Want]

A question: define "Asian". Half the world's population lives in Asia, and includes countless ethnic groups.

Another thing: how is this trend changed if you remove Muslims? Quite a few Asians are Muslims, and since 2000 they have trended Democrat quite substantially (outside of a few groups).

Also, how do the different types of Asians compare to other Americans who live in the same areas? Most Asians are concentrated in left-leaning areas to begin with - big coastal cities like San Francisco and New York. For example, I don't know the exact demographics but even if Chinese-Americans in San Francisco voted 80% Democrat+Green they'd probably be to the right of white San Franciscans!

No not really, they would be just as liberal. What really makes large cities for the Democrats is their large amounts of African-Americans almost universally. Even Minneapolis is almost 17% Black and it is one of the whitest cities in America.

Actually you are wrong about SF, EMD. Although Asians in SF vote overwhelmingly for democrats, they are certainly not as liberal as the whites there. BTW this thread is one of the most hilarious one I have read in a while.

Yeah I did some research on it and found I was wrong but the SF area probably has the highest concentration of liberal whites out of the whole country.

[pbrower2a]

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.   

[justfollowingtheelections]

Those who fled Communism (Vietnamese) or dread Communism in their ancestral homeland as a genuine menace (Koreans)  are probably more likely to vote Republican

Not anymore.  Maybe the first generation did, but their children and grandchildren are very liberal.

[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.

[Psychic Octopus]

I don't think they will. I think they will join the GOP rather later then now.

[RosettaStoned]

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

[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.

[RosettaStoned]

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.

Oh okay, thats makes sense actually. His parents are refugees from Vietnam.

[Lunar]

I'd be interested to compare refugees fleeing from Vietnam to Cubans fleeing their own socialistic country.  That'd be a cool study, adjusted for time frames and whatnot, maybe adjusted for Catholicism too.

[Ogre Mage]

I am Asian-American and in my experience, Asian-Americans tend to be politically moderate.  They are more likely to be liberal rather than conservative, but it is usually a cautious liberalism (or conservatism).  Extremism is shunned.  Many do not identify with a political party, but they are more likely to identify as Democrats rather than Republicans. 

Specific ethnic subgroups, of course, have particular trends.  Many older Japanese-Americans, for instance, maintain a strong commitment to civil rights due to the internment experience and were horrified at the civil rights abuses of the Bush Administration.

So one might say that the median Asian voter is a slightly left-of-center, Democratic-leaning independent.  However, Asians are difficult to pigenhole politically.

One thing I could see stopping the Asian Dem trend is if the GOP would become more friendly to minorities and embrace more of a Sandra Day O'Connor style conservatism while the Dems go off the Dennis Kucinich deep end.  But this seems very unlikely.

[justfollowingtheelections]

That's funny because most Asians I know really like Kucinich.

[Ogre Mage]

I think much of the Democratic Asian-American trend can be attributed to Bill Clinton.  He really made an effort to reach out to both the Latino and Asian communities and it paid off.  While I sometimes disagreed with Bill Clinton's centrism, it may have helped him with some Asian voters uncomfortable with traditional Democratic liberalism as embodied by Mondale and Dukakis.  I also think the GOP's sharp movement to the right under Reagan as well as the anti-immigrant policies of then CA Gov. Pete Wilson during the 1990s eventually became too much for many Asians to stomach.

Some Asian voters did respect McCain because of his experience.  However, from what I saw, Asians had a very negative view of Sarah Palin. 

Obama looks to be a strong candidate to hold the Asian vote, so I would be very surprised to see the trend reverse in the near future.

[ottermax]

The problem with the Asian vote is that it is not one demographic. Each Asian ethnic group has very different backgrounds and political beliefs, not to mention the diversity of class and wealth among Asians. Another problem with the Asian voting bloc is that they are the least politically active group in America (look at the usual voter turnout of Hawaii). Thus, they have a much smaller effect on politics than they should. Undoubtedly they will be represented with at least one Senator as long as Hawaii is a state, but otherwise they have had little power.

One thing to notice is the Asians of the Republican party. Look at people like Bobby Jindal; minorities who agree with people in the South based on ideology. If he can get elected there than any Asian who is staunchly conservative can be elected elsewhere in middle America. The biggest reason Asians are not Republican is because they are highly urbanized and surrounded by Democrats. But these urban Asians are often the most conservative denizens of the city because they hold fast to their traditions and social conservatism. But then again there are many liberal Asians. One must also not forget the large number of Evangelical Christian Asians that are prevalent in many suburban communities and are a powerful social conservative group.

The diversity of Asians prevents them from becoming a major force in politics until their numbers increase dramatically. Even in Canada where 16% of the population is Asian, their power is limited because they don't vote and are not all similar. Similarly Asian-Americans, only 5% of the USA are not a huge dealbreaker politically. It is still important for politicians to respect Asian-Americans and reach out to them, but they can do just as good a job reaching out ideologically along liberal or conservative lines.

[The Ex-Factor]

If today's Asian-Americans are considered socially conservative (personally, I don't think their brand of social conservatism fits smoothly into the American political pendulum) and are still voting for Democrats by more than a 60-40 split, it's only natural to assume they will keep trending more Democratic, since like all other youths Asian-American youths are significantly more socially liberal than their elderly counterparts.

[Ogre Mage]

I think the "conservatism" seen among older Asians is more a preference for tradition, experience, stability, incremental change and a dislike of revolution rather than, say, ideological opposition to abortion and gay rights. 

Data I've seen suggests that Asians in CA were the minority group most opposed to Proposition 8.  Support for it was evenly split, similar to whites.  A majority of Latinos and African-Americans supported Prop 8.

There definitely has been an emergence of evangelical Asians who are more socially conservative based on religion.  However, Asians in general aren't a particularly churchgoing group.

[Sbane]

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.

[phk]

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.