Nevada caucus: Trump trumps opponents; "I'm speechless"

Supporters of Donald Trump work KKK outfits at a Las Vegas caucus site.

WHEN the dust settled in the Republican Caucus in Nevada, it wasn't even close. Billionaire Donald Trump won more than double the votes of his nearest rival, Marco Rubio. Just behind Rubio was Sen. Ted Cruz.

"We love Nevada. We love Nevada," said Trump in his victory speech.

Trump's campaign juggernaut seems unstoppable with the candidate's third win out of the first four states to last their votes. More and more, it looks like Trump will be the GOP's candidate for president.

The businessman has now won three of the four early nominating states, after similarly convincing wins in South Carolina and New Hampshire.

“We won the evangelicals," said Trump. "We won with young. We won with old. We won with highly educated. We won with poorly educated. I love the poorly educated. We’re the smartest people, we’re the most loyal people.”

Trump is the manifestation of people's anger and frustration with a government that can't get anything done (thank you, Tea Party), an economy still coming out of a deep recession (Thank you, President Bush) and a changing demographic that shows the U.S. becoming a minority majority country by mid-century.

RELATED: AAPI voters help Hillary to victory in Nevada

With his tirades against immigrants, refugees, Mexicans, the "Chi-neese," and Planned Parenthood, he also represents the resentment building among a white electorate who feel "their" country is slipping away from them.

Amid the chaos of the Nevada caucus were people dressed in the traditional hoods and robes of the Ku Klux Klan, holding up signs pledging their support for Donald Trump. The members of the New England Police Benevolent Police Association — a controversial group that endorsed Trump in December — were photographed by a number of attendees outside the Cimarron-Memorial High School location, a caucus site. 

RELATED: AAPI voters could be the margin of victory in Nevada

“KKK in parking lot of Cimarron HS during Republican caucus. They keep saying take our country back. I have never ever seen this in Las Vegas. I’m speechless,” one eye-witness wrote on Instagram. 

Say what you will about "political correctness" - a term that describes language or policies intended to not offend any particular group, especially disadvantaged groups. Lately, like the term "liberal" conservative wordsmiths have turned it into a pejorative - but at least it kept a lid on people's racism and bigotry. 

RELATED: GOP has a new Southern strategy with immigrants as the new Willie Horton

Trump's campaign has thrown civility and politeness out the window and allowed that pent-up frustration spill over into the voting booth. It made it OK to wear a pillow over your head, OK to attack minorities,  OK to make fun of the disabled, OK to let it all out and be a racist again.

Trump's opponents concede they are running out of time to turn the tide in their favor. Super Tuesday on March 1, will have 12 states running their primaries or caucuses. There certainly will be concession speeches the evening of Super Tuesday, but it most likely will not be given by Trump.

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For more news about Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders, read AsAm News.

Gov. Bobby Jindal drops out of presidential race

THERE ARE many reasons why Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal run for the Presidency failed. Suffice it to say, thank goodness!

Jindal, 44, announced his decision late today (Nov. 17) on Fox News Network.

The ultra-conservative politician was the only Asian/American candidate making a run for the nation's highest office. But backing a candidate because of their ethnicity was never in the cards for the Indian/American since his platform - especially his stance against President Obama's immigration reform - runs counter to what pollsters say is important to Asian American voters.

Jindal's departure from the race was no surprise - it's a wonder he lasted so long - since he had raised little money, failed to capture the imagination of the big-money PAC's despite his platform supporting their agenda and he was supported by less than one percent of Republican voters.

Following is Jindal's statement from his campaign website:

I cannot tell you what an honor it has been to run for President of the United States of America. My parents came to this country 45 years ago searching for freedom and a chance. 

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal

When I was born, we lived in student housing at LSU, and never in their wildest dreams did they think their son would have the opportunity to serve as Governor of Louisiana or to run for President. 

They raised me to believe Americans can do anything, and they were right, we can. But this is not my time, so I am suspending my campaign for President.

Going forward, I believe we have to be the party of growth and we can never stop being the party that believes in opportunity. We cannot settle for The Left’s view of envy and division. We have to be the party that says everyone in this country - no matter the circumstances of their birth or who their parents are – can succeed in America.

One of the things I will do is go back to work at the think tank I started a few years ago - where I will be outlining a blueprint for making this the American century.

We must show the way forward on growing our economy and winning the war against terror, and especially defeating radical Islam.

I realize that our country is off on the wrong track right now. Everyone knows that, but don’t forget, this is still the greatest country in the history of the world – and every single one of us should start every day by thanking God that we are fortunate enough to be US citizens.

Now is the time for all those Americans who still believe in freedom and American exceptionalism to stand up and defend it. The idea of America – the idea that my parents came here for almost a half a century ago - that idea is slipping away from us. Freedom is under assault from both outside our borders and from within. We must act now, we do not have a moment to spare.

Going forward, I believe we have to be the party of growth and we can never stop being the party that believes in opportunity. We cannot settle for The Left’s view of envy and division. We have to be the party that says everyone in this country - no matter the circumstances of their birth or who their parents are – can succeed in America.

One of the things I will do is go back to work at the think tank I started a few years ago - where I will be outlining a blueprint for making this the American century.

We must show the way forward on growing our economy and winning the war against terror, and especially defeating radical Islam.

I realize that our country is off on the wrong track right now. Everyone knows that, but don’t forget, this is still the greatest country in the history of the world – and every single one of us should start every day by thanking God that we are fortunate enough to be US citizens. 

Now is the time for all those Americans who still believe in freedom and American exceptionalism to stand up and defend it. The idea of America – the idea that my parents came here for almost a half a century ago - that idea is slipping away from us. Freedom is under assault from both outside our borders and from within. We must act now, we do not have a moment to spare.

Jindal was the third governor to drop out of Republican race for president. Preceding him was Wisconsin Gov. Scott Perry and Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

It is not certain what Jindal's future will be since Louisiana is slated to elect a new governor this month in a runoff election. Both candidates for governor have criticized Jindal's administration.

In a last hurrah, of sorts, Jindal joined other Republican governors in banning Syrian refugees in his state. Whether or not the governors have a legal basis for their action remains to be seen.

“Let’s be really honest about this: Immigration without assimilation is not immigration; it’s an invasion,” he said. 

With statement's like that, it is amazing that he considered himself a viable enough candidate to run for President. Even his own Indian/American community was embarrassed by him.

Goodbye Bobby, we hardly got to know you, but we knew enough ... 

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Anchor babies: The blowback continues

YOU KNOW you're in trouble when Donald Trump starts making fun of you for something you said. Trump wasted no time turning his attention on Jeb Bush, his rival for the GOP presidential nomination.

"In a clumsy move to get out of his 'anchor babies' dilemma, where he signed that he would not use the term and now uses it, he blamed ASIANS," Trump tweeted. Trump then wrote, a few minutes later, "Asians are very offended that JEB said that anchor babies applies to them as a way to be more politically correct to Hispanics. A mess!" 

For once, he was right.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush tries to clear up his controversial statements about "anchor babies."

Bush, claimed birthright citizenship was “the specific case of fraud being committed where there’s organized efforts–and frankly it’s more related to Asian people–coming into our country.” This follows his earlier statement that the term "anchor baby," a derogatory term used to describe the children of undocumented immigrants, was not offensive. In his attempt to clarify his statement, he also said he is NOT for the abolishment of the 14th Amendment and the use of the birthright citizenship clause, which he called "noble."

Despite his awkward attempt to mollify the Latino American community by claiming he meant in reference to Asians. It didn't take long to get a reaction. Asians/Americans almost blew up the social media networks talking about Bush's statement. One student, Redondo High (California) student Jason Fong, started #MyAmericanStory which has taken off in the Twitterverse. AngryAsianMan.com and Reappropriate.com among others chimed in with scathing critiques.

The Organization of Chinese Associations – Asian Pacific American Advocates issued a statement condemning Bush’s comments.

“Our immigrant communities have consistently been painted as an invasion force and the use of the term ‘anchor baby’ is a clear example of this,” said Michael W. Kwan, OCA National President. 

“Governor Bush has now doubled down on his original insensitivity with the use of the derogatory term ‘Anchor Baby’ by characterizing ‘Asian People’ as a whole as non-citizens looking to take advantage of the system. This faulty rhetoric makes millions of law-abiding Asians a target for anti-immigrant and xenophobic attitudes, which will help spread the myth that Asian Americans are somehow less American than white Americans.”

Lawmakers in the 48-member Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) are “strongly condemning” former Bush for linking the derogatory term “anchor babies” to Asian immigrants.

On Monday, when told in Spanish that many Latinos consider the term “anchor babies” to be an offensive slur, Bush defended himself, saying that his critics should “chill out.” The GOP presidential candidate added, “Frankly, it’s more related to Asian people coming into our country, having children, and taking advantage of a noble concept, which is birthright citizenship.”

Bush’s comments come at a time when the Republican presidential candidates are taking on more extreme and anti-immigrant positions to describe undocumented immigrants. Donald Trump was the first candidate to fully embrace the term “anchor baby,” while Bush has maintained that it isn’t offensive and he’ll keep using it until someone gives him a better word.

Several members of Congress aren’t pleased that Bush is trying to downplay the offensive nature of the term, which suggests that undocumented immigrant parents use their U.S. born children as an “anchor” to prevent them from being deported, by pivoting to the Asian community.

“As the representative of the only Asian American majority district in the continental United States, and as a proud American of Japanese descent, I strongly condemn these statements,” CAPAC Chair Emeritus and Rep. Mike Honda told ThinkProgress in an emailed statement. Honda and his family were thrown into a Japanese internment camp while his father served in the U.S. military during World War II.

Honda also stated that he considered the language to be a “slur against all immigrants” and that “The 14th Amendment of our Constitution guarantees citizenship to all people born or naturalized in the United States, and we cannot stand by and let anyone diminish that right.”

“In Silicon Valley – one of the most diverse areas of our country – we celebrate people from all backgrounds and their contributions to our nation. As the representative of the only Asian American majority district in the continental United States, and as a proud American of Japanese descent, I strongly condemn these statements.”


Rep. Mark Takano of Riverside, CA considers Bush’s remarks to be “offensive, whether he is referencing Hispanic Americans or Asian Americans.” He emailed statement to ThinkProgress, saying, “This type of language is being carelessly used by not just Governor Bush, but by a number of Republican presidential nominee front runners. The GOP needs to realize this is not about being politically correct. It is about treating American citizens with the respect they deserve.”

“No matter which ethnic group you’re referring to, ‘anchor babies’ is a slur that stigmatizes children from birth,” CAPAC Chair and Rep. Judy Chu said in a statement. Chu is the first Chinese/American women elected to Congress. “We need a conversation that leads to a solution on visas and naturalization and seriously considers how we can integrate the 11.5 million undocumented immigrants already living and contributing here. All that is accomplished through talk of anchor-babies — be they from Latin America, Asia, Europe, or Africa — is to use xenophobic fears to further isolate immigrants.”

“It doesn’t matter which community the term is applied to,” Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, a California Latina, issued an emailed statement, “Throwing around dehumanizing insults is unworthy of those seeking our nation’s highest office. ”

Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, who came to the United States as a young child, tweeted tersely: “Really Jeb? This is still remarkably offensive and out of touch, regardless of which group you’re referring to.”

RELATED: Anchor babies: Bush targets Asians

The so-called “birth tourism” to which Bush tried to divert attention — in which immigrant women travel to the United States to give birth so their babies will have U.S. citizenship — does happen, though infrequently and shouldn't be used to muddle his original reference to anchor babies.

A  2009 Pew Research Center study said that about 350,000 children are born to families where at least one parent is undocumented. However, 61 percent of those parents arrived in the U.S. before 2004, 30 percent arrived from 2004 and 2007, and only 9 percent arrived from 2008 and 2010. U.S. citizens can only sponsor their parents at age 21, two decades of uncertainty for undocumented parents who could still be flagged for deportation. 

Asian immigrants in the United States have long been characterized as an invasive force or a menace to whites. Laws were passed denying citizenship was directed at Asians in the Chinese Exclusion Acts of the 19th century. Anti-Asian laws forbidding land ownership and inter-racial marriage were in the books up to the mid-20th century.* No matter how long we've been in America, Asian Americans have always been seen as foreigners, strangers and outsiders.

*UPDATE: Earlier versions of this post said that the Chinese were the only people denied U.S. citizenship. The U.S. Supreme Court's Dredd Scott Decision denied citizenship to anyone of African ancestry - free man or slave.

Bush's gaff does nothing to correct that impression of foreigness among the fearful followers of Bush and the rest of the GOP presidential wannabes.

Ironincally, several years back, Bush warned the Republicans to engage the Asian American electorate. He said in 2013:

"Asian-Americans are actually the canary in the coal mine, I believe, for Republicans ... If we have lost connectivity to emerging voters, not because of our policies so much, but because we are not engaged in issues of importance to them, then I think we pay a price."

Right, Mr. Bush.

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Gov. Bobby Jindal running for president

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal will try to rise from his underdog campaign for President of the U.S.A.

LOUISIANA GOVERNOR Bobby Jindal this morning announced that he will be running for President of the United States of America. It was no major surprise to political news junkies, but I kind of like the way he announced his major decision. In contrast to the high-tech use of Twitter or Instagram that other candidates have been using, he did a simple video of a conversation with his children, whom he wanted to tell the news to his three children first.

It's kind of a strange video in that the single shot scene was from high up in a tree looking down at the Jindal family. You can't even see the governor (he's behind a tree branch) except for the top of his head. Weird.

As the conversation continued, his daughter Selia took a cue from the Obama daughters and took the opportunity to ask for a puppy. "I gave in, but with some conditions." said Jindal on his Facebook page.

The Louisiana-born Jindal, 44, is the first Indian American to run for president, AKA Leader of the Free World, or even to seek the GOP nomination. (By the way, he derides the use of Indian American. He believes hyphenated Americans should be considered Americans first.)

In the latest NBC/WSJ poll, he received less than one percent support from Republican primary voters. In the latest NBC/WSJ poll, he received less than one percent support from Republican primary voters. In the most recent Fox News poll, the news was even worse. Jindal wasn't just behind all the other candidates, he was also behind "None of the Above," which got 2 percent.

He is considered a long shot but his announcement will put his name out there into the  national landscape, beyond his state of Louisiana and maybe that would get him the serious attention he needs to run for higher office.

He was once viewed as a rising star in the Republican party but a series of decisions and issue positions he took appeared to be an attempt to appease ultra-conservative voters and distanced him from the mainstream Republicans. He has recently struggled with low approval ratings in his own home state amid budget problems. 

But Jindal's supporters believe his resume and accomplishments will appeal to conservative Christians in the GOP primary electorate. He describes himself as an evangelical Catholic and he has been an outspoken advocate for Christian values and boasts of deep cuts to spending in his home state.

This is shaping up to be one of the most interesting presidential campaigns in recent memory. Jindal, Donald Trump and 10 others on the Republican side; Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders on the Democrats' side. Just think, only 18 months to go!

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