What just happened?

I'M NUMB. What just happened?

President Donald Trump. Excuse me, I feel sick to my stomach.

It's devastating to someone who believes in a pluralistic society, that diversity is an asset.

Donald Trump just scored the most stunning upset in the history of the United States -- maybe in the history of the world -- by beating Hillary Clinton for the presidency of the United States.

We won't go into all the flaws of the man who will become the 45th President of the United States. We've written about his racist, sexist, ignorant statements and the lies that he repeats over and over in other posts and we will continue to write about them.

What I want to write about is what the next four years will be like. The next four years will be rough for all us.

The whitelash that put Trump into the White House reminds us that we will have to work harder to keep the civil rights progress that we've gained over the last 60 years.

We will have to fight to keep the healthcare of the millions who enrolled in Obamacare. 

We will have to safeguard the Constitution to make sure that he adheres to that document.

We obviously don't know how Trump will rule the most powerful country in the world because he is unlike any other person who has been in that position.There is no template.

We will need to gird ourselves for the attacks that are sure to come; against Mexicans, against refugees, against immigrants, against the Chi-neese, against Muslims and hope that the rule of law holds fast.

We will have to learn to live in a world where it's OK to be say the things that Trump has spouted, opening the Pandora's box of hatred, incivility, ignorance and racism.

Republicans will hold all three branches of the government: Congress, the Supreme Court and the Executive Branch. Together, they will set the course of our country for decades.
Against all odds, the minority party, the Democrats, will have to find a way to make sure that another activist conservative is not appointed to the Supreme Court.

Our country is going to change in ways that we can only imagine in our worst nightmares.

Life won't be easy, dear friends. Pray for our country ... and get ready.

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'We are all hombres!"

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton took part in the last presidential debate of 2016.

WHO KNEW that Donald Trump was bilingual?

Hillary Clinton and Trump finally got around debating immigration in the third and final presidential debate held last night in Las Vegas.

The GOP nominee continued to go after Mexicans and doubled down on building the wall on the U.S. southern border. Then he demonstrated his linguistic skills as he repeated one of his common refrains.

"They are bad, bad people. We're going to get them out. We're going to build a wall," said Trump. "We have some bad hombres and we have to get them out."

RELATED: Trump's scary, scary speech on immigration

Latinos were greatly offended but in Trump's mind, all undocumented immigrants are "bad hombres" no matter where in the world they came from. The only Spanish word he has uttered in this year-long campaign and it had to be this word...  in this context.

And as Jose Antonio Vargas, a Filipino/American and perhaps the best known undocumented immigrant, pointed out, most immigrants today are coming from Asia, mainly China and India.

What was astonishing was how the Trump spinmeisters tried to defend their candidate with the usual defense, pooh-poohing "political correctness," or as CNN commentator Van Jones said, what we used to call civility or politeness.

The use of "hombres" conjures up the bandito stereotype of Mexicans and the Twitterers quickly responded. It also reinforces that an entire ethnic group - whether citizen or undocumented - are lawbreakers when actually, the opposite is true.

In Trump's eyes, most of us immigrants, are "hombres" ... to be feared, demonized, hated and dehumanized.

Towards the end of the debate when the topic turned to taxes, more specifically Trump's  tax returns which he wouldn't reveal, Clinton corrected Trump and reminded him that  undocumented immigrants do indeed pay taxes. In fact, they pay more than Trump has apparently paid.

Come to think of it, - I - (little ol' me) pay more taxes than Trump.

MOST OMINOUS ANSWER: Despite all the Tweets and memes about "bad hombres," the scariest line of the night was Trump's refusal to say he would follow the time-honored tradition of the loser graciously conceding.

"I will look at it at the time," Trump said. Then he added, "I will keep you in suspense." When Fox News moderator Chris Wallace repeated his question to perhaps get a more measured response from the Republican candidate. No such luck. Trump repeated his answer.

In other words, he refuses to go along with the most amazing and uniquely American tradition, the bloodless revolution whenever there is a transfer of power from one president to the successor and the coming together of opposing viewpoints for the sake of democracy, for the sake of the country.

After the most divisive and hate-baiting campaigns in U.S. history, American needs to heal but Trump, apparently, would rather let the wounds fester than concede graciously.

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Clinton-Trump debate: racial justice tackled, immigration skipped

From the opening, Hillary Clinton took control by striding to Donald Trump's side of the stage to shake his hand.

IT WAS an unusual Presidential debate - to say the least - between Sec. Hillary Clinton and real estate magnate Donald Trump.

Early polls taken immediately after the debate at Hofstra University, showed that the Democratic candidate crushed the GOP presidential bet. It was clear that Clinton was better prepared and Trump's off-the-cuff style couldn't match Clinton's steady barrage of attacks on his tax returns, business dealings, his involvement in the birther movement, and his lack of knowledge on international affairs. Trump's penchant for denying earlier statements was often refuted by his opponent and by Holt, who did a fairly good job of reining in Trump's often rambling responses. 

The 90-minute debate moderated by NBC journalist Lester Holt, didn't seem to be enough time to cover all the issues. Surprisingly, Holt did not ask a single question on immigration and The Wall on the Mexico-U.S. border that has become a major part of Trump's campaign. Perhaps in the next two debates, the topic will come up.

There was no mention of banning Muslims or refugees either even though Trump's proposed policy stirred up a hornets' nest of controversy over the past year.

On the question about race relations, Clinton talked about the "implicit bias" that all of us must overcome; the need to restore trust between the community and police, fixing the criminal justice system and "We gotta get guns out of the hands of people who should not have them."

Trump's response was to make "stop and frisk" a national strategy to stop the killings and slow crime even though the New York said it leads to racial profiling and the courts have ruled the policy unconstitutional. "We need law and order," he said.

Still on the subject of race and how African/Americans viewed the birthism movement as an insult to the first black president, Trump repeated the falsehood that Clinton first questioned President Obama's birthright in her 2008 campaign and by getting the president to produce his birth certificate, he should be credited for succeeding in confirming Obama's birth in Hawaii.

Later in the debate, Trump showed that he still has lingering doubts about the legitimacy of Obama's presidency when he responded to Clinton, saying, "He's YOUR president." (Emphasis is mine.)

The closest the candidates touched on Asian affairs was when Trump mentioned he would make Japan and South Korea, along with the NATO nations pay for their own defense. He would renegotiate the defense treaties with those countries.  And there was Trump's opening line:

Clinton also brought up one of Trump's tweets in which he claimed China made up climate change to hurt U.S. industry. Trump denied it but it's true. Here it is, below!

There was barely a mention of Latinos and Asian/Americans and Native Americans were not mentioned at all. Granted, the shooting of unarmed African/Americans and the ensuing protests grab the big headlines, but perhaps someone could have said something about the growing Islamaphobia promoted by Trump's champaign rhetoric. I guess, it is still a black & white world for most of America, as noted by Bay Area journalist Emil Guillermo.

Reactions from Asian/Americans were not surprising, considering that the majority of Asian/Americans lean towards the Democrats.

The debate held at Hofstra University in New York is the first of three debates between the presidential candidates. Immigration, refugees, diversity or affirmative action will surely be a topic in one of those debates, right?

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The merger of race and politics spells an uncertain future for U.S.

IT'S LABOR DAY, 2016, the traditional start of the campaign season but this election cycle has been far from traditional. In fact, it would be safe to say, we have not seen anything like it in recent memory.

It has almost been a year when Donald Trump announced his candidacy for the President of the U.S. and the country has not been the same ever since. Even if the businessman/showman (of known worth) doesn't win, he's already done enough damage to the U.S. that will take years to recover from.

I know my friends and family get tired of me talking about race all the time ... but it is a hard topic to avoid these days. Everywhere I turn I'm cursed with viewing the world through the particular lens of an Asian/Filipino/American/Californian.

I try not to depress my friends about the current state of race relations so out of courtesey and in order to keep their friendship, I try to avoid the topic -- and get on some non-controversial topics like the movies or TV. Oops. There it is again - #OscarsSoWhite and #WhiteWashedOut tend to bring the conversation back to race - or the lack of substantial roles for AAPI actors; or romantic lead roles for Asian/American men and/or the proliferation of ass-kicking Asians.

How about education and the classes my young friends are taking or teaching? Darn it! It's hard to talk about education without dipping into the topics of affirmative action and the necessity for ethnic studies. Of course, there's that model minority thing still haunting Asian Americans where we're all supposed to be good in math, science and medicine and poor in the arts and creative expression.

Even when talking about the seemingly apolitical subject of sports, it is impossible to avoid the topic of race. Well there's the whole kerfuffle surrounding 49er backup quarterback Colin Kapernick and his refusal to stand during the playing of the Star Spangled Banner because, he says, how could he support a country that oppresses people of color? And the mascot of the Washington DC's NFL team is pure racist.

Politics -- well, there's no escaping the subject of race in this presidential election cycle. Race has dominated the political discussion ever since Trump declared his candidacy in a manner that ripped asunder common decency by berating Mexican immigrants. A fascinating article by Lee Drutman appeared in Vox recently and one of the things he pointed out that our attitudes towards African/Americans and Latino/Americans is closely tied to our political views. (Once again, another well-intentioned pundit ignored Asian/Americans.)

Take a look at the following two graphs indicating the feeling towards Hispanics (Latino/Americans) and Blacks (African/Americans) as it pertains to political persuasion.

Drutman correctly points out that in the past, we've had our racial differences and we had our political differences, but this year, the two seem to have merged. To read the complete Vox piece, click here.

I would love to see what the chart looks like for Hispanics after Donald Trump's immigration speech last week loaded with coded words and phrases intended to fire up his core group of apparently threatened white males, afraid of the demise of their exalted position on top of the heap and with it, the diminishment of their power and influence.

I was talking with another friend - at least, one of my few remaining friends - the other day and we both lamented the fact that the race-baiting and hate-filled rhetoric coming from the alt-right and repeated by their candidate for consumption in the print and broadcast media, have set back race relations by years, if not decades.

You'll note in the chart above that for African/Americans, today, they are looked upon even more poorly than the mid-1960s when we saw the passage of two historic pieces of legislation: the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act, when Jim Crow laws and segregated schools were still socially accepted in large parts of the country.

The downward trend began with the ascendancy of the non-compromising, religiously driven Tea Party conservatives in 2004 and the curve became a slippery slope when the 2008 election came around that saw the election of the first African/American president. That may have been the last straw for the ultra-ultra conservatives. There are certain elements in our country who cannot bear having an African/American as the leader of the Free World and have vehmently denied that reality since Barack Obama was elected president.

During the ensuing eight years, the data being released by demographers was the last straw, pushing white nationalists, or the alt-right, into a frenzy - they were losing what they perceived as "their" country. By mid-century, non-Hispanic Whites (Euro/Americans), would be less than 50 percent of the U.S.

RELATED:

• The GOP's new Southern Strategy with immigrants in the Willie Horton role
• America's challenge is learning to live with itself
• Report says hate groups on the rise

By the time 2016 rolled around, by comparison, even the ultra-conservative Tea Party looked moderate compared to the new conservative radicals. They had to come up with a new name for the far, far, far right wing, the alt-right, which had been biding their time waiting for their candidate to make his appearance. Along came this loud, boisterous, media-savvy demagogue who fit their purposes perfectly.

Donald Trump opened the door to the alt-right, white supremacists, or white nationalists, as they sometimes call themselves, who for decades kept their dark views to themselves in polite society. As Trump discovered his base, he began fueling their fears with his anti-immigrant, anti-refugee hate rhetoric that is his trademark. The alt-right had found their messiah. 

With Pandora's Box opened, the KKK, survivalists, ultra-conservative evangelicals, fascists and neo-Nazis have come out of the dark corners of our society and all that pent-up racism has been unleashed because Trump, with the media unwittingly giving him a national platform, has made racism socially acceptable again. 

RELATED: Asian Americans lean towards Democrats

It is no wonder that people of color are shifting their allegiance to the Democrats, who appear to be more welcoming to the legions of African/American, Asian/American, Latino/American, Native Americans and Muslim/Americans. Asian/Americans, because of their entrepreneurship and perceived wealth in comparison to other groups, were once seen as prime candidates for the GOP but because of the anti-immigrant rhetoric coming from the right, even traditional conservative Vietnamese/Americans have no other choice but to lean towards the Democrats.

My hope is that the Democratic Party's apparent acceptance of people of color is more than just an Aikido-like strategy vs. the Republicans -- taking the GOP driving away minorities and pulling them into the Democratic fold -- simply as a means of defeating the other party. If the Democrats really want to represent the myriad peoples of our country, we will have to wait and see after the election. If Hillary Clinton wins, the people she chooses to surround herself will give us a good indication of her and the Democrats' sincerity and priorities. (No disrespect to Judge Merrick Garland, but an Asian/American on the Supreme Court would deflect a lot of doubt.)

What's being forgotten with all the attention  given to race: That is the widening chasm between between the rich and the poor, the shrinking middle-class and the economic inequities this income inequality creates. The growing disparities may be even a stronger discord than that caused by race.

Where race and wealth inequity intersect, most noticeable among the lower income of all races and ethnicities, we create the perfect mix of anger, social tension and an uncertain future, a bubbling cauldron that could explode in our faces.

With the changing demographics of the United States, we wonder if the Republican Party -- at least the moderate Republicans that I grew up with -- can survive the increasingly vitriolic demands of Trump's supporters surrounding the issues of race.

With its vicious internal three-way struggle for control between the alt-right, Tea Party and what's left of the moderate wing, there are those who are gleefully anticipating the demise of the Republican Party. I caution those who would applaud the GOP's disintegration: Be careful what you wish for. With the resurgence of the far ultra-conservatives, what steps into the void of our traditional two-party system might be even more frightening.

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'Vogue' sheds a light on the Asian/American woman closest to Hillary Clinton

Julie Valasquez

When Hillary Clinton is in public, Huma Abedin is always nearby.

IF HILLARY CLINTON n is elected President, an Asian/American Muslim will be close by her side.
To most people, she's hardly noticeable. She gets lost in the crowd surrounding Democratic Presidential candidate Clinton.

A more astute observer will notice that she's always around, staying in the background on the periphery of chaos, whispering Clinton's ear, creating a path for the candidate or guiding Clinton through the crowd of journalists or followers reaching out to touch the candidate.

Who is this mystery woman?

A Vogue profile written by Nathan Heller gives us a glimpse of Huma Abedin,  daughter of a Pakistani mother and an Indian father, and Clinton's closest confidant.

“To onlookers, Clinton and Abedin seem to travel the world as a single entity joined by complementary strengths,” Heller wrote. “If Clinton, in her bold suits and impeccable coifs, distills a certain era of feminist empowerment, Abedin, with her breezy downtown dresses and mobile power-dialing, is the professional face of a younger, more wired-in female generation.”

“The nature of our relationship has changed,” Abedin told Vogue. “Over the years, we’ve shared stories about our lives, we’ve shared more meals than I can count, we’ve celebrated together, we’ve mourned together.”

Like Clinton, Abedin has her own baggage she's had to overcome.

She's married to Anthony Weiner, the shamed former congressman who was forced to resign because of his propensity for showing his privates online.

As a devout Muslim, her religion has been put under the microscope in these Islamaphobic times and her loyalties have been questioned by Clinton's detractors. At one point, she has been accused of being a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. 

Breitbart Media, the ultra conservative news site and whose chief executive Stephen Bannon, is now Donald Trump's CEO, running his campaign with the resignation of Paul Manafort. Breitbart has been beating the alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood drum for years. Clinton, along with some Republican leaders, have denounced the allegations.

Nevertheless, because of Bannon's penchant for conspiracy theories, look for this anti-Muslim fear-mongering angle to put Abedin back in the news again. She'd prefer to stay in the background.

It is said the Vice President is a heartbeat away from the President. If Clinton is successful in her presidential bid, Abedin would be a step away.

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Bill Clinton, Gary Johnson will appear at AAPI Presidential Election Forum, Aug. 12

During the DNC convention, former President Bill Clinton spoke glowingly of his wife, Democratic nominee for
President of the U.S., Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Reprinted from AsAm News
FORMER President Bill Clinton and Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson will address Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) groups on Friday, Aug. 12, at a presidential election forum co-hosted by APIAVote and the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) in Las Vegas.

Bill Clinton will be representing Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, and APIAVote and AAJA have noted that they've also awaiting word from the Trump campaign for their possible participation in the historic event.

Libertarian candidate for President,
Gary Johnson.

"This tri-partisan AAPI Presidential Election Forum is historic," Paul Cheung, AAJA president, wrote in a post on AAJA's website. "For the first time, the Republican, Democratic and Libertarian presidential campaigns will directly speak at the same event to the AAPI community at large."

RELATED: Top ten reasons to go to the AAJA convention

Rep. Judy Chu, chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), and Rep. Mike Honda are also expected to speak at the forum, which is scheduled to take place Friday, August 12 — during the annual AAJA national convention — at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.

According to AAJA, nearly 4,000 community leaders and journalists are expected to attend the forum, in addition to "watch parties" hosted across the country by AAPI community groups.

The forum will take place one week after Hillary Clinton addressed a joint gathering of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) and the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) in Washington, DC. According to NAHJ and NABJ organizers, Trump declined their invite to address the groups.

Hillary Clinton has previously addressed the AAPI community during her campaign. In January, Clinton spoke at the launch of her campaign's official AAPI outreach efforts, AAPI for Hillary, as well as at a gala in May hosted by the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS).
The AAJA convention begins Aug. 10 and is still accepting registration at the door at the Ceasar's Palace convention center.

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DNC: Day 5 - Diary of a Hillary Volunteer 'It made my heart swell'

Red, white & blue balloons dropped to the music of Jessica Sanchez's 'Stronger Together.'

By Nick Lee
Reprinted from AsAm News

LAST NIGHT, I wrapped my first Democratic National Convention (DNC) and I was not disappointed. Throughout, I felt that I was at the center of a once in a lifetime opportunity and a true turning point in our history as a country. I will openly admit my prejudice: if I am asked to imagine the president in a split-second they can be of any race, but almost never do I see a woman. I hope that this bias will change very soon when Hillary becomes president, so that my children never grow up with the same inherent biases that have conditioned me over the years.

Yesterday’s events all lead up to the acceptance of the nomination by Hillary Clinton, but there were some major highlights for AAPIs along the way. Congressman Ted Lieu, a Colonel in the Air Force Reserve, introduced General George Allen to speak on national security issues. It made my heart swell to see an immigrant of Chinese heritage shown as a soldier and a statesman, effectively countering narratives that Asian men are weak and cannot be warriors or leaders. Giving the Congressman a chance to introduce a prominent military figure like the General gave our community great visibility that I am thankful for.

Nick Lee, significant other Monica and her sister Liz.

Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth also gave strong remarks about her sacrifices for the country while serving in the Army. She recounted the story of losing her legs during an attack on her Blackhawk helicopter, and how living as a wounded warrior helped encourage her to make positive change for veterans in the same situation. 

Her presence, like Congressman Lieu’s, was an important step towards correcting some of the false notions about Asian women as well. Asian women are so often sold short of their skills, intelligence, and bravery, all because they are over-sexualized and objectified to the point of dismissal by the mainstream of American media and culture. 

She also spoke to the importance of the yesterday’s nomination for women and girls, saying, “My [daughter] Abigail already knows women can fly helicopters in combat. And in 102 days, when we elect Hillary, my daughter’s first memories of a president will be a woman.”

RELATED: Diary of a Clinton Volunteer - Day 1,  

RELATED: Day 2 -Diary of a Clinton Volunteer - Message to Sanders supporters

RELATED: Day 3 - Remembering Joe Mantano

RELATED: DAY 4 - Diary of a Clinton Volunteer - Now is our time!

However above all else, Khzir Khan was the one who stole the show. Paired with his impassioned story of his son’s valor in combat, Khzir’s rejection of Trump’s anti-Muslim rhetoric and illegal ban on Muslims played an important role by finally putting forth a symbol of Muslim American patriotism. Unfortunately, most Americans need a symbolic and sympathetic figure to represent a minority groups struggle because otherwise they may never bother getting to know any members of that community. Though there have been many Muslims who have served our country honorably, the media had yet to latch onto an example of a person who was easy to sell to viewers. 

That changed immediately after Khzir Khan’s speech in which he excoriated Trump by saying, “Let me ask [Donald Trump]: have you even read the United States constitution? I will gladly lend you my copy,” before pulling out a pocket version for dramatic effect. “In this document, look for the words ‘liberty’ and ‘equal protection of law’.”

RELATED: AAPI passionately participating at the DNC

RELATED: Asian Americans help shape Democratic Party platform

RELATED: AAPI delegates take the stage; a moment of pride 

RELATED: Reactions to President Obama's patriotic speech 

RELATED: Muslim/American's powerful emotional moment at the DNC   

It is also important that we recognize the AAPI background of Khzir and Humayun Khan. Though they emigrated from the United Arab Emirates, their ethnic background is Pakistani, making them members of the AAPI group. It is no secret that in the Asian American community we sometimes do not embrace all aspects of our community. Often, an East Asian will fail to see a South Asian as “Asian American” because of the color of their skin or different cultural customs. 

However, if we truly want to live up to the inclusive vision we have for our community and build our power through numbers, we must educate others, no matter how societal norms for how an Asian American should look dictate.

RELATED: 'Stronger Together' - Jessica Sanchez song closes out the DNC

RELATED: DNC Notebook 1 - Passionate AAPI delegates impact the DNC 

RELATED: DNC Notebook 2 - AAPI lawmakers take to the DNC stage 

RELATED: AAPI delegates, guests, electeds & celebreties meet at the DNC 

RELATED: Ken Jeong makes an appearance at the DNC  

RELATED: Tulsi Gabbard thrust into the DNC spotlight

(Nick Lee, of Chinese Americans for HIllary, wrote this diary for AsAm News.)

DNC: 'Stronger Together' by Jessica Sanchez in the grand finale

Jessica Sanchez

JESSICA SANCHEZ's new song debuted at the conclusion of an history-making occasion, the Democratic National Convention, that saw the first woman candidate of a major political party in the U.S.  Jessica's song, "Stronger Together" could become the theme song for the Hillary Clinton campaign through to the elections in November.

After Hillary Clinton delivered her acceptance speech, during which she outlined her vision of America's future and lambasted her Republican opponent, Donald Trump; and as the red, white and blue balloons came floating down from the rafters, Jessica's celebratory song came on reiterating the convention's theme - stronger together.

“Honored to do this song for @HillaryClinton and the #DNC,” Sanchez, 20, tweeted Wednesday.

The only Asian American ever to make it into the finals of American Idol has released a single that could become the theme song of Hillary Clinton’s campaign for President.

"Stronger Together" is performed by Jessica Sanchez and written by Carole Bayer Sager, Bruce Roberts and Kenneth Babyface Edmonds specifically for Hillary Clinton. If it catches on, expect it to be played at upcoming Clinton rallies. It’s already reportedly has been played at the Democratic National Convention.

Stronger Together is also the latest in a line of slogans for the Clinton campaign. For Asian Americans, it can mean the diverse coalition of the Democratic Party and the Hillary Clinton campaign, both of which has seen a large number of Asian Americans in visible positions. For the campaign, it can mean the coming together of Bernie Sanders supporters and Clinton supporters to defeat Donald Trump. For others, it can mean a new America in which people of color are integrated into the larger society and accepted for who they are.

The 20-year-old American Idol finalist's "Stronger Together" was written for Hillary Clinton by songwriters Carole Bayer Sager, Bruce Roberts and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, who also produced the piece.

According to a source at the convention, the song was played Tuesday (July 26) for test purposes at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center and it was supposed to make a grand debut following Bill Clinton's speech later that night. But someone decided to withhold it until the grand finale.

On the up-tempo pop song, Sanchez sings,

So united in the spiritThey’ll be better days to comeIf you reach out, you can feel itBecause its simple everyone.Don’t you know that we’re stronger togetherStronger yes we are

Sanchez, a resident of San Diego, is the only Asian/American to reach the American Idol finals, where she almost won in 2012.
(AsAm News contributed to this report.)

DNC: Rep. Tulsi Gabbard thrust into the spotlight

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard

UPDATED, 4:20 PST to include opening gavel ceremony without Debbie Wasserman Shlultz, chair of the Democratic National Committee.

WHEN the emails from Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Shultz became public indicating her favoritism towards Hillary Clinton's candidacy, the spotlight turned to Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii).

Gabbard resigned last February as the vice chair of the Democratic Party and joined the campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders. Rumors that circulated seemed to infer that she had differences with Wasserman because the DNC chairwoman was not as neutral as the she claimed.

She also felt that limited the candidates to six debates was a disservice to the American public. The Democrats eventually relented on this last topic and scheduled more debates as the primaries remained contested until June.

Because of the email controversy swirling around her, Wasserman announced her intention to resign after the Democrat's convention. When the gavel officially opened the DNCC, the gavel was held by the Mayor of Philadelphia instead of the DNC chair in order to avoid the chorus of boos that was certain to greet her by the delegates in the hall.

The revelations surrounding the leaked Democrat National Committee emails seem to confirm Gabbard's alleged position and the Hawaii congress member was thrust into the spotlight.

Last month, with Sander's concession, the independent-minded Gabbard continued to advocate for reforming the selection process for the Democratic Party.

Gabbard, the first Hindu woman elected to Congress, name was tossed about as possibly becoming chair of the DNC but she quickly quashed that speculation. Even if the position was offered to her, she said she would not accept it.

Since Hawaii's delegate majority went to Sanders in the primaries, it appears that Gabbard will have a highly visible role at the Democratic National Convention that was started this afternoon in Philadelphia.

Can Hillary Clinton win over Millennial Asian/American Bernie Sanders supporters

 

Hillary Clinton won the support of most Asian/American voters.

By Aswin Mannepalli
Reprinted from AsAm News

NATHAN LOWE is the son of first-generation Chinese/Americans who deeply identified with their Evangelical faith and the Republican Party.  His turn leftward began after his exposure to Asian/American and ethnic studies courses.  “I got involved in a local community organization that was formed to fight Walmart’s incursion into LA Chinatown,” he remembered.

He supports Senator Bernie Sanders for president and volunteers for his campaign. Nathan is part of a trend that sees young Asian/Americans lean further to the left than prior generations.

Professor Karthick Ramakrishnan analyzes AAPI politics and he finds that AAPIs younger than 35, just as the general electorate in their age group,  strongly support the Vermont senator.  An Asian/American voter survey commissioned by Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, and AAPI Data found that while Clinton leads overall among Asian Americans with 33% support to Sanders’s 26%, Bernie has decisively captured the 18–34 share with 61% support.  Clinton has held leads among older age-groups.

“Young Asian/American voters’ strong support for Sanders is in line with their ideology—they are more likely than older Asian/Americans to call themselves liberal, and they are even more progressive than the general Asian American population when it comes to issues like raising the minimum wage and making college more affordable,” Professor Ramakrishnan of the University of California, Irvine and AAPI Data said summarizing the study.

Some of those Asian/Americans who support Clinton point to her pragmatism as the deciding factor in their vote.

“Hillary supports things like raising the minimum wage, protecting our environment, criminal justice reform, and campaign finance reform, but she is also pragmatic about the ways in which she wants to enact these goals,” said Sahil Mehrotra. A rising senior at the College of William and Mary, he co-founded a pro-Hillary student group on campus.

He acknowledges, however, that Hillary’s message is not immediately resonating with Sahil’s generation.  “In general,” he conceded, “I think my generation might be considered pro-Bernie.”

Professor Larry Shinagawa, former Director of University of Maryland ‎Asian American Studies Program said “many older Asian/Americans have long standing established relationships with the former Clinton and Obama administrations and this familiarity is the key driver of support for the Hillary campaign,”

Younger Asian/Americans, on the other hand, exist politically and economically outside of this structure and are more vulnerable and consequently attuned to changes that are reshaping American life.  “They are experiencing the fundamental transformation of America and feel that the challenges this post-modern society faces can best be addressed by Senator Sanders,” Shinagawa added.

Perhaps the complicated calculus that underpins the voting decisions of Asian Americans can best be seen in the case of 80-20 Initiative’s decision to endorse Hillary Clinton for the Democratic primary.  The organization was founded by the 21st Lieutenant Governor of Delaware, Dr. S.B. Woo, and advocates for Asian/American causes.

“In my heart I liked Bernie’s candidacy more,” Woo,79, said. “But I worked very hard to get Asian Americans to vote for Hilary in the California primary, because 80-20 as a group decided that Hillary had the better likelihood to fulfill her promises to AAPIs than Bernie.”

“Hillary Clinton is the most qualified person to run for president in recent memory, and with her, we will be stronger together,”  said Mehrotra, the student at William and Mary College who started the pro-Hillary campus group.  That said, Sahil believes that Clinton will draw more support as the general election nears.  “I think that the level of excitement for Hillary from my generation is understated in general, and I’m excited to see it revealed in the coming weeks and months,” he predicted.

Interestingly, the popular Feel the Bern campaign slogan was popularized by an Asian American, Winnie Wong, who co-founded People for Bernie. Wong’s work is credited with bringing many new voters into mainstream politics. But will they stay?

Ramakrishnan isn’t so sure. He believes the implications for the Democratic Party and Asian America are still unclear.   “It remains to be seen whether many of these first-timers will continue to be involved, either with the Clinton campaign or in trying to push for progressive politics in the months and years ahead.”

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