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Feb
6
Obama’s Poor Showing among Asian and Latino voters on Super Tuesday
Filed Under Politics by atlasien
I was a passive onlooker in the primary fight until about three weeks ago, when I took the plunge into camp Obama.*
I think Obama did very well last night, and he won my home state of Georgia, but I’m really disappointed that Latino voters were voting against him 2-to-1, and Asians 3-to-1. This has been the cause of much gnashing of teeth over at AsianAmericansforObama. Before Super Tuesday, we were reading predictions that Obama would win the Asian-American vote in California. Looks like that poll was completely wrong.
There are two possible factors people are throwing around: racism and conservatism. I don’t want to discount the fact some Latinos and some Asians are racist against black people. No two racial or ethnic groups in this country have a perfect history of harmony with each other. Indirect racism could be even more powerful. A Latino or Asian voter might have nagging doubts as to whether the majority of voters — white people — will really support a black person in the general election. Simplistic versions of the racism argument — “Latinos don’t vote for black candidates” — have already been taken apart and debunked here and at numerous other places, so I’m not even going to bother talking about them.
My theory is that the main factor is not racism at all, but conservatism. I don’t mean conservative ideology, I mean conservative outlook. Many of these voters are newer Americans, or they have ties to communities where others are newer Americans. The mindset is often “don’t rock the boat”. I know some people with resident cards who are nervous about going to quite peaceful political demonstrations… “just in case”. Another example: an ex-roommate of mine, a foreign student, once gave a large donation of money to the Fraternal Order of the Police. Since he didn’t have any money at all to spare, we asked him why on earth he did that… it was simply because he got a phone call from an FOP telemarketer. “In my country, when the police ask for money, you give it to them.”
This kind of anxiety can continue over into citizenship and be imparted to the next generation. It feeds into conservatism and works against lesser-known transformational candidates like Barack Obama. Clinton has name recognition. She has strong connections to the current political establishment. From this point of view, she’s the safer candidate.
Other polls show a strong generational divide: younger for Obama, older for Clinton. This definitely cuts across Latinos and Asians as well. I was shocked by the Asian-American results because all the Asian-American blogs I read are pro-Obama. The really big dog in the pack — Angry Asian Man — came out as an Obama supporter! But bloggers tend to be younger, obviously.
Latino and Asian Obama supporters are going to work twice as hard now. It’s possible that with greater name recognition we can reverse the trend.
One test of my theory is how Obama does among Asian voters in Hawaii. He must have lots of recognition there due to his Hawaiian family ties, and should do very well.
*(This is my own position and is not necessarily a reflection of Rachel’s or any other co-blogger’s position)
Edited to add: Here is a much more sophisticated analysis of the same issue, just posted by Jeff Chang at HuffPo. And another by Kai at Zuky.net.
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34 Responses to “Obama’s Poor Showing among Asian and Latino voters on Super Tuesday”
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[...] out that Obama won in whiter, more rural states.? At Rachel’s Tavern, atlasien decides that Latinos and Asians must be more conservative (as in risk averse, and of a choice between that and racist) to vote for Clinton 2-to-1 and 3-to-1, [...]
No, Clinton won among 18-29 year olds in California and among college students and 18-29 year olds in Massachusetts.
The simple fact is that the majority of East Indians are very racist towards Blacks. It has absolutely nothing to do with conservatism. I believe that they are more prejudice towards blacks than any other race. Have you not noticed the interaction of these people towards blacks…I should say lack of interaction. I actually think they feel superior to other races . They basically show contempt for blacks even while setting up shop in black communities while deferring their “supposed superiority to the “majority groups”. Observation is your best source.
It may just be possible that some people will not vote for a candidate simply because they believe the individual to lack expereince, or to be less qualified than their opponent(s). It is also possible that some people vote against a candidate simply because they profoundly disagree with their platform, ideas, etc. Race and gender are certainly important in American politics, but other factors are at work as well. For example, I (white guy) would vote for Colin Powell for President. In fact I beleive him to be better qualified than anyone running this time from either major party. (14-15 people in the aggregate) I’m not certain if I can vote for Obama, because I’m uncomfortable with many of his proposed policies. I know I could never vote for Senator Clinton because I firmly believe that I can not trust her as a person. I have voted for female or black candidates in gubernatorial, Congressional and local races in my home state of Maryland. I voted for these people because I believed that they were the best qualified and/or most trustworthy candidate, not because they were female or black.
Donna – really? Well, that’s interesting. I’m in one of those states and I’ve been feeling like an old fart because it seems like most people my age (25) were supporting Obama. I’m very surprised to hear that I was actually not voting against my demographic.
Observation is only a good source when it comes from someone who isn’t full of irrational hatred towards Indians.
California also has more young adults than any other state and Massachusetts is home to 250 colleges and universities.
These are the links to the exit polls.
There’s a meme going around that women aren’t voting for Clinton but via the Washington Post,
NPR also mentined this morning that the Clinton campaign had been aggressively targeting absentee/early voters in the Super Tuesday states, before Obama’s campaign had hit those particular states.
There’s nothing illegal about it, but there’s been speculation that some of those who voted earlier for one candidate or another, would have voted differently had their vote been cast on the actual voting day, given ads, debates, etc.
Or, you know, not.
Ajaye, maybe the East Indians just remember that “(D) Punjab” bull. To his credit, Obama apologized to the South Asian community for that and put the feet of the person responsible to the proverbial fire, but I’m not going to hold it against the people who may have decided not to forgive him for such a direct and obvious slight from his “people”.
I think it is well documented that East Indians on a whole have a negative view towards blacks. The history between East Indians and blacks is longer legacy than the legacy between Europeans and blacks. We can be idealistic and/or romaticize and/or rationalize all we want but common sense will always win out.
I have been around East Indians all my life (home, school, masjid, temple, work, and socially)and always got along with them so I do not have any anti-East Indian bias. I am just an informed realist.
Clinton has reached out to those demographics and Bill Clinton really sponsored a surge in HB-1s.
I am not suprised that Latinos/Asians do not support Obama. It could change if his camp caters to those groups.
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Ah, what non-black group hasn’t been documented as having a negative view towards blacks? *.5 serious* It’s a bit of a red herring unless it’s proven that Indian American negativity is of a particularly virulent breed.
Hey Rachel,
Just wanted to let you know I posted on this subject as well:
http://www.reappropriate.com/?p=1053
Wow, I don’t know what it is about P.O.C liberals and their propensity to use euphemisms and make all sorts of excuses for what is patently obvious. Latinos and Asians didn’t vote for Obama out of racism. Despite the multi-culti Macintosh/Benetton ad nature of the campaign, the proof lies in the pudding. Latinos and Asians have never voted for any measure that is even remotely seen as beneficial to blacks- period. Dismissing it as conservatism is ridiculous and duplicitous, as if “conservatism” is race neutral in this country. It isn’t “conservatism” when white Democrats do it and it sure as hell isn’t conservatism when the off-white calvary (which is essentially what Latinos and Asians are demographically : http://prometheus6.org/node/19577) do the same. Stop reading the Vijay Prishad, turn off the damn MTV and Mac commercials, and get real. And no, I am not an Obama supporter, as the “new America” “change” “post race” smoke he’s blowing up people’s behind is essentially what immigrants to this country have practiced for years- You get closer to white (politically, economically, etc) the farther you keep from/marginalize/scapegoat blacks…White vs black ha….its non-black and black in 08.
A few points to all those folks scapegoating Asian Indians, Asian Indians are a relatively small percentage of an already small population. If you count only non-mixed race Asians, Asian Indians are about 17% of the total Asian American population.
Given the fact that non-mixed race Asians are 3.6% of the US population, and Indians are only 17% of the 3.6%, they make up about half of a percent of the US population. And I’d venture to say that a fairly large percentage of that .5% are not eligible to vote.
Let’s overstate the influence of such a small percentage of the electorate in the name of trying to make a moot point.
I left this over at Reappropriate but I’ll also add it here:
I can’t believe that nobody has mentioned that Obama’s sister is Asian.
I think Obama should emphasize his ties to Asian/Asian American communities and people. He has a fine line to walk because if he does this in mainstream media, it could alienate whites. But if he sticks to ethnically based media outlets, focusing on his Asian relatives, his experience in Hawaii, and his experience in Indonesia it could help him.
Here’s an interview with his sister
Obama just has to reach out to all demographics and persuade them that he has a plan that will help them. I think Obama’s experience and background will speak well to East Indians and Asians once they get a chance to know him as a candidate.
I am really impressed that he did not go get that cozy big law firm job, which would have been typcial. Obama just seems so much more worldly than Hillary and he is the type of person that this era needs. He understands what America means to the world.
I know most Pakistanis disagree with his stand on dealing with Pakistan though.
“Obama just has to … persuade them that he has a plan that will help them.”
The best way to do that is to publish a detailed plan right now. Not just what he plans to do, but also how he plans to sell it to Congress and get them to pass the necessary legislation. The latter is, I believe, where many view him with suspicion. If the right manages to control the House and/or the Senate, Obama as president will be a waste of four years. At least Clinton could be somewhat effective if she must make deals with Republicans.
Can Obama get the job done, or is he just another snake oil salesman?
“Latinos and Asians didnt vote for Obama out of racism. Despite the multi-culti Macintosh/Benetton ad nature of the campaign, the proof lies in the pudding.”
Proof, krl? That would be nice. Of course, I won’t object to any accompanying pudding.
I’m Korean-American and I live in Los Angeles. My mom is very conservative and a registered Republican. Last month she asked me to change her to a Democrat. I asked her why and she told me she wanted to vote for Hillary. I then asked her why Hillary and she told me she wanted to see a woman President and that she didn’t want a black one.
All of my experience with Asians has shown me they think of blacks as complete opposites of themselves: functional communities and societies versus the dysfunctional race. Whether that had anything to do with not voting for Obama is anyone’s guess. As far as Latinos…I think they just really like the Clintons.
There may be a limit to how many white supremacist (or other) ALL AZNS HATE TEH BLACKS comments we’ll let on this thread, but the limit hasn’t been reached yet. I guess I’m way too busy hating on black people to argue right now
so your dumbass statements will stand.
Scratch that… I had to delete one of them for being a known banned person posting under a fake name.
I actually agree with CNN when they said it wasn’t about race.
She’s the pragmatic choice based on her experience. What experience? We’ve seen her speak in the media for 15 years.
Maybe APIAs like me just think she’d be a better president. Pretty simple.
Those darn racist Asians just handed Obama an overwhelming 76% victory in Hawaii.
Seriously, the victory was due to a lot of hard work put in by his supporters, such as his sister and brother-in-law who live in Hawaii.
argh, atlasien! racism or conservatism? argh! are those the ONLY POSSIBLE things motivating asians do ya think?
i’m still in the demographic that supports obama, i’m significantly leftwards of both candidates, and i still support hillary over obama.
why? she’s 60, and has been in politics for 30 years, that’s half her life. and yes, first lady is essentially a political appointment, and it’s a position she held for eighteen years, at state and national level. she’s been a senator for nearly eight. she has massive political capital, and a much better idea of how a presidency works from the inside than all of the dem or rep candidates combined.
obama, on the other hand, has been in political office for three years. yup … oh and he gives good speech. plus he’s young (er).
their platforms are virtually indistinguishable, so casting clinton supporters as racist or CONSERVATIVE is ridiculous and insulting.
Um, Claire, Atlasien was being facetious/sarcastic with her comments, and she did NOT call Clinton supporters racist or conservative in the Faux News/Republican party sense, as stated in her main post.
I didn’t think racism and conservatism were the only two factors. Differences in policy, presentation and campaign strategy are all among others… and the links I gave at the end all have more details in their commentary. But racism (#1) and conservatism (distant #2) were the two factors that totally, totally dominated mainstream media discussion, e.g. the CNN piece discussed at Reappropriate.
The main reason is Asians know her AND LIKE HER. She built good relationships with most communities over the years.
Building good relationships with most communities, and then sending them to kill and die in Iraq, great job Hillary, I have so much confidence in the experience led you to make this glorious decision.
And: if her experience includes the experience as first lady, then we have three strikes you’re out, expansion of the federal death penalty, and welfare “reform” as wonderful things she has done for women and the poor.
Yes, Republicans have unfairly attacked both Hillary and Bill over the past two decades, but that is *not* a reason why I should now have to vote for her just because she is a woman. Honestly – I have *never* seen anyone play the “race card” or any other “card” the way I am now seeing Hillary and hers pull the gender card.
People vote for Clinton because they think she’ll be the best President. It’s the only reason anyone votes for her or any other candidate.
And bitches get stuff done!
Just kidding.
I dont believe that OBAMA represents anything new in the grander “white” design of things. WHY? its because all presidents tend to be puppets to the larger background administration. Obama is a message for AMERICA that they must Unite and defeat the common enemy. i wonder who they are?
Its going to be an administration that will allow the continuity of destruction of the middle east. A new islamophobia masquerading under the “we are black so we can’t be racist” banner. Remember just because he is Black does’nt mean that he wont continue the PRO CHRISTIAN over ISLAM propaganda.
This will be a time when ASIANS will be singled out even more. SO NO WONDER WE DONT VOTE FOR HIM. NONE OF THE PEOPLE REPRESENT US.