Do East Indians = Republicans: why?

[tnvoter]

Does anyone know whether Americans of East Indian descent vote Republican in higher proportions than other American racial minorities or other American immigrant groups? What is your personal experience with friends who are from India or whose families are from India?

I have often pondered this question because of the success of Jindal and Nikki Haley. If it is the case, I wonder if the cause is rooted in a cultural proclivity for conservative ideas. I'm Chinese American, and I see many in my parents' generation of Chinese Americans a tendency to be conservative. Among young Chinese, not so much. In any case, it seems east Asians have had success in the higher reaches of power as Democrats, which makes Jindal and Haley an anomaly. I think. Please discuss.

[Dawson Leery]

1. From the research I have heard of, they vote for Democrats by a ratio of 2:1.

[tnvoter]

6. That's reassuring. Where do you find this stuff?

Some years ago, when my mother was being sworn in as a naturalized citizen, I recall coming out of the building to see voter registration tables, manned by members of each party.

The Republican table had WAY more Asians than the Democratic table, which had a disproportionate number of latinos.

Does this mean immigrants from more "rebellioius" cultures/political environments more likely to be liberal?

I think my mother just was so proud of being American, she found the rebelliousness of the liberals unappealing. does this sound weird to hear this explained that way?

Myself, I was pretty conservative until I graduated from college. I don't really know how to explain why I such a thug as a youth, except that I was imitating my parents' "American pride."

[a la izquierda]

13. What, exactly, are you saying?

Rebelliousness of liberals? I don't understand what you mean here. And what on earth do you mean by immigrants from more rebellious cultures/political environments?

[tnvoter]

37. By "rebellious" I am borrowing

a description from conservatives used against the rabble-rousers on the left. I am a beneficiary of "rabble-rousers" on the liberal left who helped create the social change that makes my existence in America comfortable. I love the "rebelliousness" of liberals.

I think Asian immigrants like my parents tend to shy from political activism. For example, may older people in my extended family worried that Tianamen Square would escalate to warfare and social tumult, even though they sided with the protester's ideals. I remember my dad shouting at the "stupid" kids on TV when the footage of the event was aired. I was very young then, but that memory stays with me because my father rarely expresses a political opinion.

Do Latin cultures accept social activism more readily? I don't know. I'm just asking. Trying to engage y'all in a conversation as to why certain groups vote the way they do.

A later post (downstream) shows that Asians, in fact, do vote in greater numbers for Democrats. Yay! It surprises me, but I'm celebrating it!

[a la izquierda]

38. Well, hmm. I don't know anything about Asian cultures and their voting habits...

but Latinos in general vote democratic nowadays because Democrats don't pass virulently racist laws aimed at immigrants. However, there are some very conservative Latinos- expat Venezuelans, Cubans, and even Mexicans- that buck this trend.

Latin Americans have 200 years of "activism" (I kind of hesitate to call it that) ranging from violent civil wars that have periodically erupted (Mexico) to fairly recent upheavals spurred by the US (Chile, Central America). But I'm not entirely sure this translates to how they vote as a bloc in the US (partly because I'm a historian of Latin America, but I'm not a Latin American person).

I was just curious. The term rebellious can be misconstrued.

[ErikJ]

2. 5000 years of the caste system?

A strict class system that is similar to the Republican ideology.

[Vehl]

15. Lol What?

Some posts on DU never cease to amaze me.

For starters according to pew poll (check post #9 by Pampango) Indian Americans vote overwhelmingly democrat.
A stunning 65% democrat vs 18% republican. I would hazard a guess that this is as pro democrat as you can get for any ethnicity in the US.

Also pls note that the so called "5000 years of caste system" gave the world the second ever female head of state(in the 60s...50 years down the lane America still does not have any) and multiple minority(religious minority/ethnic minority) heads of states. Oh also a so called "untouchable caste" person wrote the constitution of India. But the popular wisdom so prevalent in the states assumes that India is still a land of holy cows and snake charmers, so yes it must be so.
cheers

[JI7]

28. the current pm is a religious minority

[RZM]

43. That's heavily Democratic, but nowhere near the top in terms of groups

Black Americans routinely vote Democratic at 90 percent or more. It was 95 percent in 2008 and will probably be around that number this time as well.

[BumRushDaShow]

3. Go look at a pic of a rethug convention

and you will see who really makes up the party. Don't let the 1 or two who are prominently displayed (and that includes a Michael Steele and Condi Rice) fool you.

[Canuckistanian]

4. They're extremely socially conservative

And may find solace in the GOP's social wedge-issue filled agenda.

I've noticed the same thing here in Canada.

[Vehl]

16. They vote overwhelmingly democrat , probably more so than any other ethnicity in US

Pls check post #9

[Jamaal510]

5. I'm also kinda curious how East Indians (and Asians in general) vote.

In the media, I always hear about voting trends among Black and White voters, and how crucial the Latino vote is, but I never hear anything about what the campaigns are doing to court Asian voters and how they tend to vote. Do they not get covered much because there're not that many Asians in the U.S.?

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

7. Asians in general vote strongly Democratic. I believe the ratio is similar to Hispanics,

or young voters, around a 2:1 ratio.

My observation is that there is a much stronger tendency for young Asian voters to be liberal and vote Democratic than the older generation of their parents, but even the parent generation is not nearly as conservative as white Americans of a similar age.

You will always get certain subgroups that are strongly GOP. For instance a lot of people who were part of the South Vietnamese government that fled here during and after the Vietnam war are strongly GOP like older Cuban Americans are, identifying the GOP as being more strongly anti-Communist, and there are some Chinese who immigrated from mainland China a few generations ago who are the same way.

Here you go:

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/polls/#USP00p1

Not quite 2:1 but close.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

8. See my reply #5 in this thread.

[pampango]

9. Here's information from Pew Polling. Indian-Americans are 65% to 18% Democratic.

http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2012/06/19/the-rise-of-asian-americans/

[tnvoter]

12. I love this. Thank you.

Very interesting that Indians are in fact more "Democratic" than other asian americans, including the groups that have the longest exposure in the U.S. - the Japanese and Chinese.

[Vehl]

17. Excellent post , thank you

I was going to post these same statistics, but you beat me to it

[Number23]

35. Good info. thanks for posting

[Tanuki]

10. Jindal and Haley are both practicing Christians, which is certainly not typical of South Asians. n/t

[Vehl]

18. Bingo! we have a winner. Hindu Indian Americans vote democrat, Christian IA vote Repub

Jindal and Haley are NOT the typical south Asians. They are considered somewhat akin to uncle Tom's for their willingness to let go of their identity just so they can "fit in", in their republican dominated states.

As an Indian American I have noticed that Indians vote overwhelmingly Democrat. (as supported by the pew poll posted in post #9)
However the vast majority amongst the few Indians who vote republican tend to be Christian.

In other words, Hindu Indian Americans(who comprise the overwhelming majority of Indians here in America) Almost always vote Democrat
Christian Indian Americans have a much higher tendency to vote republican.


PS: I hasten to add that Not All Christian IA vote republican, but they do make up the largest % amongst IA who vote republican, even though they represent only a small% of the IA community.

[treestar]

20. Yes and remember the Republics love to find a dark skinned person

in their ranks to hold us so they can claim not to be racists and so the Republicans will allow that person up the ladder quickly in their own type of "affirmative action."

I remember how they crowed over appointing the first Black Supreme Court Justice and first female Supreme Court Justice - they thought they were just so clever, and that the left could not complain due to that!

[JI7]

39. Jindal was supposed to be the great Brown hope to beat Obama , then he gave that speech

i think response to the SOTU . now they are hoping Rubio will do it.

now outside of Louisiana Jindal is seen as a joke.

[Duer 157099]

21. I was just going to post the same thing

It has much more to do with religion than anything else imho

[JI7]

30. Jindal and Haley grew up in Hindu and Sikh homes, their Christianity is mostly political

they are mostly about self promotion. they do it better than Romney in some ways. they grew up in the very conservative south and did/do anything to appeal to certain types to get ahead there.

i have heard that Jindal's marriage was an arranged marriage but he made up some bs story about how he met his wife when a friend cancelled on him for some mardi gras party so he went with his current wife instead and they ended up dating and getting married.

[malaise]

11. It's not that simple

and you have to factor in the East Indians coming from Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago - a solid Democratic bloc

[smitra]

14. I am of Asian Indian descent, 1st generation, and a solid progressive..

And I have many friends of my ethnic background where I live (upstate NY), among all age groups. I can confidently state that over 90% of them will vote Democratic.

Other responses to this thread have put forth the standard knee-jerk reaction to almost any mention of India - namely, '5000 years of the caste system'. This response is completely unaware of the struggle against the iniquities of the caste system started in the 19th century, and continued by Mahatma Gandhi in the 20th - and the fact that, as a result, there is a significant percentage of the population that is vehemently opposed to it. Consider the parallel in this country where the progressives in general oppose racism whereas there are conservatives who dream of a return to the Old South of the 1850s. One would hardly like to use the example of the racist birthers as a representative of mainstream American culture, right?

And... a very large percentage of Indian Americans come from a middle-class, educated background..and for most of them, caste is hardly an issue. I base this statement on my own experiences over the past 24 years. Jindal and Nikki Haley have proved to be great opportunists, who played the 'game' well. As a Poli Sci professor I know said: "If Nikki Haley ran for Governor of SC using her birth name - Nimrata Randhawa - her mom's vote would be the only one she would get there. Especially if she spoke up for minority rights, diversity, etc."

[AsahinaKimi]

25. Welcome to DU!!

please be sure to visit the Asian Group!!

[indie_voter]

32. Thank you!! Great post.

I'm 1st generation too. My dad came here in 1958, he was a staunch Democrat, both my parents are. The first election I remember clearly was Nixon v McGovern, I was 8. He was a huge Carter advocate and was disgusted when Reagan won, he thought the Republicans played games with the hostage crisis.

As he was dying (Christmas 2004) he talked about Bush winning and wondered how that could possibly happen, we all steered the conversation to the Red Sox winning the World Series to make for a happier last few conversations. I wish he had lived to see President Obama. My mom called me after he won and said my dad would've been thrilled. As he would have.

Just as there are a few black Republicans, there are a few Asian, a few East Indian. Crazy is an equal opportunity affliction. ;^) That doesn't mean all of us are that way. And the poll posted up thread corroborates my experience that East Indians by far vote Democratic.

[smitra]

42. You are welcome, and you are absolutely right!

Further evidence of Indian Americans' 'leanings' towards the ideals of the Democratic party.. no one in this thread has mentioned Preet Bharara - first generation Indian American - and apparently a staunch Democrat - so far:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preet_Bharara

One of the most prominent Indian American newspapers - India Abroad - has recently named him their 'Person of the Year' - calling him '... the man who makes Wall Street tremble...':

http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-preet-bharara-is-india-abroad-person-of-the-year-2011/20120630.htm

On a personal note...my parents in India talked to my brother and I during our childhood about President and Mrs. Kennedy. They mainly appreciated that they appeared to completely accept the 'brown, non-Christian' Indians as equals (Mrs. Kennedy visited India several times I believe) - a message that the whites from the English-speaking Western world did not exactly convey at that time. Going further back, my grandfather spoke warmly of Eleanor Roosevelt and her acceptance of Indians as well -- she visited India shortly after Independence in 1947 or 1948 I think. Churchill's virulently anti-Indian attitude was fresh in his mind.

[Number23]

36. Perfectly said and very true

"If Nikki Haley ran for Governor of SC using her birth name - Nimrata Randhawa - her mom's vote would be the only one she would get there. Especially if she spoke up for minority rights, diversity, etc."

As Jindal and Haley (not to mention Herman Cain) prove, opportunists come in all colors.

[treestar]

19. One I know well enough to know political opinions, is a Democrat

There is a conservative nature to the culture of India or at least those who immigrate to the US - I actually can kind of understand their being Republican in some aspects - they tend to have gotten an education and to have worked their way up - and be impressed by the way they can work their way up in the U.S. and so would easily believe the US has a merit system (relative to India, it may) and thus the Republican memes could resonate.

[smitra]

22. Many also realize that it is Democratic ideals that have got them where they are..

They realize that if it were not for the 1965 Immigration reform act (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_and_Nationality_Act_of_1965) that abolished the National Origins Formula in granting citizenship - sponsored by Democrats - and laws that require employers to post that they will not consider race, religion, national origin, etc. in hiring for the post (again, the result of Democratic efforts), they would not be where they are now. In the 1950s, despite education, merit, etc., many of them would never become eligible to vote here, or hold the jobs they do ... jobs that (still) enable a home in the suburbs with good school districts, two cars, vacations, etc.

It was Democrats that really enabled merit - and only merit - to be considered, not Republicans.

[AsahinaKimi]

23. I don't know about East Indians, however....

When Barrack Obama was first running for President, at the time, I was working with the San Francisco Democratic Party, and a number of my friends who are Chinese Americans volunteered to go into Chinatown to get many of the older Chinese Americans registered to vote.

At one point my friend told me, that many of the older Chinese didn't wish to sign up because to them, all politicians were corrupt and it would not matter anyway. But for some reason, Barrack Obama seemed to energize many in Chinatown and a great number signed up to vote. It was probably the most successful Presidential campaign in Chinatown in the city's history.

Hopefully they will help us out again this year. I enjoyed going about with the Chinese volunteers because it gave me a chance to see parts of Chinatown , that I would normally never see on my own.



Edited to say welcome to DU~~~ Huan Yin!!! (Please visit the Asian Group!!)

[tnvoter]

33. Thank you for the welcome!

[AsahinaKimi]

34. bu~ke~qi!

You are most welcome!

[ailsagirl]

24. My best friend is East Indian and she's a "severe" Democrat

Otherwise, we wouldn't be best friends.

[tammywammy]

41. Wait, are you me??

One of my besties is Indian as well and very very democratic, actually all the Indians I've known/know vote democratic.

[ailsagirl]

44. LOL!

I think that, judging by the responses this post has received, the answer is no.

[muntrv]

26. I'm of East Indian descent and I'm a Democrat.

I have met some Indian business owners who spout off republican talking points, but most Indians I know support the Democrats.

[muntrv]

26. Please delete-duplicate post.

.

[Mponti]

29. DesiTalk, June 29, discusses new Pew study....

Study, "Rise of American Asians," was released June 19. Indian Americans lean Dem v. Rep, 65-18. 65% approve of obama's performance. Some.of Obama's top bundlers are American Indian. Dems need to do more to identify future candidates in the Asian community

[tnvoter]

31. Naturalized Asian Americans find social justice appealing

I had posted upstream that my parents are conservative politically. Even so, they love Obama. I think it is because they feel so strongly about civil rights and social justice -- having lived under communist governments.

The message that Democrats stand for social change that results in a more just, a more fair society for everyone -- resonates with naturalized citizens. I wish the campaign would seize on this. No reason to "lose" any Asian American votes.

[TuxedoKat]

40. Most of the ones I've known

and I've met quite a few, were Democrats.