Obama being smeared as anti-Asian?

[jackson_dem]

I just got this e-mail. It must have been at least fairly viral. Couple this with Bill Clinton turning Asians into Democrats in the first place and you have a recipe for a 48 point win for Hillary among a group that comprises about an eighth of California's population.

-snip-

It’s odd given Obama’s background. His prep school buddies from Punahou, now the elites of Hawai‘i, were the most rabid early supporters of an Obama candidacy. Most of those backers were haoles, the island way of referring to whites. But Obama’s overall Hawai‘i connections have always given him a veneer of being an “Asian-friendly” candidate.

-snip-

Barry Obama, the old Punahou High alum, has positively snubbed a humble questionnaire from an APA grassroots organization. While most of the Democratic candidates (Clinton and Edwards among them) submitted answers to the survey, Obama has not.

That’s a record equal to the Republican snub. Giuliani? Romney? Nothing. Obama’s in real unbecoming company.

-snip-

Woo said Obama’s staff simply declined to answer the questionnaire and responded with rhetorical inanities like “when is president, an Asian American will have a better chance to be president.”

http://www.asianweek.com/2008/01/13/why-is-obama-snubbing-asian-americans/

Here is a more accurate view of the situation:

FLDem5 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Wed Feb-06-08 08:40 PM
Response to Original message
10. Please read before you get angry or upset:

Edited on Wed Feb-06-08 08:45 PM by FLDem5



AsianWeek Endorses Obama

also reported on a number of Asian Americans doing positive for the community, including Eric Byler, Annabel Park, Jin Tha MC, and Kelly Hu, who have been stumping for Senator Obama, and Survivor co-stars Yul Kwon and Becky Lee who have started a Facebook Cause to end domestic violence in the APA community.

AsianWeek’s Lisa Wong Macabasco also summarizes each candidate’s stance on Asian American issues, listing influential legislation and key endorsements in the community. But Emil Guillermo, blogger of AsianWeek column Emil Amok, still has reservations: this time challenging the major Kennedy endorsements of Obama last week.

Whether you endorsements affect your decision or not, I think AsianWeek’s endorsement will certainly bring Obama to the centre of attention for Asian Americans, some of whom still haven’t been introduced to the Obama we all know and love. Obama just doesn’t have the name recognition that Clinton does, and so he faces an uphill battle with our politically skeptical community.

Hopefully AsianWeek’s endorsement will encourage Asian Americans to take a second look at Obama. And I firmly believe that those who don’t know Obama, vote Clinton. Those who learn more about his message, find it an appealing vision of a better America.


http://www.reappropriate.com/?p=908

Two months ago, I would never have thought I would come out so strongly against the 80/20 Initiative. Like many Asian Americans, I didn’t really know too much about 80/20, but I usually appreciated receiving their emails, giving me the heads-up on some particular campaign. I was on-board with letter-writing campaigns that included working with 80/20, and I agree that the glass ceiling issue remains an important priority, requiring us to participate in the political process and agitate for real change to benefit us.

However, I just cannot condone 80/20’s tactics when it comes to the presidential races. 80/20’s mission to unite Asian Americans into an influential bloc vote is admirable, but their demonstrated political strategies suggest a political inexperience that will only sabotage that very mission. 80/20 simply suffers from a near-fatal dose of political amateurism: emails written by 80/20 leadership are shoddy, containing numerous typos and grammatical errors, as well as an embarrassing over-reliance on exclamation points, red font colouring, and all-caps (as if they were written by a 12-year-old on AIM). The questionnaire sent to presidential candidates demanding a commitment to improve APIA representation among judges and cabinet positions are written entirely in simplistic hypotheticals that ignore the complexities of appointment decisions, while simultaneously leaving enough loopholes such that any candidate could pander to 80/20 by responding positively, and then never have to carry out any of those commitments. 80/20 also expouses reams of inflammatory rhetoric, that seems designed to divide the community in a “with-us-or-sellout” mentality. 80/20’s reliance on misleading statements only disrespects the Asian American vote by discouraging unsuspecting Asian Americans from becoming more politically educated. Everything I’ve seen out of 80/20 suggests this is a political bullying at its “finest”.

<snip>as Power&Politics commented:

But at the end of the day, what I fault 80-20 for most is that through its absolute and utter inability to strategically organize the APA community (also known as, they don’t know how to win, write effective talking points, etc), it makes the rest of our community organizations who are on the ground AND know what they are doing at the local and national levels look incredibly bad. Because 80-20’s “leadership” is like that really obnoxious kid in class who never knew the answer but always hand his hand up first and wanted the teacher to notice and call on him.

Since I remain on 80/20’s email list, I received a second email this past week, calling on us to again defeat Senator Obama. The email contained five misleading (or completely erroneous) reasons as to why Obama should not be elected to the presidency. I should point out, off-the-bat, that only one of the reasons even superficially applies to the ongoing disagreement between 80/20 and the Obama campaign regarding Obama’s refusal to sign 80/20’s questionnaire. Most of 80/20’s criticisms of Obama have virtually nothing to do with the Asian American community and are textbook talking points by Obama’s detractors.


Where Barack Stands on AAPI Issues
Provide Universal Health Care: There are nearly 2.4 million Asian Americans without health insurance. Barack Obama is committed to signing legislation by the end of his first term to ensure that all Americans have affordable, quality and portable health care coverage. Obama’s plan will save a typical American family up to $2,500 every year on medical expenditures by modernizing the U.S. health care system and promoting disease prevention and strengthening public health.

End Racial Profiling and Fight Discrimination: Obama has spent his career as a community organizer, civil rights lawyer and elected advocate fighting to end all forms of discrimination. Obama passed a law in the Illinois State Senate to identify and combat racial profiling. He will use his life experiences to enact meaningful policies that protect the rights of minorities.

Reform Immigration: Barack Obama has been a leading voice to comprehensively reform our immigration system by providing a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, securing our border and fixing the broken immigration bureaucracy. As president, he will fight for comprehensive reform that prioritizes keeping families together and improving the H1-B visa program.

Invest in Education: Obama will reform and adequately fund No Child Left Behind. He will hold schools accountable for teaching English-language learners, and will continue his fight to increase and reform college financial aid.

Invest in Small Businesses: AAPIs own more than 1.1 million small businesses. Barack Obama will support federal programs that invest in minority-owned businesses, provide technical assistance to small business owners and reduce discrimination in lending.

Equity for Filipino Veterans: Approximately 250,000 Filipino troops joined American forces in World War II. However, our country has yet to recognize the sacrifice that these veterans have made for our country. Barack Obama is a strong advocate of the Filipino Veterans Equity Act of 2007, which will fulfill America’s promise to recognize and support these brave veterans.
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/aapiissues
http://www.asianamericansforobama.com /
http://aapi.barackobama.com /

[grantcart]

1. didn't bother to answer their questionaire so he is anti asian american

how trite - from a real asian-american household

[jackson_dem]

2. St. Obama deserves to be under the microscope like veryone else

Nowhere in the article did it say he is anti-Asian. What we need to do is consider this and see if there is a reasonable explanation for it. Apparently there isn't judging by the sham response from his office. Asian-American voters will consider the candidate's records when making a decision and score this one for Hillary Clinton.

[tabatha]

6. That is NOT true.

Got to

www.asianamericansforobama.com

to read an online response.

[jackson_dem]

8. Where is it?

[grantcart]

9. your ridiculous title "snubbing" Asian Americans makes it look

like the guy grew up in the most Asian American state of the Union and now won't play ball with them. You can tell from the article that the folks writing are a part of an AA-Clinton Cabal and may be the reason they didn't bother to respond. Clinton has great support in the AA community just ask Norman Hsu oh wait he is in jail.

[tabatha]

5. If you go to

www.asianamericansforobama.com

you can read the response online.

[tabatha]

3. Did you read the comments to this very one-sided article.

Hello Emil.

I follow your column with great interest and was disappointed to see such a one-sided report on Obama’s record in supporting APAs. If you visit www.asianamericansforobama.com, you can get a link to the official response from the campaign on the 80-20 survey. (80-20 has been claiming that Obama provided no response and that’s simply not true.)

Obama’s connection to the Asian Pacific American community is not as shallow as simply growing up in Hawaii, having lived in Asia as youth, or having an Indonesian American sister and Chinese Canadian brother-in law–although I submit to you that those are true and meaningful connections with Asian Americans. (Moreover, Obama’s brother in law is actually an adviser to the campaign on AAPI issues who has a history of involvement in the Democratic party and championing AAPI issues.) Here is an excerpt:

“Barack Obama is committed to appointing qualified AAPIs to high-level positions in his administration, and he will strengthen the White House Initiative on ASain Americans and Pacific Islanders. Barack Obama will also build upon his work as a civil rights lawyer and community organizer to end racial discrimination and advance equal opportunity in the workplace and the federal government. Finally, as a former constitutional law lecturer, Obama understands the importance of a diverse judiciary and he is committed to increasing the representation of qualified minorities and women, including qualified Asian Americans, when there are vacancies int he federal judiciary, including the Supreme Court.” Indeed, Obama has been a supporter of Asian Americans in the legal profession–keynoting the 2005 National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) conference.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

Who The Fuck Is Barry Obama? Maybe If They Sent It To The Right Fuckin Person, It Would've Been Sent

back.

:rofl:

[stevedeshazer]

4. You've got to be kidding me.

That's all you guys have?

[tabatha]

7. It is not true, as well.

[billbuckhead]

11. When Barry was a little kid in Indonesia, little Asian kids harassed him

That's one reason he had to be handed off to his grandparents in America. Not the best person to deal with our vital Asian partners and dangerous adversaries IMHO.

[sam sarrha]

16. perfect,, got run out of africa by asians..

:hide: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

this is getting so good:popcorn:

[Coexist]

12. this is wrong - here is a link to his completed survey

http://80-20initiative.blogspot.com/2008/01/sen-obama-replied-with-all-yeses.html

Return to 80-20 Initiative Home Page.


Thursday, January 31, 2008
Sen. Obama Replied with all YESES
After negotiations between 80-20 and the Obama campaign, 80-20 has agreed to modify the wording of two questions in its questionnaire. With these modifications, the Obama campaign has agreed to answer “yes” to all of the questions in the questionnaire. 80-20 appreciates the Obama campaign’s efforts to reach an amicable solution and applauds the campaign for reaffirming its strong commitment to increasing the number of Asian Americans in the federal judiciary and the enforcement of Executive order 11246 to ensue equal opportunity for Asian Americans in work places.

80-20 considers the commitment from Senator Obama to Asian American issues to be at least as strong as the commitment from Senator Clinton, Senator Edwards, and Governor Richardson. Henceforth, with the exception of California, 80-20 is neutral in the primary contests between Senator Clinton and Senator Obama.


http://www.asianamericansforobama.com/home/2008/01/80-20-initiat-1.html

80-20 Initiative and Obama Campaign Reach Agreement
Great news! For those of you following the controversy, several weeks ago the Asian American political organization, the 80-20 Initiative, began attacking Sen. Obama for refusing to answer a questionnaire committing to fighting discrimination against Asian Americans in the work place and appointing more AAPI federal judges. The Obama campaign responded that it had objected to the wording in the questionnaire which implied a de facto quota for judges and sought to revise the wording of the questionnaire but was rebuffed. After several weeks of back and forth charges and a lot of time spent by this organization and many others to defend Sen. Obama's strong record of support for Asian American issues, the two parties have thankfully worked out their differences and come to an agreement on wording for the questionnaire. 80-20 has also agreed to stay neutral in the race except in California where they previously endorsed Sen. Clinton and remove all negative materials on Sen. Obama from their website.

80-20 posted an announcement on their website today.

See Sen. Obama's signed questionnaire form here.

This is a terrific development, not just because of our support for Sen. Obama, but because those who have been fighting for equal opportunity all their lives cannot afford to spend their time fighting each other. Sen. Obama and the 80-20 Initiative are on the same side when it comes to needed reform, so it was tragic that a disagreement between friends became such an issue. This is a terrific development for our community and for the country.

[Coexist]

10. Please read before you get angry or upset:

AsianWeek Endorses Obama

also reported on a number of Asian Americans doing positive for the community, including Eric Byler, Annabel Park, Jin Tha MC, and Kelly Hu, who have been stumping for Senator Obama, and Survivor co-stars Yul Kwon and Becky Lee who have started a Facebook Cause to end domestic violence in the APA community.

AsianWeek’s Lisa Wong Macabasco also summarizes each candidate’s stance on Asian American issues, listing influential legislation and key endorsements in the community. But Emil Guillermo, blogger of AsianWeek column Emil Amok, still has reservations: this time challenging the major Kennedy endorsements of Obama last week.

Whether you endorsements affect your decision or not, I think AsianWeek’s endorsement will certainly bring Obama to the centre of attention for Asian Americans, some of whom still haven’t been introduced to the Obama we all know and love. Obama just doesn’t have the name recognition that Clinton does, and so he faces an uphill battle with our politically skeptical community.

Hopefully AsianWeek’s endorsement will encourage Asian Americans to take a second look at Obama. And I firmly believe that those who don’t know Obama, vote Clinton. Those who learn more about his message, find it an appealing vision of a better America.

http://www.reappropriate.com/?p=908

Two months ago, I would never have thought I would come out so strongly against the 80/20 Initiative. Like many Asian Americans, I didn’t really know too much about 80/20, but I usually appreciated receiving their emails, giving me the heads-up on some particular campaign. I was on-board with letter-writing campaigns that included working with 80/20, and I agree that the glass ceiling issue remains an important priority, requiring us to participate in the political process and agitate for real change to benefit us.

However, I just cannot condone 80/20’s tactics when it comes to the presidential races. 80/20’s mission to unite Asian Americans into an influential bloc vote is admirable, but their demonstrated political strategies suggest a political inexperience that will only sabotage that very mission. 80/20 simply suffers from a near-fatal dose of political amateurism: emails written by 80/20 leadership are shoddy, containing numerous typos and grammatical errors, as well as an embarrassing over-reliance on exclamation points, red font colouring, and all-caps (as if they were written by a 12-year-old on AIM). The questionnaire sent to presidential candidates demanding a commitment to improve APIA representation among judges and cabinet positions are written entirely in simplistic hypotheticals that ignore the complexities of appointment decisions, while simultaneously leaving enough loopholes such that any candidate could pander to 80/20 by responding positively, and then never have to carry out any of those commitments. 80/20 also expouses reams of inflammatory rhetoric, that seems designed to divide the community in a “with-us-or-sellout” mentality. 80/20’s reliance on misleading statements only disrespects the Asian American vote by discouraging unsuspecting Asian Americans from becoming more politically educated. Everything I’ve seen out of 80/20 suggests this is a political bullying at its “finest”.

<snip>as Power&Politics commented:

But at the end of the day, what I fault 80-20 for most is that through its absolute and utter inability to strategically organize the APA community (also known as, they don’t know how to win, write effective talking points, etc), it makes the rest of our community organizations who are on the ground AND know what they are doing at the local and national levels look incredibly bad. Because 80-20’s “leadership” is like that really obnoxious kid in class who never knew the answer but always hand his hand up first and wanted the teacher to notice and call on him.

Since I remain on 80/20’s email list, I received a second email this past week, calling on us to again defeat Senator Obama. The email contained five misleading (or completely erroneous) reasons as to why Obama should not be elected to the presidency. I should point out, off-the-bat, that only one of the reasons even superficially applies to the ongoing disagreement between 80/20 and the Obama campaign regarding Obama’s refusal to sign 80/20’s questionnaire. Most of 80/20’s criticisms of Obama have virtually nothing to do with the Asian American community and are textbook talking points by Obama’s detractors.

Where Barack Stands on AAPI Issues
Provide Universal Health Care: There are nearly 2.4 million Asian Americans without health insurance. Barack Obama is committed to signing legislation by the end of his first term to ensure that all Americans have affordable, quality and portable health care coverage. Obama’s plan will save a typical American family up to $2,500 every year on medical expenditures by modernizing the U.S. health care system and promoting disease prevention and strengthening public health.

End Racial Profiling and Fight Discrimination: Obama has spent his career as a community organizer, civil rights lawyer and elected advocate fighting to end all forms of discrimination. Obama passed a law in the Illinois State Senate to identify and combat racial profiling. He will use his life experiences to enact meaningful policies that protect the rights of minorities.

Reform Immigration: Barack Obama has been a leading voice to comprehensively reform our immigration system by providing a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, securing our border and fixing the broken immigration bureaucracy. As president, he will fight for comprehensive reform that prioritizes keeping families together and improving the H1-B visa program.

Invest in Education: Obama will reform and adequately fund No Child Left Behind. He will hold schools accountable for teaching English-language learners, and will continue his fight to increase and reform college financial aid.

Invest in Small Businesses: AAPIs own more than 1.1 million small businesses. Barack Obama will support federal programs that invest in minority-owned businesses, provide technical assistance to small business owners and reduce discrimination in lending.

Equity for Filipino Veterans: Approximately 250,000 Filipino troops joined American forces in World War II. However, our country has yet to recognize the sacrifice that these veterans have made for our country. Barack Obama is a strong advocate of the Filipino Veterans Equity Act of 2007, which will fulfill America’s promise to recognize and support these brave veterans.
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/aapiissues
http://www.asianamericansforobama.com/
http://aapi.barackobama.com/

[jackson_dem]

13. Thank you. We need to put this out there

It looks like he is being smeared. I'll send your post to everyone who got this e-mail.

[Coexist]

14. check my post upthread too - link to 80/20 and the fact that he DID

complete the survey - there is a link in the article that is a jpg of the completed form with his signature.

[jackson_dem]

15. Thanks. Ugly politics

I was always suspicious. For obvious reasons you would think if any candidate were extra sympathetic to Asian-Americans it would be Obama.