How Did Asian Pacific Americans Become an Afterthought in the Presidential Elections?
Yes, we were snubbed in Nevada. But what happens on Super Tuesday and in the November elections can determine the community's (in)visibility.
A few days before the Nevada presidential caucus, Ben Nakagawa had to unplug his phone to watch his Washington Huskies basketball game on television. The race to the White House was red hot in his state, but he just needed a moment to watch his team play.
Besides, he already knew which candidate he was going to support on caucus day. It's the people in the Asian Pacific American community who choose to remain constantly unplugged that concerns him.
"One of my issues is greater Asian recognition," said Nakagawa, civil rights chair of the Las Vegas JACL.
The 72-year-old Nisei is originally from Seattle where he was active in politics. Now, Nakagawa is the Democratic caucus chairperson for his Northwest Las Vegas precinct, which has 11 delegates. He also plans to nominate himself to be a county and state delegate.
Over the years, Nakagawa has noticed that APA engagement in politics is anemic at best. As a member of Nevada Rep. Shelley Berkley's Asian Advisory Committee, Nakagawa once attended a meeting where 50 APAs were invited, but only 12 showed up.
"That's tragic," he sighed. "We have to get more Asians out. Politicians don't care if you say we have 200,000 registered. They care about what percentage of Asians vote."
In January, Nevada was also the backdrop for controversy when APAs were excluded from a live national Democratic presidential debate on minority issues. The snub enraged APA leaders and resurrected age-old concerns about invisibility and recognition, but it also raised another question: Is the APA community doing enough to assert itself in the political arena?
APA Amnesia
"Yes, the Asian American community representing 200,000 prominent members of Nevada were ignored," said Dr. S.E. Elia, a member of the Asian American Group of Las Vegas.
The Jan. 19 Nevada caucus was touted as the first stop for the presidential candidates to win the West, but it was also the first stop for APA voters to make an electoral impact. Nevada's APA population ranks sixth in the nation, according to APIAVote, a national APA organization.
But Nevada's Jan. 15 MSNBC "Black and Brown" debate, which was co-sponsored by African American and Latino groups, initially did not have any APA participation or representation. When APA groups complained, a recognition rally was organized - like a postscript - with local leaders including Rep. Berkley.
In contrast, MSNBC reached out early to 100 Black Men of America, Inc. to get involved in the minority issues debate. This was the first presidential debate the organization cosponsored, said Telain Ware, their marketing consultant. All of the sponsoring organizations were asked to submit questions for the candidates, so 100 Black Men submitted five questions collected from their membership on issues including education, health disparities and economic development for minority ventures. Only one of their questions made it on air.
"We would've liked to have more of our issues addressed," said Ware.
Comparatively, no APA-specific questions were addressed. And to add insult to injury, APA community leaders, complaining about the poor sound quality in their assigned seats in the last rows of the Cashman Theatre, eventually walked out of the debate, according to Elia.
Critics were quick to blame the Nevada Democratic Party and MSNBC, who did not respond to the Pacific Citizen's requests for comment. But the social amnesia when it comes to APAs is not just isolated to this one Nevada incident - the Iowa Black and Brown Presidential Forum has been a tradition since 1984.
The exclusion of APA issues in the presidential debates concerns Jenn Fang, author of Reappropriate.com.
"Wow, Hillary Clinton included 'Asian Americans' in her 'those most impacted by high home foreclosures' response. We exist!" quipped Fang in her live blog session of the MSNBC minority issues debate.
"I think the [Asian Pacific Islander American] community should strongly work towards organizing a debate specifically geared towards the Asian American community, or to work closely with the Black and Brown Presidential Forums to include Asian American issues," said Fang to the P.C.
She admits, however, that an APA centered debate is still many years away from becoming a reality.
"Unfortunately, there is still a misperception in American politics that Asians vote rarely and vote White. Before politicians will truly take our issues seriously, we must demonstrate our political strength," she added.
In an election year where the bipartisan message seems to be change, what can APAs do to cure this selective amnesia?
'We're not doing enough.'
Many APA community leaders continue to stress the importance of voting registration and grassroots campaigns to get out the vote - after all, politics is like a game of numbers used to strategically bend the ears of your politicians to your causes.
In Las Vegas, the JACL chapter sent reminders out to their members to flex their votes on caucus day.
But determining a "flagship" APA issue in the diverse communities seems to also be a nebulous feat. Some APA groups have pushed immigration into the forefront of debate while others underscore the importance of affirmative action and employment discrimination.
For Delwayne Arakaki, the president of the Las Vegas JACL, his issues in determining the next president are not necessarily APA specific. They are "what's on everyone's minds" - the economy, homeland security and the war in Iraq.
Arakaki, who is retired from the military and currently working as a government contractor, was registered as an Independent, but changed his party affiliation to Republican last year for this election.
Some APA leaders point out that while there are many APA groups that are committed to voter registration and voting drives, what's lacking are APA organizations and news sources that are willing to endorse candidates and take stances on specific election issues - which are prevalent in other ethnic communities.
It's a problem that Nakagawa believes is still culturally influenced.
"In the Asian community, we don't talk about politics as a family, in the church or among peers so how does it start?"
Others say the APA community is not doing enough to inject APA issues into the national presidential dialogue.
"We're not doing enough," said Don T. Nakanishi, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles and director of the Asian American Studies Center. He pointed out that APA lawmakers in Washington, D.C. who have endorsed the leading presidential candidates need to better advise the candidates on the communities' extensive issues of concern.
"[Los Angeles] Mayor Antonio Villaraigoisa is the chair for Clinton's national campaign and he's also one of the most prominent Latino politicians. He went to Iowa. He went to New Hampshire and he's here in California," said Nakanishi. "He was asked [by reporters] why we are doing this and he said it was for the potential benefits that it might bring to Los Angeles."
"Do you see an Asian American doing the same?"
"We'll see," added Nakanishi. "When we really get to the November general elections, we'll see how Asian American issues are still in play and in what way they are."
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