GOP plans event to woo Vietnamese-American voters

The Republican National Committee and Louisiana Republican Party will host a town hall meeting this week in Jefferson Parish on Vietnamese-American engagement.

The event will feature former Congressman Joseph Cao, R-New Orleans. Cao, a Vietnamese American, held Louisiana’s 2nd District seat for two years before losing a 2011 re-election bid to Democrat Cedric Richmond.

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Curtis S Chin - Asia's progress still shackled by politics of identity

Widespread Use of ethnicity, race and religion to divide or define citizens threatens a return of wars and divisions of last century

Even as Singapore recently celebrated its 49th National Day and its own ability to forge "one people" out of ethnic Chinese, Malay, Indians and others, the spectre of identity-based politics continues to haunt the region.

How fitting it would be if the latest return visit to Asia by America's top diplomat, US Secretary of State John Kerry, on behalf of America's first African-American president, also helped push the region, including Southeast Asia and China, to move beyond stereotypes. This is critical if Asia is to move forward toward greater peace and prosperity.

Whether China with its large Uighur and Tibetan populations or Myanmar, also known as Burma, with more than 130 distinct ethnic groups, Asia is facing growing protests and unrest among minority communities who feel poorly served by national government policies and attitudes. Use of ethnicity, race or religion to divide or define one's own citizens should have no place in the Asia of today, whether in giant India under newly elected Prime Minister Nahendra Modi or the smallest Pacific island nation.

Read more: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/Asias-progress-still-shackled-by-politics-of-ident-30240860.html

Cornyn Aims at Asian Voters in Texas

 

It was the primary that was supposed to give Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, a scare. But the incumbent Republican sailed through easily and is expecting to do the same against a Democrat in the fall. So without much of an electoral threat, Cornyn is now attempting to expand his party’s base with Asian voters. In Texas.

On Wednesday his re-election campaign launched a Chinese-language website, as first reported in The Dallas Morning News. This serves as a counterpart to the Vietnamese-language website the campaign launched in July, all in an attempt to reach out to Asian-American voters.

Read more: http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2014/09/04/sen-john-cornyn-aims-at-asian-voters-in-texas

Brown medical student Stan Tran seeks GOP nomination for R.I. 1st Congressional District

The Providence Journal / Kris Craig

Stan Tran, a Brown University medical student running for the Republican nomination for the 1st Congressional District seat, campaigns Sunday at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Combine youthful optimism with the conviction that even the most intractable problems can be solved, then throw in a sterling education that includes medical school, and you begin to have an understanding of congressional candidate Stan Tran.

Tran, 26, has never run for political office — but now he is seeking the Republican nomination for the 1st District seat held by Democrat David Cicilline. Tran faces Newport’s Cormick B. Lynch, a former Marine and Iraq veteran, in the Sept. 9 primary.

Read more: http://www.providencejournal.com/breaking-news/content/20140701-brown-medical-student-stan-tran-seeks-gop-nomination-for-r.i.-1st-congressional-district.ece

Candidate Spotlight: Phil Gam for State Assembly (New York)

Community Leader Kicks Off Campaign for the 40th Assembly District, Calls on Friends and Neighbors to Help Build A Better New York Flushing

--Today Phil Gim was joined by family, friends, neighbors and a crowd of enthusiastic volunteers as he kicked off his campaign for the State Assembly in the 40th Assembly District. “I’m stepping forward to run for the Assembly to fight to make New York a better place,” Phil Gim said before his cheering supporters. He called on residents of the district to join him, continuing “together, we can build a better New York, one community at a time.” Phil opened his remarks on Memorial Day weekend with a reference to his grandfather who served as a G.I. during World War II and by thanking servicemen and –women “who made the ultimate sacrifice, those who fought and died to preserve our freedoms. Those who made our Nation strong, our liberties undiminished, and our pursuit of excellence absolute.” He addressed one of the most immediate concerns for residents of the district: New York’s unrelenting economic woes.

“For many New Yorkers, achieving the American dream has come second to just getting through the week,” Phil said. He then stressed the difficulties that many area residents face daily as the cost of living in Queens has skyrocketed while household incomes in Flushing and Whitestone have dropped 10% in the last five years, giving us a preview of what will certainly be one of the running themes of his campaign. He vowed to stand up for the hard-working residents of his district, citing the continuing deterioration of government services in our area due to tax dollars being siphoned off to other districts.

He pointed out one of the most visible effects of this tax drain as manifesting itself in quality of life issues, observing that “we have more potholes in our pavement, more traffic jamming our streets, and more tickets on our windshields.”

Anyone interested in volunteering, donating or finding out more about Phil can visit his campaign website at www.PhilGim2014.com.

https://www.facebook.com/philgim2014

http://www.philgim2014.com/news/phil_gim_announces_candidacy_for_state_assembly

Candidate Spotlight: Michael Ly for State Assembly (Vermont)

Michael is a Candidate for State Representative for the New North End of Burlington, Vermont.

Michael was born and raised in Tempe, Arizona. His parents were refugees from Cambodia after surviving four years of genocide under the Khmer Rouge regime. Michael earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Arizona State University and a Master of Business Administration from Babson College. He is Owner of Burlington CFO, where he advises small businesses throughout Vermont. Previously, Michael was the senior finance executive for a national consulting firm, where he led the companies financial growth from $10M to $35M and 50+ to 200+ employees. Michael has served small to medium size businesses in multiple states as an accounting professional since he was 16 years old.

He is married to Shannon, a Highgate Springs native, and Co-Founder of BurlingtonVTMomsBlog.com. Together they have two boys, Aden and Canaan. They live happily on Janet Cir in Burlington.

@voteforly (Twitter)
http://michaelly.org/ (website)
https://www.facebook.com/voteforly (Facebook)

Caught On Video - Sen. Harry Reid makes racist jokes about Asians

"One problem that I've had today is keeping my Wongs straight"

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid drew laughter from an Asian audience Thursday with a pair of Asian-themed jokes.

“I don’t think you’re smarter than anybody else, but you’ve convinced a lot of us you are,” Reid, a Nevada Democrat, told the guffawing crowd at the Las Vegas Asian Chamber of Commerce. Video of the remarks was recorded by the Republican opposition research group American Rising.
Later, before walking off stage, Reid quipped: “One problem that I’ve had today is keeping my Wongs straight.”

Read more: http://time.com/#3159750/harry-reid-asian-jokes/

At the Asian Chamber of Commerce in Las Vegas, NV on August 21, 2014, Harry Reid said that Asian Americans convinced "us" that they are smarter than everyone else and then said he has a problem keeping his Wongs "straight."
 

Alan Fung - "Open For Business"

 Mayor Allan Fung highlights his record in Cranston of helping to create over 1000 new private sector jobs, reforming pensions, and freezing taxes for 3 straight years. As Rhode Island's next Governor it will be about "Stopping the perks, the powerful, the payoffs.... Challenging the old way of doing business" to make Rhode Island "Open For Business once again".

8 Reasons Hawaii Might Elect Charles Djou, A Republican, To Congress

       

HONOLULU -- As was widely expected, Charles Djou is once again running for Congress. But why bother?

The 2014 election will mark the fourth time in four years that Djou has run for the 1st Congressional District seat representing urban Oahu. He has won only once, in the May 2010 special election to replace Neil Abercrombie, who resigned to run for governor.

That race saw Colleen Hanabusa and Ed Case split the votes of Democrats and independents; Djou received 39 percent of the winner-take-all contest and went to Washington for just over seven months. Case elected not to oppose Hanabusa in the 2010 Democratic primary, and she then defeated Djou in the November general election by 6 percentage points.

In the 2012 rematch, Hanabusa won by nearly 10 percentage points over Djou. Now,Hanabusa is running against Brian Schatz in the U.S. Senate contest, leaving the CD 1 seat open.

History is not on Djou's side. Hawaii has only sent three Republicans to D.C. since statehood in 1959. But here are eight arguments for why he just might pull it off.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/04/hawaii-charles-djou-republican_n_5093886.html?&ncid=tweetlnkushpmg00000067

Haley for Governor TV Ad: "Paychecks"

In Kentucky, Elaine Chao Endures Racist Attacks From Liberals

Democrats have attacked Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s wife Elaine Chao for being Asian, but the media has been silent on the racist attacks. 

The Daily Beast’s Ron Christie writes about how there is a growing trend of minority Republicans being attacked for their race: The former Republican Secretary of Labor has had to deal with a number of bigoted comments from Democratic partisans in the last year. So why is racism treated differently when it comes from the left? One can hardly turn on cable news without hearing someone say that Republicans are racists trying to roll back the clock on civil rights. 

Having a policy disagreement with President Obama, many of his partisan supporters argue, is nothing more than thinly veiled racism. But Democrats who imagine racist slights and “dog whistles” at every turn would be wise to look at the vicious anti-Asian bigotry on display in Kentucky, which is being fomented by supporters of their so-called progressive party…There is a vicious double standard at play here. Racist attacks against Justice Clarence Thomas, former Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele or South Carolina Senator Tim Scott are yawned at and rarely mentioned in the mainstream media. 

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/08/05/in-kentucky-elaine-chao-endures-racist-attacks-from-liberals.html