Why Are So Many Asian Americans Democrats?

While perusing through my sample California election ballot I couldn't help but notice that every Asian American who is running for office is a Democrat. Maybe it's because I'm living in a state where virtually every elected office is held by a Democrat. The AA's just happen to know who is on the winning side here and declare themselves a liberal to get elected. Is that too cynical? Or are left winged liberals really the political philosphy amongst AA's?

I would think that most Asian Americans would belong on the conservative Republican party. After all, most Asians hold pretty conservative, family oriented, business friendly views of society. We still believe in a nuclear family. Illegitimate births are still frowned upon. We hold strong views about crime. If we had our way, Singapore would be the model the U.S. should emulate when it comes to punishing criminals.

AA's have the highest income of any racial group in America. Many of us are entrepreneurial, owning small businesses. We want less business regulations that will impede our ability to make a good income. And don't even get me started on Asians and their attitudes towards taxes. To state it simply, the less taxes the better. In Asia, avoiding paying taxes is elevated to an art. My father's entire retirement and estate plans revolve around giving as little money to the government as possible.

Yet many AA's identify themselves as Democrats. Perhaps we have become too successful and comfortable in America that now we can focus on societal issues. Yes we are all for a cleaner environment, especially true for Asians who come from the grossly polluted cities in China. Many of us also believe in the right to have an abortion as that is considered a mainstay of birth control over there and people don't have any moral qualms about it. We don't understand why Americans have to have so many guns. Seems like having fewer guns around would make for a more peaceful society.

Is it a generational divide? The younger Asians have been raised so comfortably by their hard working parents that they now have time to indulge in comfortable issues like global warming. Many haven't had to scramble desperately for their next dollar like the past generations have had to do. And since most of the older AA's don't or can't vote while their children and grandchildren do, this will skew the politics of AA's towards liberalism.

Too bad the two party political system in the U.S. forces people to choose the lesser of two evils. I think most Asian Americans are really libertarians. But since people won't vote for a candidate that's unlikely to win, the young AA's vote with their hearts while the older AA's watch in benign amusement at the naivete of their offsprings.