Friday, November 12, 2010

GOP a la Brown

Indian-American officeholders are conservative Republicans. Moreover, they're from states where this race/ethnicity or whatever you want to call it is rare. Don't believe me? Consider Bobby Jindal from Louisiana or Nikki Haley from South Carolina. And these are just governors. Consider all of the state representatives, the one's elected by the most politically  active, the modern-day elites. There's Raj Goyle, Republican from Kansas. Swati Dandekar from Iowa. And, lastly the most interesting of them all: Minnesota's Ashwin Madia a 30-year-old attorney and Iraq veteran. But, how does this happen? Are most of us just conservative Republicans? But, then why do they win demographically un-Brown states? Well, the answer to this perplexing question can be answered simply by trace the lives of these men and women.
File:Census Bureau 2000, Asian Indians in the United States.png
visit url for a better view: tinyurl.com/map_brown

First, to answer, as my Civics teacher calls, the "fluff:" the demographics. So, lets keep it simple. Indian Americans, for the most part, lean Democratic. Polls held right before the 2004 election showed that 54% of Brown voters supported Kerry, a liberal Democrat. More recently, another poll suggests 81% of Indian-Americans supported Obama in his run for office in 2008. But how reliable IS this information? Brown support for Obama represented the overall country's opinion for Obama and their support for Kerry can be credited to Kerry's initial popularity. In other words, we must look at the Brown population down South and in other areas where these candidates seem to be winning. Consider the map on the left. The map is divided into districts each with its own representative. The areas where the shade of brown is the darkest are those with the highest Indian-American population. Except in some key areas, these dark splotches of brown are represented by the Dems. For example in Texas, one of the most brown states under the Red banner, the Indian-American population seems to be concentrated in three districts: the third, eighth and tenth. Funny thing: all three are represented by conservative Republicans. But, this could be because the White and Black vote dilutes the Brown vote so, let's cut to the chase. Indian-Americans are heavily populated in a few areas: Edison, NJ(Republican, Leonard Lance); Dearborn, MI(Democrat, John Dingell); and San Diego, CA(Republican, Brian Bilbray). Yup, so Brown people like the Republicans...shocked? But here's the best part: Lance and Bilbray are both conservative, though Lance has a liberal "social" agenda.

Alright, so Indian-Americans like the Republican Party, it ISN'T a surprise that so many of us run on the Republican ticket...but, why do Indians (or those of Indian "descent") win with White and Black (non-Brown) majorities? Well, the answer is simpler than it seems, at least simpler to experienced analysts who would quickly put it aside. Don't understand? Well, let me explain. Maybe, these men and women were elected to office because their policies followed popular opinion. Maybe Indian-American candidates win elections based on their merit. Think about it, it makes perfect sense. Governor Bobby Jindal has the highest approval rating in the country: 77%. Nikki Haley defeated numerous incumbents, many of whom were WISPs. She defeated Larry Koon, the longest serving member in the House. And again, she defeated Andre Bauer--a victory that could be attributed to his racial slur, calling Ms. Haley and Obama "ragheads." All of which are reasons as to why these men and women win elections. But, then why aren't there any Indian-Americans representing Edison, Dearborn or San Diego? Well, that answer is even simpler. These are the places where the POPULATION of Indian-Americans is the highest. They are either non-citizens or, as many of them are, are in fields outside of politics. Basically, Indian-Americans are just another counterexample against the assumption that politics is racial, even though many of them happen to vote Republican.    

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