LA Times
Op-Ed
An Asian American turn to the right?
The defeat of an effort to restore affirmative action in college
admissions in California could have repercussions for Democrats and
Republicans.
The recent effort to reinstitute affirmative action in admissions to
California's public colleges and universities was defeated. (Los Angeles
Times
/ April 15, 2014)
By Lanhee J. Chen
April 15, 2014, 5:41 p.m.
The recent defeat of an effort to reinstitute affirmative action in
admissions to California's public colleges and universities demonstrates the
political power of Asian American voters and challenges the conventional
wisdom
about their partisan loyalties.
The defeat is a reminder that Asian Americans can have a decisive impact on
political and policymaking processes. Perhaps more important, it suggests
that if education is a key issue that drives Asian American voters, the
Democratic Party may not be able to reliably count on their support in the
future.
In 1996, California voters passed Proposition 209, which banned the
consideration of race, ethnicity or gender in state public employment and
higher
education. Last month, Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez (D-Los Angeles)
tabled a proposed constitutional amendment, known as SCA 5, which would have
restored the use of affirmative action in admissions to the state's public
institutions of higher learning. Pérez went against the vast majority of
Democratic legislators, as well as many ethnic identity groups traditionally
supportive of Democrats, effectively killing the effort.
This happened because of strong, organized opposition to SCA 5 from the
Asian American community — or at least its most vocal leaders and others
active in the political process.
This ability to force such action supports the notion that the Asian
American community is at a "tipping point" in California politics. Its numbers
are high enough (about 15% of the state's population) to be a decisive
constituency, particularly in statewide races and in close, contested
elections.
And community members' interest in education issues suggests that the
affirmative action debate may have political repercussions for Democrats.
A majority of Asian Americans has consistently affiliated with Democrats
since the early 1990s. But before that, they regularly supported Republicans.
In fact, _George H.W. Bush_
(http://www.latimes.com/topic/politics/government/presidents-of-the-united-states/george-h.w.-bush-PEPLT000856.topic)
won 54% of the Asian American vote in 1988.
Survey data suggest that the two parties' positions on education may have
something to do with this turn toward the Democratic Party. In a 2012
post-election survey of Asian American/Pacific Islander voters, 81% of those
responding said that education issues were "very important" to their vote,
second only to the economy and jobs at 86%. President _Obama_
(http://www.latimes.com/topic/politics/government/barack-obama-PEPLT007408.topic)
had a
42-point advantage among those citing education issues as being very important
to their vote.
This debate over affirmative action highlights an area within education
policy where the interests of Asian Americans are at odds with the Democratic
Party. It also creates opportunities for the GOP to gain support.
Democrats have made it clear that they want to reinstate racial preferences
in admissions, while Asian Americans do not, as illustrated in their
efforts to defeat SCA 5. Given that the percentage of freshmen admitted to all
University of California campuses who were Asian American increased between
1996 and 2013, Democrats do not appear to be accounting for the Asian
American community's interests.
Notably, the percentage of freshmen admitted to all UC campuses who
self-identified as Latino or Chicano nearly doubled during that time, while
the
African American percentage stayed the same. This suggests that affirmative
action need not be an issue that divides racial and ethnic minorities.
Whether the Republican Party is able to capitalize on the debate depends in
large part on whether its leaders are able to articulate principled
arguments both about why the restoration of racial preferences in admissions
is
wrong and why the GOP's perspectives on access to higher education and the
importance of choice, accountability and high standards in K-12 education
are right.
Although SCA 5 is dead for now, Pérez and his Democratic colleagues plan to
form a task force to examine whether the state's public institutions
should change the way they admit students. Continuing efforts by California
Democrats to reinstitute affirmative action have the potential, therefore, to
alienate segments of the very electoral coalition they rely on for success
in the state and beyond.
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/commentary/la-oe-0416-chen-affirmative-action
-asians-democrat-20140416,0,5651567.story#ixzz2zAJPr8ld
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