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The Washington Post has an excellent expose today about a South Korean woman, a US resident, who is imprisoned in Florence, Arizona, awaiting deportation (story requires registration: it’s worth it). Not only is she suffering from multiple undiagnosed health concerns, including several possible cancers, the woman — Yong Sue Harvill — is being deported because nearly a decade ago, she was convicted of a felony for purchasing stolen jewelry.

A 1996 law had given the government new leverage to deport foreigners, including people living in the country legally as U.S. residents, if they had committed a crime at any time in the past, and the Bush administration was wielding that power aggressively. The law expanded the list of crimes defined as “aggravated felonies” that are grounds for deportation. It also for the first time required people to be locked up during their deportation cases — including permanent legal residents such as Harvill, who is not a citizen but has had a green card ever since she came to the United States.

On March 22, 2007, instead of going home, Harvill was handed an orange uniform at the Palm Beach County jail to await deportation. Her parents are dead. She lost track of her sisters long ago. She has no idea where or how she would live in South Korea, particularly because she has not held a job for years because she cannot put weight on her leg for too long.

The federal government has been waging a war against immigration for eight years. Permanent US residents, like Harvill, are just the latest victims in a growing nativist sentiment that would sweep many legal Asian American immigrants from this country. And, before we jump on the bandwagon to blame Bush, notice that the law forcing Harvill out of the country was created in 1996, during the Clinton administration.

Though the U.S. has been wrapped in a redefinition of the immigration debate as encompassing primarily Hispanic illegal immigrants, we must not forget that a significant fraction of the Asian American community in this country is comprised of legal and illegal immigrants, and that changes in immigration policy affect our community.

And more importantly, I don’t understand how this country can tout itself for its humanity when detainees — undocumented immigrants and legal US residents — are treated inhumanely in detention facilities. Food should be a necessity, not a luxury. Medical treatment should be part of the status quo. What kind of country would try to cut costs by sentencing immigration detainees to a slow death by neglect and apathy?

This is a highly enlightening article published in Time today:

The Five Mistakes Clinton Made 

For all her talk about “full speed on to the White House,” there was an unmistakably elegiac tone to Hillary Clinton’s primary-night speech in Indianapolis. And if one needed further confirmation that the undaunted, never-say-die Clintons realize their bid might be at an end, all it took was a look at the wistful faces of the husband and the daughter who stood behind the candidate as she talked of all the people she has met in a journey “that has been a blessing for me.”

It was also a journey she had begun with what appeared to be insurmountable advantages, which evaporated one by one as the campaign dragged on far longer than anyone could have anticipated. She made at least five big mistakes, each of which compounded the others:

1. She misjudged the mood

That was probably her biggest blunder. In a cycle that has been all about change, Clinton chose an incumbent’s strategy, running on experience, preparedness, inevitability — and the power of the strongest brand name in Democratic politics. It made sense, given who she is and the additional doubts that some voters might have about making a woman Commander in Chief. But in putting her focus on positioning herself to win the general election in November, Clinton completely misread the mood of Democratic-primary voters, who were desperate to turn the page. “Being the consummate Washington insider is not where you want to be in a year when people want change,” says Barack Obama’s chief strategist, David Axelrod. Clinton’s “initial strategic positioning was wrong and kind of played into our hands.” But other miscalculations made it worse:

2. She didn’t master the rules

Clinton picked people for her team primarily for their loyalty to her, instead of their mastery of the game. That became abundantly clear in a strategy session last year, according to two people who were there. As aides looked over the campaign calendar, chief strategist Mark Penn confidently predicted that an early win in California would put her over the top because she would pick up all the state’s 370 delegates. It sounded smart, but as every high school civics student now knows, Penn was wrong: Democrats, unlike the Republicans, apportion their delegates according to vote totals, rather than allowing any state to award them winner-take-all. Sitting nearby, veteran Democratic insider Harold M. Ickes, who had helped write those rules, was horrified — and let Penn know it. “How can it possibly be,” Ickes asked, “that the much vaunted chief strategist doesn’t understand proportional allocation?” And yet the strategy remained the same, with the campaign making its bet on big-state victories. Even now, it can seem as if they don’t get it. Both Bill and Hillary have noted plaintively that if Democrats had the same winner-take-all rules as Republicans, she’d be the nominee. Meanwhile, the Clinton campaign now acknowledges privately:

3. She underestimated the caucus states

While Clinton based her strategy on the big contests, she seemed to virtually overlook states like Minnesota, Nebraska and Kansas, which choose their delegates through caucuses. She had a reason: the Clintons decided, says an adviser, that “caucus states were not really their thing.” Her core supporters — women, the elderly, those with blue-collar jobs — were less likely to be able to commit an evening of the week, as the process requires. But it was a little like unilateral disarmament in states worth 12% of the pledged delegates. Indeed, it was in the caucus states that Obama piled up his lead among pledged delegates. “For all the talent and the money they had over there,” says Axelrod, “they — bewilderingly — seemed to have little understanding for the caucuses and how important they would become.”
By the time Clinton’s lieutenants realized the grave nature of their error, they lacked the resources to do anything about it — in part because:

4. She relied on old money

For a decade or more, the Clintons set the standard for political fund-raising in the Democratic Party, and nearly all Bill’s old donors had re-upped for Hillary’s bid. Her 2006 Senate campaign had raised an astonishing $51.6 million against token opposition, in what everyone assumed was merely a dry run for a far bigger contest. But something had happened to fund-raising that Team Clinton didn’t fully grasp: the Internet. Though Clinton’s totals from working the shrimp-cocktail circuit remained impressive by every historic measure, her donors were typically big-check writers. And once they had ponied up the $2,300 allowed by law, they were forbidden to give more. The once bottomless Clinton well was drying up.

Obama relied instead on a different model: the 800,000-plus people who had signed up on his website and could continue sending money his way $5, $10 and $50 at a time. (The campaign has raised more than $100 million online, better than half its total.) Meanwhile, the Clintons were forced to tap the $100 million — plus fortune they had acquired since he left the White House — first for $5 million in January to make it to Super Tuesday and then $6.4 million to get her through Indiana and North Carolina. And that reflects one final mistake:

5. She never counted on a long haul

Clinton’s strategy had been premised on delivering a knockout blow early. If she could win Iowa, she believed, the race would be over. Clinton spent lavishly there yet finished a disappointing third. What surprised the Obama forces was how long it took her campaign to retool. She fought him to a tie in the Feb. 5 Super Tuesday contests but didn’t have any troops in place for the states that followed. Obama, on the other hand, was a train running hard on two or three tracks. Whatever the Chicago headquarters was unveiling to win immediate contests, it always had a separate operation setting up organizations in the states that were next. As far back as Feb. 21, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe was spotted in Raleigh, N.C. He told the News & Observer that the state’s primary, then more than 10 weeks away, “could end up being very important in the nomination fight.” At the time, the idea seemed laughable.

Now, of course, the question seems not whether Clinton will exit the race but when. She continues to load her schedule with campaign stops, even as calls for her to concede grow louder. But the voice she is listening to now is the one inside her head, explains a longtime aide. Clinton’s calculation is as much about history as it is about politics. As the first woman to have come this far, Clinton has told those close to her, she wants people who invested their hopes in her to see that she has given it her best. And then? As she said in Indianapolis, “No matter what happens, I will work for the nominee of the Democratic Party because we must win in November.” When the task at hand is healing divisions in the Democratic Party, the loser can have as much influence as the winner.

Okay, so Clinton didn’t exactly put it like that. But there’s no doubt, that’s exactly what she meant.

This morning, while campaigning, Hillary Clinton said this about why America (i.e. the superdelegates) should elect her the Democratic nominee:

“I have a much broader base to build a winning coalition on,” she said in an interview with USA TODAY. As evidence, Clinton cited an Associated Press article “that found how Sen. Obama’s support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans, is weakening again, and how whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me.”

“There’s a pattern emerging here,” she said.

Has Clinton been gaining support in the White rural vote? In some of the most recent states, yes. But Clinton’s not just making a case about White rural voters, she is arguing that White rural voters predominate the party, and that Obama can’t win them over.

It was always interesting to me that in exit polls, voters who thought race was a critical factor in their decision, and voters who thought gender was a critical factor in their decision, predominantly supported Clinton. That said to me that voters who thought gender was important, were probably feminists trying to vote a woman into the office. But voters who thought race was important, preferred a White person to a Black person as president.

It’s sad to see that nearly 10% of voters still feel strongly that race should play a role in their vote; and specifically that a Black man shouldn’t be president. But that shouldn’t be the reason why Clinton deserves the nomination.

Her argument this morning — that her support amongst White rural voters necessitates her victory at the DNC — is patently racist, not to mention absurd. The pattern she seems to be citing is that White rural voters cannot, will not, vote for a Black man — and that’s not just offensive to those White rural voters (by calling them racist) but offensive to the Democratic party for insinuating that it should cater to that racism. In essence, what is she saying? “I’m White. I should be president.”

And that statement is a slap in the face to every person of colour who ever hoped for a career in politics. She says to them that the demographics aren’t there, so don’t even bother standing in the way of White ambition.

I said yesterday that it’s the beginning of the end for Clinton. Electroman and I have been discussing lately whether Clinton needs to step down. She won’t, but should she? After this, I think she needs to, because her campaign is very rapidly disintegrating into a train wreck that will ruin her chances of furthering her political career when she loses the nomination.

By the way, Obama: don’t jump on this one. There’s enough backlash in the blogosphere over Hillary’s gaffe, you need to focus on McCain and November. I wouldn’t normally give this advice, but with your recent political mishandlings, I’m worried that you just not be a natural enough politician to know what’s best for your campaign.

Update: In an attempt to clarify her statements, Clinton noted that she wasn’t trying to say that you need White people to win. Oh, no, wait… that’s exactly what she said:

“These are the people you have to win if you’re a Democrat in sufficient numbers to actually win the election,” she said. “Everybody knows that.”

Last night, Hillary Clinton needed a trouncing. With the delegate math the way it is, with her campaign hemorrhaging money, and with superdelegates jumping ship to Obama, Clinton needed to not only defeat Obama in North Carolina and Indiana, she needed an unambiguous, embarassing victory.

Clinton didn’t get it.

Barack Obama won North Carolina by 14 points, but that wasn’t wholly unexpected. North Carolina has a large African American population, and had been polling strongly for Obama for months. Clinton essentially pulled out of the state, sending surrogates like Bill to campaign there in her place.

No, Clinton focused on Indiana, where she hoped to sway the majority of White rural voters with the Jeremiah Wright scandal (that hopefully would racialize Obama) and the “bittergate” scandal (that would paint Obama as an out-of-touch academic elitist). And that might have worked.

But, it seems that the voters of Indiana were tired of “gotcha” politics. They were tired of the negativity and the overwhelming focus on scandal over important issues like the economy and the ongoing War in Iraq (as if those are two separate things). Last night, Clinton eked out a win. But she only won by 2%, a razor-thin 20,000 votes. With the Democratic party’s proportional awarding of delegates, both candidates pretty much tied the number of pledged delegates out of Indiana, and Obama erased Clinton’s victory in Pennsylvania with his sweep of North Carolina.

Which means that the Clinton campaign should be over. There are few pledged delegates left to win in the six remaining states. While superdelegates could still award this thing to Clinton, they would have to decide against the will of the Democratic voters, possible sacrificing their political futures and alienating a generation of young Democrats. Clinton needed last night’s victories to solidify her case with the superdelegates that she, not Obama, would be able to put a Democrat into the White House, but with all of her efforts focused on Indiana and still only pulling off a small win, she can’t make the case to superdelegates that she can win, either at the DNC or in November.

Clinton still has the Florida and Michigan cards up her sleeve, but it’s like playing poker with a two and an eight stuffed up your sleeve. Clinton is on-record prior to both states arguing that their delegates should not be seated. In Michigan, neither of Clinton’s opponents were even on the ballot, so one could hardly argue that it was a fair contest. Seating the delegates from Florida and Michigan reeks of “old” politics, with smoke-filled rooms and political wheelings in order to scam the system. Clinton can’t pursue those pledged delegates without looking like she’s gaming the popular vote.

Meanwhile, Clinton’s campaign is floundering. Last month, news surfaced that her campaign was operating with a large deficit. This morning, we found out that Clinton loaned her campaign an additional $6.4 million dollars, bringing the grand total she has sunk into her campaign to more than $11 million of her own personal funds. Any reasonable voter should have their flags raised by this: a candidate’s ability to manage the budget of his or her own campaign should be a clear indication of whether they can manage the country’s budget. And if the federal Treasury falls into the red, we can’t just import more money from Hillary Clinton’s private savings account. 

Though I’m disappointed in Obama for his last two weeks (his campaign, which has been on a good clip, didn’t prove strong in dealing with the Wright or bittergate scandals, and they should have handled them both much better), I’m optimistic that Indiana and North Carolina will be the beginning of the end for this way-too-long primary season. The Democratic Party needs to decide — and thereby unite — behind a single nominee.

And after last night, that nominee should be Obama.

… made by me!

I’m sure you all have been wondering why I haven’t been as busy with the blog as I usually am. Well, I’ve been extremely busy helping Ephraim Cruz become elected as Arizona State Representative for Legislative District 29 in Tucson, Arizona.

You might remember Ephraim from a story I did on him last year: Ephraim is a former U.S. Border Patrol agent who blew the whistle on human rights violations and abuses he witnessed against detainees along the U.S.-Mexico border. Now, I am helping him because I believe he, among the six candidates running for two open seats, is the only candidate with the integrity to put aside political loyalties and truly represent the residents of LD29.

Primarily, I’m helping Ephraim with his online presence, because that’s what I know how to do. I helped him design and upload his campaign website, EphraimCruz.com, and am continuing to help in its maintenance, particularly as we work to upload his platform onto the site (the upload process has been a lot longer than I originally thought).

If you are interested in following Ephraim’s campaign to represent LD29, and in particular, if you know of folks in the Tucson, Arizona area who might be interested in helping out, please shoot me an email at jenn@reappropriate.com.

It’s exciting to be helping Ephraim get elected. We met through the Barack Obama campaign, and we have been truly inspired by Obama’s message to make change in our local neighbourhoods. Ephraim’s campaign is truly a grassroots effort, but we really believe that we are already making a difference.

Asian Americans for Obama have worked tirelessly over the last several weeks to try and spread Senator Barack Obama’s appeal to the Asian American voting constituency. In this final pitch email, we will wrap up several posts written by Asian Americans detailing our support for Senator Obama. We hope that you will help spread the word to your blog readers and/or forwarding this email to your friends.

News

• Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders for Obama Buttons
  The store at BarackObama.com now has AAPI for Obama buttons available!
• Filipino Veterans Benefits
  Earlier this year, Senator Barack Obama issued his support for a bill authored by key Asian American leader, Senator Daniel Akaka, to call for benefits for Filipino veterans of World War II. That bill is currently up for debate in the Senate tomorrow, and Asian Americans are excited that Senator Barack Obama issued a statement in February detailing his support.
• Asian American Online Phonebanking Tool
  Earlier last week, the Obama campaign launched an Asian American online phonebanking tool that could be used to allow Asian Americans across the country to reach out to voters in Pennsylvania. The response has been great!
• Canvassing at the Philadelphia Chinatown Obama Office
  Casperr of DailyKos documents the experience, and Asian Americans for Obama reports on the office’s amazing work!
• Taiwan for Obama?
  There’s a surprising amount of street-level support for Barack Obama in Taiwan, where a large number of Democratic American expatriates cast their vote for the good Senator from Illinois.
• Senator Obama Wishes Cambodian Americans a Happy Cambodian Lunar New Year
  Asian Americans for Obama reports on an event held in Philadelphia earlier this month.
• Asian American Delegates
  Asian Americans worked hard this month to be elected as delegates for Senator Obama.

Asian Americans: Why We Support Obama

• A Lesson from my Father: Vote for Obama
  Obama’s living in Hawaii gave him a historic and an everyday perspective of Asian life. Obama, in describing his family’s arrival in Hawaii in 1959, makes historical reference to the indenturing system that kept Japanese, Chinese and Filipino immigrants stooped sunup to sunset in the sugarcane fields and pineapple plantations of Hawaii. My dad was in Hawaii for a number of months, living with an uncle, before his final leap to America. Obama also vividly recounts that a Japanese American man named Freddy, who ran a small market near his family’s house in Hawaii, would save his family the choicest cuts of aku for sashimi and give him rice candy with edible wrappers. When I was young, I remember the fun of eating the “wrapper” around the rice candy.
• Obama Campaign in Pennsylvania: A Tale of Two Levittowns
  ”I got my first overtly racist anti-Obama comment today while phoning central Pennsylvania. It was a 62-year-old man, who said, simply, “I’m not voting for the black man.” I moved to end the call, but he continued, “I’ve worked with hundreds of black people.” He meant that as a defense (”Some of them are my best friends!”) but the point was clear. At least he was honest.”
• Working People: The Real Casualties of Hillary’s Finger-Pointing
  Hillary uses the same tools of division as many have used on working people in the past when she parses Obama’s statements to justify calling him an “elitist.” [The past actions of her surrogates who have attributed both Obama’s success (a la Ferraro) and inelectability (a la Rendell) solely to his “race” is only further proof of her campaign’s divisive tactics].
• Why I Support Obama as a Sikh American
  As a Sikh American whose family settled in America 100 years ago, this election is different than any other my family has seen. This is the first election where I believe the future of my community and country rests on our support of a single presidential candidate: Barack Obama.

Profiling Asian American Volunteers and Staffers for Barack Obama

• Chris Lu, Obama Legislative Director (World Journal article in Chinese (.pdf) or English (.pdf))
• Saleem, superstar volunteer in Pennsylvania (YouTube)
• Preeta Bansal, staffer

YouTube Videos

• A More Perfect Union with Chinese subtitles
• Si Se Puede Cambiar with Chinese subtitles
• Korean Supporters of Obama speak about their support
• Obama ad featuring Maya Soetoro-Ng

More videos with non-English subtitles can be downloaded at Captioned Media for Obama, all of which were created by volunteers and supporters.

Don’t forget to get out and vote for Obama tomorrow in Pennsylvania’s much-anticipated primaries. And, as always, Asian Americans for Obama, a concerned group of Asian American supporters for Senator Barack Obama will be working tirelessly to help spread Obama’s message within and outside of the Asian American community. For more information, go to Asian Americans for Obama. 

This email may be forwarded or reproduced. Any questions should be directed to jenn@reappropriate.com

I didn’t see last night’s debate — the 21st debate between Clinton and Obama. Turns out all I missed was a lot of mudslinging aimed at Obama from Clinton and the moderators (including Clintonista George Stephanopoulos).

But here’s a fabulous response from Obama at a campaign stop in North Carolina this morning. Because America is really just sick and tired of Clinton’s kitchen-sink strategy that’s nothing more than politics as usual.

(Hat-tip: Racialicious)

Well, just in case you didn’t see this one coming…

CNN - Obama gaining on Clinton in Pennsylvania

Why is this important? Senator Obama survives in this key primary race because his fundraising machine continues to pump incredible sums of money into primary contests. Senator Clinton’s fundraising difficulties, in comparison, continue to hamper her Democratic establishment advantages in name recognition and state party support.

But in case you find this mini-commentary too pro-Obama, take a look at this op-ed from Salon.com, entitled Why Hillary Clinton should be winning. I utterly disagree with it’s premises, but it’s a fabulous take on the Democratic Party’s departure from our general election ‘winner take all’ Electoral College system.

But tell me - what do you think Democrats should change about their Presidential Election process? Further, do you believe there is too much money in politics?

- Melanin Manson

The following was sent to a number of political bloggers in the Pennsylvania area and in the Asian American community. Please post and distribute these links and help spread the word of Asian American support for Barack Obama

Asian Americans for Obama (http://www.asianamericansforobama.com) is a grassroots organization of concerned Asian Americans from all over the country who are working to help elect Senator Barack Obama as the next president of the

United States. Though our coalition includes members of diverse ethnic, cultural, linguistic, class and gender backgrounds, we are united in the belief that Senator Barack Obama is the best candidate to bring this country together and enact change for all Americans.

 

Part of our mission has been to communicate the support for Senator Barack Obama within the Asian American community, particularly through new media/blog outlets. You have received this press release because we believe you are a powerful voice on the blogosphere and we hope you will find in this release writings, news stories, and link of interest to your readership.

 

We hope that you will post on your blog some or all of the links included in this release.

 

Philadelphia

Chinatown Obama HQ Opens Doors 

• http://www.asianamericansforobama.com/home/2008/03/obama-philadelp.html

(link includes images)

Mr. Lee Deng, a softspoken Obama supporter, donated the office space. When asked what motivated him to support Senator Obama, Mr. Deng said Senator Obama’s message of inclusion and hope had touched him deeply. He said simply, “I want to help in any way I can.” 

The office will provide voter registration forms in Korean, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Cambodian/Khmer, English, and Spanish. Those interested in volunteering or donating office supplies should contact Anna Perng at (484) 557 – 2411, or  anna.perng@gmail.com.

 

• http://www.asianamericansforobama.com/home/2008/03/philadelphia-ch.html#more

 

Anna Perng of United People for Obama says that the March 22nd grand opening of the Chinatown Obama office in

Philadelphia was “a blast.” 

Volunteers registered over 100 voters, including many of AAPI and Latino descent.  Participating groups included AAPI for Obama, South Asians For Obama, NJ for Obama, Asian Pacific Americans for Obama, Latinos for Obama, and United People for Obama. 

We had voter registration forms in five languages, Obama literature in four languages, and over 30 volunteers, including folks from Virginia, Washington, D.C., NYC, NJ, and Delaware.

We canvassed South Philly, Chinatown, West Philly, North Philly, and

Upper Darby. In addition to English, the languages spoken by our volunteers included Korean, Cambodian/Khmer, Mandarin, Fujianese, Portuguese, Cantonese, Bengali, and Spanish.

Obama’s Speech on RaceEarlier this week, Senator Barack Obama delivered a ground-breaking speech on race in

America. Several Asian Americans have written about how this speech intersects with our identity as Asian Americans. Here are a few examples: 

• http://rbvergara.wordpress.com/2008/03/19/sen-obamas-speech-on-race-in-america-a-rare-moment-to-build-on/

 

As a first-generation Filipino American, Sen. Obama’s speech made me feel simultaneously content and yearning. Content that there are enlightened leaders in front of me; and yearning for an

America that will finally look beyond race, class, gender, and other convenient divisions of people. The speech, in its intelligence, reflects the man: a brilliant, courageous, ‘once-in-a-generation’ leader who truly understands

America, a simultaneously rare and common American for wanting a genuinely ‘perfect union’ and reinvigorating others to want the same, as well.

 

• http://johndelloro.blogspot.com/2008/03/obama-speaks-to-new-generation-of-aapis.html

 

Ashley’s story is similar to Kevin’s story. Kevin, a Korean American student taking an Asian American Studies course I was teaching, told me how his mother selflessly worked long hours to care for him and his sister. She always prioritized her children, including forgoing doctor’s visits so that the money can be used for them. Finally, after worsening health problems, she saw a doctor. Kevin found out that she had cancer and she died 6 months later. Kevin and his sister endeavored to study harder and got into UCLA. He expressed, “Someday, I want to be the type of person who can touch and influence other people’s lives in good ways just like how my mom inspired my family.” Kevin’s story repeated itself in various forms in a number of the Asian American / Pacific Islander students in the class. There was Felicia, Arami, Baron, Judy and several more who recognize and are emboldened by the sacrifices of their parents. There are also those like Irene and Monica who had no choice but to help their monolingual parents as interpreters and representatives to various utilities and banks and could not rely on their parents for the same things like other children. Monica explained, “My friends never have to go through this; my family relies on me so much. I can’t be a normal kid.” Another student also named Monica summed it up best for all of them, “We aren’t Asian Americans because we’ve experienced immigrant struggles, downward mobility, or moderate ‘model’ success. Rather, we take the identity of Asian American because our families, our communities, and our people are Asian American.”

 

• http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/angelica4obama/gGBbBM

 

With honesty and humility, he was able to speak to us—Black, White, Brown, and Asian—about the complex fears and resentments that animate and distort our politics. His words did not talk down, but instead dug deep to lift us up from the distractions that divide us in the face of our common challenges.

Asian American Narratives on Obama

The following are blog posts written by Asian Americans discussing their support for Senator Barack Obama. 

• http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/angelica4obama/gGgj52

 

Obama has led on issues that matter to the AAPI community: the first bill he introduced in the Senate was to raise the amount of federal aid for college tuition, and as a member of the Veterans Affairs committee, he supported the Filipino Veterans Equity Act. 

 

Obama turned down lucrative jobs to spend 20+ years putting his nose to the grindstone and pushing consistently for reforms that would build power in the lives of working people.  He brings to the presidency the rare perspective of someone who worked with working class communities as a community organizer and represented women and people of color to combat discrimination as a civil rights lawyer.  He is also the only candidate with immigrant roots, who lived in Asia and is the product of a multicultural family with Asian Americans in its fold and relatives who follow the election from Hawaii and a rural town in developing

Kenya.

 

• http://www.asianamericansforobama.com/home/2008/03/johns-narrative.html

 

I felt a rekindling of something warm inside me that I have forgotten.  This is more than a sentimental feeling, but a remembered epiphany.  Change will not come from the purity of our political stands but the unleashing of a movement of new people into the process.  We build transformative community through a common set of values, not issues.  I realized that I wasn’t listening to another politician but a brother organizer who saw crises as teaching moments and opportunities for everyday people to emerge as leaders.

 

• http://www.asianamericansforobama.com/home/2008/03/cristinas-narra.html

 

Some say he’s to idealistic. I say: give me your idealist. I’m tired of politicians who understand that the only way to get into power is through some pulling some political deals. There are times when you have to set a line for yourself. And while Obama is imperfect, he is nevertheless the closest candidate to having a people-powered campaign.

 

YouTube

Asian Americans for Obama have worked to incorporate Asian language subtitles to several existing video clips. We did this to help ensure that Obama’s message can reach a multicultural audience.

 

• English subtitling: http://www.youtube.com/my_playlists?p=29BEC71654D526F0
• Traditional Chinese: http://www.youtube.com/my_playlists?p=C763DACE5F235446
• Simplified Chinese: http://www.youtube.com/my_playlists?p=22FB06CA5EFF752F
• Korean: http://www.youtube.com/my_playlists?p=51346B19ECEF7E89
• Vietnamese:  http://www.youtube.com/my_playlists?p=D3038038CC62A665
• Spanish: http://www.youtube.com/my_playlists?p=3018CDFF8ADD76AD

 

We would also like to publicize the following YouTube clips/channels:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8etipi21iI
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDUSeBK0WJc
• http://www.youtube.com/user/UnitedForObama
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVi4KpG1G_E

 

Other Links

The following are other posts written by Asian American supporters of Obama:

• http://www.reappropriate.com/?p=949
• http://www.reappropriate.com/?p=1081
• http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/angelica4obama/gGgj52
• http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/angelica4obama/CGVVJ
• http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/angelica4obama/C5mp
• http://www.basapa.com/filipino-bloggers-columnists-on-obama/

 

If you have any questions about the content of this release, please contact jenn@reappropriate.com.