Ethnic politics?

[timkona]

Re: Ethnic politics?

I'm just thankful that Democrats have maintained their grip on power in Hawaii. After all, the last 50 years has been such a raging success in Hawaii, politically speaking.

[808shooter]

Re: Ethnic politics?

not a whole lot to contribute here but I wanted to say that John Maple's coherent and logical thought process are insightful and make for interesting reading.

look forward to hearing your opinions on other local political issues.

and angryhawaiian seems to dislike AJA's for some reason. anyone care to fill me in as I'm a fairly recent member.

[pzarquon]

Re: Ethnic politics?

The latest podcast from Hawaii Political Watch (which, you may recall, boldly predicted an Iwase upset) took a pretty good look at the vote results, including exit-poll data, and examined some of the surprises of the 2006 Hawaii General Election... including the point D'Alani makes that again proves the "ethnic voting" angle may be a strong indicator, but by no means a rule. A pretty good listen independent of the demographic debate.

[D'Alani]

Re: Ethnic politics?

So where were the AJA votes for Iwase? I would think that most of the Asian Plantation generation are gone. Now if someone could get the young ones interested in voting and making some little impact on who calls the shots that would be great.

Re: Hirono vs. Hogue

Hawaii is still the same. No change at all. Elections predictable based upon ethnic voting. All debate was for entertainment value only. Everybody get back to what you were doing. Pay your 2 to 4% increase in GE taxes starting January 1, 2007. Pay your recycling tax. Pay your increased property taxes and don't complain.

[zatoichi]

Re: Ethnic politics?

That's true only if Hawai'i elected senators with a district-by-district electoral college. And I never said Case was banking on only Haoles. But he doesn't need the AJAs to win. They are a slowly dwindling, aging population with nowhere near the power they exercised in the '60s, '70s, and '80s.

Voting Age Population (2000)

To determine voting age population in 2006, I counted everyone in or older than the 10 to 14 years of age category in 2000. Slight bias to younger populations, but I think the numbers still make the point:

Haoles: 401,682
Japanese: 259,931
Filipino: 223,956
Native Hawaiians: 188,313
Chinese: 139,344
Korean: 31,446

http://www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/info/cen...whitestate.pdf
http://www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/info/cen...e/xjpstate.pdf
http://www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/info/cen...ipinostate.pdf
http://www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/info/cen...inesestate.pdf
http://www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/info/cen...oreanstate.pdf

Haoles have the Japanese outgunned by nearly 2 to 1. Even if you throw in the Chinese and the Koreans (many of whom are small-business owners that could conceivably vote Republican or Republicrat) on the basis of some pan-Asian argument, they only slightly beat out the Haoles (by 3.5%). The Filipino vote could have gone either way; my guess is that, at the start of the campaign at least, they were split with a slight advantage to Akaka. This isn't to say that AJAs aren't an important constituency--they have good turnout, good funding, good community networking, etc. But I think Case knows that Hawai'i has changed since the Lingle election (where an AJA lost to a Jewish Republican in a statewide race).

Furthermore, I'm not sure the AJAs are as homogenous as you make it seem. Case started his political career in an AJA district; I think he's aware that class can be just as determinative as race in the voting booth.

Not to put too fine a point, but doesn't the census count military service members and their depandant as part of the count? I am sure that is the case.

If so there are a lot of those people who do not vote in our elections.

That said, there is no current research that shows percentage of voter registration and voter participation by race. But conventional wisdom holds (correctly or not) Japanese voters have very high registration and participation.

[Palolo Joe]

Re: The Congressional Follies

Are you just trying to win the Most Posts award or something?

There are a couple of people on HT that would be interested in that title.

I think he's just trying really hard to prove how much of a donkey he is.

Not like it takes much to see that.

[dick]

Re: The Congressional Follies

tunnl vision gets boring at some points in life

When you don't understand it...

Are you just trying to win the Most Posts award or something?

[damontucker]

Re: The Congressional Follies

tunnl vision gets boring at some points in life

[TuNnL]

Re: The Congressional Follies

For someone who feels he wouldn’t deserve a place in a sovereign nation of his race based on blood quantum, you’re pretty bold in your exclusivity, kamuela. So much hate. I know if I ever want to be made to feel uncomfortable for being a plantation Asian, all I need do is read one of 90% of your posts.

It does help me understand why so many native Hawaiians have reached out to the Republican party. From Whitney Anderson to Duke Aiona to Quentin Kawananakoa, it obviously has reached out to Hawaiians as well.

Re: Another one bites the dust...

Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely--Lord Acton

And nothing more absolute than the stranglehold that the Plantation Asian Democratic party have had upon one party Hawaii over the past 50 years.

Talk about endless corruption. And either you can't care because you'll lose your job etc, or you don't care because you are on the Plantation Asian gravy train, or you don't care because you give up already.

Hawaii is about as good an example of that quote as anywhere in the US.

[TuNnL]

Re: Ethnic politics?

If Case had a Filipino wife (like Ramona Harris silently pretended to be), Case could win a statewide office. His wife actually hurts him politically.

I know you think I’m stupid and “not worth responding to.” But I was actually following what you were saying until this. I can’t see how his wife hurts him politically. Are you saying there were less AJAs then Filipinos in the 2nd district? Seems like you are on the border of changing your stance on this issue, but then again, I could be misreading this since I am such a mental midget.

[damontucker]

Re: Ethnic politics?

Hey, that ignore list thing isn't working for you huh. I know I know. Kamuelakea is like a bad car accident. You know you shouldn't look but you just can't help yourself. I understand.

If I don't at least listen to ignorance...then I won't know how to identify brilliance.

Please tell me when the last time we had a Japanese governor? Yes it was Ariyoshi in 74 but I believe he has been the only one.

Hey, that ignore list thing isn't working for you huh. I know I know. Kamuelakea is like a bad car accident. You know you shouldn't look but you just can't help yourself. I understand.

Its not as simple as AJAs for for AJAs. That's true but there is a second level of decision making where people pick the less of 2 evils.

John Burns - Elected by AJAs who worked closely with Burns.
Ariyoshi - Elected by AJAs
Waihee - Elected by AJAs with the help of his wife.
Cayetano - Elected by Filipinos and just enough AJAs who supported Hirono.
Lingle - Got the Haoles and Hawaiians with help from Aiona and just enough of everyone else ONLY Because Hawaii was at the bottom of a 8 year recession cycle.

To win a statewide race, you really should have 2 out of 4 of the major ethnic groups with the Union/Labor vote as a Democrat Bonus. Thats what Hawaii politics comes down to. Its got nothing to do with debate, opinion, philosophy, etc.

Kamuelakea, It would be good if you could understand the difference between "ethnicity" and "nationality". That might be a start for you.

That really does sum up the difference. I think its more important to save the ethnic Hawaiians. Nations have always come and gone. A "Hawaiian Nation" that is more inclusive can still occur 100 or 1000 years from now. But once ethnic Hawaiians are extinct, that's it. PAU.

And I'm saying that I don't Case assumed that at all. At the most cynical, he probably assumed she was a photogenic trophy wife with political connections. And before you say that I meant "Japanese" when I said "photogenic", I didn't. I meant "photogenic." I think Ed Case would have married Alexandra Kerry if he could. Again, assuming his marriage choices were politically motivated.

I don't think you're joking at all. I just think you're wrong.

Alexandra Kerry would have cost him even more votes. Name the last Haole/Haole couple (where the Haole wife is visible and public) that held statewide office? I'm thinking.......................................... .................................................. ...............????????

Den Case ain't so smat a politician. Ethnicity matters. The Plantation Democrats understand that. Thats why you have Waihee/Cayetano (Hawaiian/Filipino) followed by Cayetano/Hirono (Filipino/Japanese).

Ethnicity trumps photogenic.

If Case had a Filipino wife (like Ramona Harris silently pretended to be), Case could win a statewide office. His wife actually hurts him politically.

[damontucker]

Re: Ethnic politics?

This is less important as the percentages of actual voters, their party affiliations and their tendency to vote under blind restrictions such as Ethnicity or Union.

Hawaii has the lowest voter turn out in the country. But AJAs have a very high voter participation rate.

Haoles can be split between Republican and Democrat.
Most Japanese are Democrat.
Native Hawaiians are some Democrat, some Republicans and some No vote.
Filipinos can swing anyway as long as they believe in the person. Ethnicity and party not as important as the person.
Chinese and Korean are too small to matter and also are not usually one dimensional homogeneous voters.

When you apply these factors, the AJA vote, because it is a bloc vote, has been and continues to be the 800 pound gorrilla. Only if most of the rest gangs up against them can you win a statewide race.

When you apply these factors, the AJA vote, because it is a bloc vote, has been and continues to be the 800 pound gorrilla. Only if most of the rest gangs up against them can you win a statewide race.

Please tell me when the last time we had a Japanese governor? Yes it was Ariyoshi in 74 but I believe he has been the only one.