Though I live and vote in Pennsylvania’s 7th district, the big race for me — and probably most SM readers — was really the Senate in Virginia: the “macaca” race. In hindsight, it’s surprising that George Allen didn’t seem concerned that the person he called “macaca” happened to be carrying a video camera, and probably didn’t even dream that the event being filmed would immediately be seen by millions on news shows, talk shows, and of course, on video sharing sites like Youtube (go ahead, watch the video again, you know you want to). It’s possible that this will go down as the first “Youtube” election, just as 2004 was the first “blogged” election — though notably, the blogosphere (dominated by liberal blogs) didn’t seem to make a difference in the outcome of 2004, and I’m sure it’s an open question as to whether Youtube had any real impact in the tight Senate races in places like Virginia and Montana.

“Macaca” was one of those strange insults you don’t know what to do with at first. As with many ethnic slurs (remember “rat-eater”?), it was unclear at first that it even was a slur, since “macaca” isn’t a word commonly used to describe (or insult) people from the Indian subcontinent. That isn’t really new; ethnic slurs thrive on ignorance, and often misdescribe the people they are aimed at.

As people looked up various possible definitions of the word macaca, they discovered that none of them are complimentary. Like most South Asians in the U.S. (see Abhi’s post, and the reactions to it), I immediately registered “macaca” as an insult, though I wasn’t surprised that many others didn’t see it that way. Eventually the mainstream consensus seemed to be that it was in fact an ethnic insult, and the next question for most South Asian Americans was, “will this matter to anyone?” Will anyone else be as offended by this as we are? More is at stake in that question than first appears. Behind it is a deep anxiety about acceptance and integration, about being equally valued and respected in American society. Everyone is on board (usually) if a public figure makes a remark that could be construed as hostile to other, more settled minority groups — the hostile response to Mel Gibson’s anti-Semitic tirade this summer was essentially unequivocal. And Trent Lott’s political career was ended derailed by a comment relating to Jim Crow. But are Virginians, and Americans in general, going to care about “macaca,” which affects a newer, smaller, and less visible minority community? As the macaca story gathered steam, there was almost a sigh of relief as the answer appeared to be “yes.” And now, if Jim Webb’s slim lead holds following a probable recount in the coming days, it will be hard not to see this incident as a decisive factor in the election. Continue reading →

11:50 p.m. PST: Last Update of the Night (to see updates in the proper sequential order see down below):

The DEMS WIN THE HOUSE. Control of the Senate has come down to a recount in Virginia (provided Montana doesn’t shift too much). MACACAS MADE A LOT OF DIFFERENCE IN THIS ELECTION!

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Hey SM folks, I am going to keep this post up and will be updating it through tomorrow. Feel free to leave comments regarding the results of ANY races and/or ballot measures you are interested in. I will mainly be reporting here on some of the races featuring (or of particular concern to) South Asian American candidates but most of us are interested in a whole lot more. I won’t be in front of a computer for the next several hours but when I get back in front of one later tonight I will go into Abhi Russert mode.

Let’s hope things turn out well!

Update 1: 5:17p.m. PST:

The latest #s [via Drudge]

VA SEN [35.28% IN]
ALLEN 392,816 49.39%
WEBB 392,854 49.39%

Update 2: 10:05 p.m. PST

I’m back! Here we go:

Raj Bhakta (R) loses:

Allyson Schwartz (DEM)* 143,031 66%
Raj Peter Bhakta (REP) 73,429 34%
99% of precincts reporting… [Link]

Raj Peter Bhakta, a former hopeful on Donald Trump’s television show “The Apprentice,” lost his long-shot bid Tuesday for a job as a GOP congressman.

Bhakta had sought to oust first-term Democratic Rep. Allyson Schwartz, two years after he occupied the posh Manhattan boardrooms of Trump’s show in which eager young men and women competed for a job with the real-estate mogul. He was fired from the program after a home renovation project went awry. [Link]

Continue reading →

Today is Election Day. Not only are we here to remind you to go out and vote, we are also here to remind you that voting is your right and there are safeguards in place to protect it.

I’ve already been asked a few questions already, in anticipation of today’s election…

What do I do if I requested an absentee ballot/registered to vote and haven’t received anything yet? You should go to your polling place and vote in person, and if they don’t have your name, you should vote provisionally. They have to give you a provisional ballot – they’ll verify over the next week to see what the problem is and if they count it. If you’re too far from your polling place, call your Secretary of State’s office or the hotline.

What if I have my absentee form, but I forgot to mail it? Take your absentee form to your local polling place and drop it off in person.

What if I go to vote and they don’t have my name? Vote provisionally. If you have your voter registration receipt, that is your proof of registration. And call the hotline.

Do I need to bring ID to vote? It depends on what state you live in, though as organizers we feel that asking for a voter ID is a form of disenfranchisement and are continuously battling this. But here in CA, I’m pretty sure if you are a first time voter that didn’t put down a CA DL number or SS # on your reg form, they will ask for your ID (the law changed in CA this year, slightly). If they ask for your ID, and you live in a state/situation where you don’t need an ID, call the hotline.

What if I don’t know where I’m supposed to go and vote? Simple go to the polling place locator.

I didn’t get any information from my registrar’s info on who I’m voting for. What should I do? You should still vote, at your nearest polling place. To figure out what you are voting for before you go to your polling place, go to Project Vote Smart. With a quick submit of your zipcode, they can find you all the candidates and propositions for your district. If they don’t have your name in their list, VOTE PROVISIONALLY.

It’s already 7:30 pm, and there will be this long line at the polls, and by the time I get there, I’ll be turned away… Most employers will give you two hours to go vote today, be sure to ask to see if you can get out early, or do it on your lunch break. Polls are open from 7am to 8pm. All you have to do is go stand in line before 8pm – as long as you are in line before 8 p.m. they can’t turn you away. If they try to, or if they closed your poll early, call the hotline.

If I haven’t made it clear, there are things you can do if you have voting problems today. Here in Los Angeles, the Asian American community is sending out hundreds of poll monitors to keep an eye at the polls. But if you have a problem that arises, and no trusting poll monitor is in site, there is a national hotline for you to call (if anti-phone, you can use the website VoterStory.org). I HIGHLY recommend that you scrawl this number on the back of your hand before leaving the house today.

1-866-OUR-VOTE is the only national voter assistance hotline staffed by live call center operators trained to provide state specific assistance to all voters. Lawyers, poll monitors and additional volunteers will be mobilized in 16 key states across the nation to assist voters in the days leading up to the election and on Election Day. Led by People For the American Way Foundation, the NAACP, and the Lawyers’ Committee For Civil Rights Under Law, Election Protection (EP) has operated in every election cycle since 2001, and is the nation’s most far-reaching nonpartisan effort to provide voter assistance and protect voter rights.

National call centers will be located in Washington, New York, Baltimore, and San Francisco. Local call centers will be hosted in Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Minnesota. [link]

What are some forms of violation of voter rights? I swiped the examples below off of the Election Protection 365 website, but there are a whole list of violations in different states already listed on the site as well as hourly updates coming through today.

Continue reading →

SM reader Bindu from Illinois informs us about a truly ugly campaign in the 101st Illinois House District between incumbent Bob Flider (D) and his challenger Dick Cain (R):

Bob Flider and Dick Cain should be ashamed of themselves.

In fact, we hope that when the dust settles after Tuesday, both men apologize to the residents of the 101st Legislative District for their behavior during this campaign.

Flider, the Democratic incumbent, and Cain, a Republican challenger, have managed to take this campaign right into the gutter.

At the beginning, we had high hopes for this race. We think it’s healthy when incumbents have legitimate challengers. We looked forward to a spirited debate about the direction the state should take and the role the representative of the 101st District would play in setting that direction. [Link]

Want to know just how pathetic it has become? Take a look at this blatantly xenophobic attack ad by the Flider campaign:

The macaca in front of the blue screen is the evil Indian out to steal your job. Bindu tells us that both candidates are using such tactics. Go forth and vote, and make sure to vote for a write-in candidate in a case like this.

Continue reading →

A while back in the comment section of this post about the power of the “Desi voting bloc,” I introduced the term “iceberg” as an alternative to “bloc.” Some people argue, correctly, that you can’t have a “South Asian/desi voting bloc” because on certain issues Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi-Americans etc. simply won’t agree. True. However, I believe that living in America there is far more that we agree on than disagree on. So why not icebergs? They float around and clump together and then float apart again. Nothing forces them to stay together all the time. When they do clump together they can bring down a ship with ease (and drown DiCaprio as a bonus).

In this election cycle SM has been asked to help in a number of political campaigns. People know that we have a diverse South Asian audience that is pretty knowledgeable. We turned all such requests down of course since SM is a non-partisan blog that does not have a political agenda other than to inform our readers of South Asian American politics and politicians. All previous requests came from South Asian candidates. Now we have non-South Asian candidates vying for the attention of this audience (YOU GUYS) as well. You want an example? Tammy Duckworth (D) is running for U.S. Congress in Illinois’s 6th Congressional District (open seat). She is Thai American, and she is also a veteran:

Tammy Duckworth of Hoffman Estates has built her life and career upon serving her country, her community and those in need around the world. She is a dedicated, tireless leader and an inspirational example of what can be achieved through hard work, determination, compassion for others and a positive outlook. Having recently recovered from serious injuries sustained while serving on active duty in Iraq, Tammy’s next goal – in addition to flying helicopters again for the Illinois Army National Guard – is to fight for the interests of the people of Illinois’ Sixth District in the United States Congress…

On November 12, 2004, Tammy was co-piloting a Black Hawk helicopter north of Baghdad when a rocket-propelled grenade struck the cockpit of her aircraft and exploded. Focused on the safety of her crew, Tammy was determined to land the helicopter not realizing she had been severely injured and that the other pilot was already at the controls. It wasn’t until the helicopter landed that she passed out. Ten days later, when she woke up at Walter Reed Memorial Hospital in Maryland, she learned that the explosion would cost her both legs and had shattered her right arm. It has been a long road to recovery, but Tammy is optimistic and determined to serve her country in a new way. [Link]

Continue reading →

Can you all feel the excitement in the air? I surely can. Election day is tomorrow and I am sure the vast majority of you will be voting (well, I mean those of you that haven’t already voted).

So which desis should we keep an eye on? The biggest hope is Rano Singh in Arizona but Ennis will cover her in more depth a bit later so I am going to talk about a few others of note (although there are quite a few more that I don’t have time to cover):

1) Bobby Jindal (R)- Jindal is considered a safe bet for re-election in Louisiana:

Incumbent U.S. Rep. Bobby Jindal, R-Metairie, is running against a trio of challengers — Metairie Democrats David Gereighty of Metairie and Stacey Tallitcsh, as well as River Ridge Libertarian Peter Beary.

The 1st District generally covers the suburban areas around New Orleans and the parishes to the north and west.

Jindal, who ran an unsuccessful race for governor in 2003 and is considered a strong contender for a re-match with Democratic Gov. Kathleen Blanco in next year’s race, raised about $2.5 million for the race.

While Jindal has taken care of buying his ad time, yard signs and other campaign staples, he has also donated a few hundred thousand to the Republican Party at the state and national level, as well as Republican candidates in Louisiana and other states.

Jindal has run his campaign on the issues of economic development and job growth, winning the war on terror, improving health-care access and using the rebuilding of the state in the wake of Katrina and Rita as a platform to make improvements that were needed before the storms. [Link]

For Jindal this is just a dress rehearsal. He is spreading his wealth to curry favor with other Louisiana politicians because he will definitely make a play for Governor Blanco’s job.

Continue reading →