A thread by Mojave Mike on Daily Kos goes a little beyond recalling John McCain's 2000 bout with Tourette's Syndrome -- his outbursts against "gooks" and only belated and reluctant backing off -- to puzzle over what it might mean for the Vietnamese American community in 2008.  Not much, he supposes.

What has always confounded me however, is the overwhelming loyalty that this community has given to the Republican party over the last three decades.  One can assume that this has been due to the Republican’s never-ending opposition to Communism, or at least their lip-service to that effect (as if somehow Democrats were pro-Commie). But what about the fact that two Republican presidents, Nixon and Ford, and their henchman Henry Kissinger, turned their backs on South Vietnam in their time of need, withheld further military assistance (materiel and otherwise), and precipitated its take-over by the Communist North.  Although the anticipated blood-bath never materialized, the harsh retribution towards former American allies was what led to the exodus of South Vietnams best and brightest. I have no doubts that a sizeable majority of the nearly one-million Vietnamese-Americans of voting age will support John McCain in November.  He was, after all, the enemy of their enemies, Ho Chi Minh and General Giap, and old sentiments die hard.  It will be interesting to see if the younger generation of Vietnamese-Americans, particularly those born in the U.S., will do the same. 

In the lead up to the 2004 election, New America Media writer Andrew Lam similarly puzzled over what impact the Vietnamese American generation gap would play in the Kerry vs Bush contest and beyond.  What is the likelihood of young Vietnamese Americans playing an important role in building their community's voting clout this time around?  Probably pretty good.  In its multilingual exit poll surveys in 2004, AALDEF found that while the overwhelming majority of Vietnamese Americans continued to buck the sharp left-turn taken by other APAs and backed Bush over Kerry, a sizeable batch -- 41% -- of Viet Ams polled were also first-time voters.  In 2006, Viet Ams were also credited with playing an important role in the pan-ethnic coalition forcing the Virginia senate race to a happy outcome.  But, was their increased presence in the Democratic cause more an act of protest amdist the "macaca" uproar, and because of Hong Le Webb?  Or, is it something longer lasting -- discontent over the scandals and poor showings that have plagued the "old-school" VietAm politicians out west -- as well as a younger generation of new and Democrat-leaning voters who have found a more welcoming or supportive place outside their own conservative communities and within a broader "pan-APA tent"? For my part, I have found myself less and less involved in Japanese American specific actions, gravitating more or more toward groups with diverse memberships and simpatico points of view working toward common causes. I hope and suspect that is the case for other Asians interested in more progressive politics, and that APAs for Progress and some fellow Democratic organizations will definitely see more VietAm colleagues joining us in this election than we saw in 2004.   After all, George Allen was brought down in part because people of all backgrounds knew that using a slur like "macaca" to describe a South Asian American man and free use of the N-word was not okay, even if it was directed specifically at us.  And although, suprisingly, it didn't seem to rile very many Vietnamese Americans in 2000, John McCain's passing off the derogatory term "gook" as "straight talk" -- and even enobling -- that's not okay, either.  Not in our president.  I hope more young VietAms who feel the same way will get on board with APAP or through other actions, and show the GOP that they can't be taken for granted anymore.   We'll be with them when they do.

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