Dukakis and Speakers Spotlight Asian American Vote
Los Angeles, CA — On the heels of a riveting Super Tuesday, Gov. Michael Dukakis and five prominent leaders distilled and debated the 2008 election at the Asian American Action Fund's Presidential Roundtable. Asian American Action Fund and the international law firm of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal hosted the Roundtable. The discussion, which was covered by a Los Angeles television station, can be viewed from the AAA-Fund's dynamic websiteat www.aaa-fund.org.
The Roundtable's distinguished speakers spanned the political and professional spectrum: 1988 Presidential Nominee Michael Dukakis, also a UCLA Public Policy Professor and former Governor of Massachusetts; Judy Chu, Chair of the California Board of Equalization and former California Assemblymember; Darry Sragow, longtime Democratic strategist and Sonnenschein partner; Allan Hoffenblum, publisher of California Target Book and longtime Republican strategist; Charlie Woo, CEO of Megatoys and Founder/Chair of the Center for Asian Americans United for Self-Empowerment (CAUSE); and Gautam Dutta, Executive Director of the Asian American Action Fund and former Tax Counsel to now-State Controller John Chiang.
Intro Segment Summary: AAA-Fund Executive Director Gautam Dutta calls attention to the untold story of Super Tuesday: How Asian Americans enabled Sen. Hillary Clinton to win the California Democratic primary by a 10-point margin. Dutta also speaks about the groundbreaking work of the AAA-Fund and its cutting-edge Blog. see more videos
Segment 1 Summary: Humorous and gently self-deprecating, Governor Dukakis speaks about reforming the presidential nominating process, the role of precinct-based grassroots organizing, and Mitt Romney. With a flashback to 1988, the Governor apologizes for not "beating the old man", enabling "the kid" to subject us to "the worst national administration we've ever lived under." Admitting that he has "no idea" who will win the competitive race for Democratic nominee, the Governor offers two ideas for reforming the nominating process: (1) reforming the Electoral College by instituting a national popular vote, and (2) conducting six regional Presidential primaries. The Governor believes that organizing all precincts nationwide is key to succeeding in November.see more videos
Segment 2 Summary: Darry Sragow, prominent Democratic strategist, characterizes California's political culture as more "libertarian" than "liberal." Californians, he explains, believe that the government just "cannot shoot straight." Needless to say, Mr. Sragow is encouraged by the excitement surrounding the Democratic candidates, by which our country has "leaped two centuries". He advocates competition as necessary in the political marketplace and is concerned that the next Democratic nominee might be determined by the superdelegates. see more videos
Segment 3 Summary: Watch veteran GOP political strategist Allan Hoffenblum as he tells us the absurdly true story behind Super Tuesday. Mr. Hoffenblum describes the right wing as self-important — but says for this campaign, it will be the voters who will determine the next GOP nominee. He predicts Sen. John McCain will win the GOP nomination, despite some opposition from the Republican establishment. see more videos
Segment 4 Summary: For California's Board of Equalization Chair Judy Chu, the big news from February 5th is how energized Democrats became, as they voted in record numbers and expressed intense enthusiasm for two "great…well-spoken…well-qualified" candidates. She emphasizes the "untold story" in all this is that Asian Americans provided the three-to-one margin lead for Hillary Clinton. Chair Chu credits Hillary's early efforts to reach out to the API population and API elected officials in California. see more videos
Segment 5 Summary: Civic leader and Megatoys CEO Charlie Woo has been a passionate and influential Democratic activist for years. Woo speaks from personal experience as a volunteer for the Dukakis campaign, and from his deep knowledge of the role of Asian Americans from presidential to local races. Noting a pattern of voting apathy among young professional Asian Americans, Woo says that managing the relationship between politics and the community is an art. see more videos
Segment 6 Summary: Q&A session. A question about why California has such a unique proposition process. see more videos
Segment 7 Summary: Q&A Session. A question is asked about Clinton's outreach versus Obama's outreach in California in terms of grassroots campaigning. see more videos
Segment 8 Summary: Q&A Session. A question is asked about having the same results on Super Tuesday if we voted again today. see more videos
Segment 9 Summary: Q&A Session. A question is asked about how the outcome of the elections will benefit California, and does it matter who is the new president? see more videos
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Read the Roundtable press release or view the complete set of Roundtable videos on YouTube.
The AAA-Fund is a national Democratic political organization whose goal is to increase the voice of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) in local, state and federal government, by encouraging AAPIs to volunteer on campaigns, raise money for candidates and run for political office.
For more information, please contact Marybelle C. Ang at asianamfund AT gmail.com or 323.550.8266.
