Asian American Pacific Islanders for Obama | APAforObama.com

Last Post For Now

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 08:16:00 +0000

I started this blog to help document the adventures of a team of Asian Americans that parachuted into Las Vegas the weekend of the Nevada primary to help build support for Barack Obama among AAPIs.

Those of us working the grassroots for Obama have consolidated our posts on Ramey Ko's AsianAmericansForObama.com blog, so see you there!

More than 300 Attend AAPI for Obama Party with Kelly Hu

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 22:58:00 +0000

More photos and notes about last night's event coming soon. Photo courtesy Elena Cruz.

Setting the Record Straight: Obama and AAPIs

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 01:24:00 +0000

Senator Barack Obama has tried his best to keep this presidential campaign about change, hope and the promise of a more unified America. Unfortunately there are elements in this country that seem more intent on attack and division, forcing supporters like me to try set the record straight.

The political action committee called 80-20 has launched a vicious 'swiftboating' campaign against Sen. Obama because his campaign and that organization could not agree to a questionnaire about very narrow issues related to AAPIs.

80-20's claims that Obama does not support the Asian American Pacific Islander community is absurd, as one can see from the tremendous backing from AAPIs throughout the country (see below).

For whatever good work 80-20 does, it cannot claim to represent the breadth and diversity of the AAPI community. I reject the notion that they do.

By trying to represent us and swiftboating Obama, they in fact do an injustice to our communities and betray their own vision of progress through unity.

Senator Obama comes down on the right side of all the major issues impacting AAPIs, including staunch support for the DREAM Act, comprehensive immigration reform that includes an emphasis on family unification and improvements to the H-1B visa program, greater investment in minority-owned small businesses, and an end to racial profiling and discrimination.

Obama has the support of respected leaders such as Calif. Assemblyman Ted Lieu (chair of the API Legislative Caucus), former Calif. Assemblywoman Wilma Chan, San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris, San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi, attorney and civil rights activist Angela Oh, as well as endorsements by a new generation of AAPI officials, including Boston City Councilor Sam Yoon, and San Francisco school board members Kim, Mar and Mendoza. Other prominent supporters include actor Kal Penn, Center for Asian American Media executive director Eddie Wong, Joy Luck Club film producer Janet Yang and Los Angeles County Hospital and Healthcare Delivery Commission chairman Stanley Toy, who is also co-chair of Obama's AAPI National Leadership Council.

Supporters in the Bay Area and in Los Angeles are throwing an event in each area to show the AAPI support for Sen. Obama.

Actor Kelly Hu will headline a party for presidential candidate Barack Obama's Asian American Pacific Islander supporters in the Bay Area on Tuesday, January 29, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Roe Restaurant, 651 Howard St., San Francisco. The event is free.

Hu joins San Francisco school board members Jane Kim, Eric Mar and Hydra Mendoza, filmmaker and Giant Robot's Catherine Park and organizers Keith Kamisugi, Brian Wang, Angelica Jongco, Stella Ngai, Jenn Pae, Colbert Tse and others as co-hosts of gathering.

Like Hu, Senator Obama was born in Hawai'i, a state where Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders make up a significant portion of the population. As a child of a multi-racial, multi-ethnic family that included Asian Americans, Obama lived in Indonesia, sharing some of the same personal experiences that many Asian immigrants in the United States have also experienced before arriving on these shores.

A video featuring Hu speaking about her support for Obama can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/UnitedForObama, a YouTube channel with videos produced by filmmakers Eric Byler and Annabel Park.

"I am proud of the strong personal ties I have had with the Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders communities that go back to my birth, and I am humbled to have the widespread support from these communities in my campaign," said Barack Obama. "Like most Americans, the AAPI community knows that with the great challenges facing our nation today, we need leadership that can unite us to bring change we can believe in."

For more information on the SF event and to RSVP, visit http://kellyhu.apaforobama.com.

Senator Obama has an AAPI website at http://aapi.barackobama.com.

And AAPIs interested in supporting Obama can visit http://asianamericansforobama.com to learn how to get involved.

Aloha,
Keith Kamisugi

Below is the text from the letter sent to 80-20 from the Obama AAPI Leadership Council:

Letter to 80-20's S.B. Woo from Co-Chairs of Obama Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Leadership Council

Dear S.B. Woo,

In response to your "Open Letter from the Asian Am Community" to Senator Barack Obama, we are sending this letter to address some apparent misunderstandings and misconceptions.

As key supporters of the Obama campaign, we can assure you that the campaign is committed to reaching out to the Asian American community. The Senator has created an Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) National Leadership Council comprised of key AAPI leaders and activists from throughout the country to advise the campaign on identifying AAPI issues of concern and outreach. The campaign has provided an official statement of support and commitment to the Asian American Action Fund (AAA Fund). In fact, the AAA Fund of Greater Chicago has formally endorsed Senator Obama's candidacy. The campaign has sent top surrogates to address the AAPI community's concerns and their needs at candidate forums sponsored by Asian Pacific Americans for Progress (APAP) and the AAA Fund. The Senator, himself, emphasized his support of Asian Americans with his message of diversity through unity during his participation in the Iowa Heartland Presidential Forum. The campaign has outlined a comprehensive plan to reclaim the American Dream for Asian American and Pacific Islander families. Barack Obama is the only candidate to have a campaign-sponsored Asian American outreach webpage linked off of its main website.

In an effort to further reach out to the AAPI community, the Obama campaign attempted to establish a dialogue with you regarding the 80-20 Educational Foundation's questionnaire in December 2007. On Friday, December 14, 2007, Obama campaign staff had engaged in a phone conversation with you to discuss concerns regarding the wording of the questionnaire. The staff members had requested you to consider changes to questions 4 and 5, both of which relate to appointing AAPI judges, because of concerns that the questions implied a de facto quota. As you are aware, Senator Obama is a strong supporter of affirmative action and enhancing opportunities for Asian Americans, but he is a staunch opponent of the quota systems. The staff members requested that you consider modifying the wording of those questions to resemble the wording of question 6, which addresses considering qualified AAPIs for the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, you refused to consider modifications of the questions, and refused our request to explore other alternatives that would allow the Obama campaign to submit the completed questionnaire to the members of 80-20. In response to the 80-20 questionnaire as written, the Obama campaign did send you a letter confirming Senator Obama's commitment to the enhancement of representation of Asian Americans in the federal judiciary system and ensuring equal opportunity in the workplace for not only Asian Americans, but for all Americans. Apparently, that was not acceptable to you.

Since that conversation, we have been greatly disturbed by emails that were circulated from you to your membership, which included false statements regarding your communications or lack of communications with the Obama staff. 80-20's emails have made untrue allegations as to the reasons why the Obama campaign has not submitted "Yes" or "No" answers to the questionnaire. 80-20's emails have also unfairly targeted and ridiculed Senator Obama and his motivations for his run to the Presidency. The emails have reflected untrue claims regarding the roles of the Senator's family members and supporters and their participation in the campaign. The allegations through your ongoing emails to your membership continue to be false and misleading. We ask that you to refrain from circulating untrue and unsubstantiated statements about the Senator, his family members, campaign supporters, and the Obama campaign staff.

We encourage you, in the spirit of cooperation, to consider the changes the campaign requested in December or work with the campaign to find acceptable alternatives. We hope that 80-20 will rescind its Defeat Obama campaign. We do not understand why 80-20 has targeted Senator Obama and his candidacy even after the Obama campaign had attempted in good faith to establish a dialogue with 80-20. Other Democratic candidates at the time, including Governor Richardson and Congressman Kucinich, had not responded to the questionnaire, nor had any of the Republican candidates and yet none of them were targeted with a specific and deliberate campaign to defeat their candidacies.

The Obama campaign pledges to continue to reach out to the Asian American community and recognizes the importance of contributions made by the members of the AAPI community to the growth and success of our country. We look forward to further strengthening our dialogue and position with the AAPI community in addressing their issues of concern and needs throughout this campaign. We are proud of the diverse coalition that has been built to support Barack Obama's campaign for President, and we certainly encourage organizations like 80-20 to stand with us in our mission to affect positive change for our country.
Thank you.

Sincerely yours,

Nancy Chen, IL., Former APA Outreach Director for the Office of Presidential Personnel (1996-1997) and Former Chicago Director for Senator Paul Simon (D–IL) (1991-1996); Co-chair, Obama AAPI National Leadership Council

Ann Lata Kalayil, IL., Former DNC At-Large Member and APIA Caucus; Co-Chair, Obama AAPI National Leadership Council

Stanley M. Toy, Jr. M.D., CA., Chairman, Los Angeles County Hospital and Healthcare Delivery Commission and President and CEO TEAM Healthcare; Former Deputy National Finance Chair for Kerry-Edwards 2004, DNC Delegate-at-Large 2004, Member, Kerry National Leadership Council; Co-Chair, Obama AAPI National Leadership Council

Obama Would Sign Akaka Bill as President

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 08:54:00 +0000

http://starbulletin.com/2008/01/22/news/story05.html

Sent from my iPhone

Video: Obama Meeting with SF Chronicle Editorial Board

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 08:17:00 +0000

Sen. Barack Obama fielded questions on a variety of topics in a meeting with The Chronicle's editorial board Thursday, Jan. 17 at the the St. Francis Hotel. Read the paper's editorial reaction to the meeting here.

Field Poll: Obama Behind in California

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 09:47:00 +0000

An article by Carla Marinucci appearing on the front page of today's San Francisco Chronicle reports on a Field Poll points to a 12-point lead by Clinton over Obama.

Two poll findings of interest.

Obama trails Clinton by 19 points among Asian Americans, and
The Bay Area is the most competitive of all the regions in the state, with Obama trailing by seven points.

We got a lot of work to do.

Asian Pacific Islanders Backing Obama

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 01:01:00 +0000

From Maeley Tom's column posted today on AsianWeek.com:

AAPI for Obama: Obama was the winner of two AAPI straw polls conducted by the Asian American Action Fund chapters in Los Angeles and Chicago. His AAPI Web site, created by Eugene Kang of Chicago, has generated an energetic base of youth and first-time voters.

His AAPI National Leadership Council represents an interesting cross section of influential AAPI Californians, such as Assemblyman Ted Lieu, chairman of the AAPI Legislative Caucus; Angela Oh, former member of President Clinton’s Initiative on Race; Eddie Wong, executive director of the Center for Asian American Media; former Assemblywoman Wilma Chan; Paul Igasaki, former vice chairman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; Stanley Toy, president of Team Healthcare; Henry Lo, Garvey School Board; Russell Leong, editor of Amerasia Journal UCLA; and Hydra Mendoza, S.F. Board of Education commissioner. There is also a strong representation from the AAPI media and entertainment industry, including actors Cary Tagawa, Kelly Hu, Kal Penn (Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle) and Janet Yang, producer of The Joy Luck Club. Van Taumon was just announced as Obama’s Southern California chair for APIA outreach.

Theresa's pictures from this weekend

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 07:44:00 +0000

See Theresa Mah's photos on Picasa

Bessie's awesome photos

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 05:44:00 +0000

http://picasaweb.google.com/oysteromelette/NevadaPrimary

Mentioned on 'Angry'

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 00:12:00 +0000

The team's efforts mentioned on Angry Asian Man:

I've been getting invitations from a bunch of Asian American folks who headed out to Nevada in support of Obama. "Vegas, baby!" they urged me. I couldn't make it out, but I was really interested to see what's going on with this movement...

Read the full entry

Obama 'Fired Up!' - Two Parts

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 19:41:00 +0000

Footage shot Jan. 18th, 2007, in Las Vegas on the campus of UNLV. Actress Kelly Hu and filmmaker/activist Annabel Park were among a group of 30 Asian American volunteers who flew and drove in from LA, SF, NY, and Washington DC. We also met up with a group from San Diego. More coming soon including how Kelly and Annabel ended up on the stage for Obama's speech! Directed by Eric Byler, shot by Amyn Kaderali and Eric Byler.

Message from Claire Pimenthal

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 18:28:00 +0000

CAUCUS CORNUCOPIA
Also posted on myspace.com

When my niece was born a little over a year ago, I finally mustered up the strength to quit my job and start my eco-friendly clothing line. I want to make a difference in the world so she can grow up able to go to the beach and swim in the ocean without it being closed for health reasons. Or breathe clean air and not pay $10 a gallon for gas (not sure how exactly it equates to given inflation and everything). Another thing I wanted to do was get involved politically, maybe with some lobbying group, to lobby for environmental, social and economic bills on her behalf more than for my own well-being. What we decide now not only affects ourselves, but more importantly, it affects the future of my baby niece, and the rest of the children's future. I just wasn't sure quite how to do it.

So when the beautiful actress Kelly Hu invited me to join her on the campaign trail during the Nevada caucus, I jumped at the chance of a lifetime. The timing could not have been better. Instead of simply lobbying, why not be a part of history and help an inspiring, innovative candidate get voted into office? One who is not going to be the usual political conformist influenced with the "Old Guard" ways, not be afraid to stand up for what is right, and has the clear voice of the people? On Thursday, January 17th, I anxiously jumped in Kelly's Toyota Prius (yaaay, hybrid!) with her Jackawawa dog named Mu Shu, and headed out from Los Angeles to Las Vegas for a couple of historical days with suitcases of clothes and shoes enough for a week between the two of us. I only packed red, white and blue clothes and shoes, with a hint of black and raw, unbleached off-wht/creme organic cotton (eco-friendly, yaaay!).

That evening when we arrived, we met up with two other members from the APIA, Catherine and Teresa. We had dinner in Las Vegas' Chinatown. The waiter asked about our Obama buttons and what we did, and proceeded to inform us that he was an Obama supporter himself. In fact he had his own Obama poster in the restaurant kitchen!

Friday, January 18, 2008 was a cold day in Las Vegas. Our hotel room lacked the usual "Hollywood" lighting we were used to (ha, ha), so I might have walked out looking like a drag queen. No matter, even more that people may notice and pay attention. If I had to dress up as Uncle Sam I would! With platforms, of course. But I digress.

That morning, Kelly and I arrived to one of the Obama campaign offices that the APIA (Asian Pacific Islander Americans) affiliated with (APIA for Obama). Armed with campaign literature, precinct and caucus information, a 4-page list of supporters' residences, and our on-the-road mascot Mu Shu in her light blue and pink doggie hoodie, we set out with a mission. We drove around in circles within the neighborhood assigned to us, and by the end of the afternoon, completed our list of 86 houses! Thank goodness for GPS! Two Asian girls on the road in a town they don't know is dangerous. :-)

Afterwards, everyone congregated at the University of Las Vegas for the Obama rally. It was a sight to see - people from all walks of life, in age, race, and gender. I tell you this is an understatement! Kelly went up and down the over-a-mile-long line randomly interviewing people. Two old men who were about 70 years of age planned to vote for the first time in their lives. Their reason? They were doing it for their grandchildren. I immediately sympathized with them and thought of my niece.

It didn't take that long to get out of the line, through security (they told us to leave the cell phones and cameras ON, must be some new equipment), and into the UNLV student plaza. The music was blaring, bleachers set up for media and VIPs, and the supporters en masse towards the center by the stage. You could feel the excitement in the air! As Obama was introduced and stepped onto the stage, the crowd went wild - and like a crazy high school groupie, I yelled and screamed my heart out along with them. My frustration with paying $3.50 +/- per gallon of gas, with earning six-figures and not being able to afford a house by myself in LA, and with developing sinusitis and not being able to smell well anymore (dang smog) all came out in one fell swoop, made me mad at the status quo , and my voice was at the loudest as it has ever been (and for those of you who know me, I am *loud*).

Hearing Obama speak was an incredible, life-altering experience. Now I truly know what it must have been like back in the day to watch an inspiring Kennedy and Martin Luther King speak. Obama helped me focus on my goals in life and casted all my doubts away. Every few sentences he'd finish, I would add a (loud) comment or two like, "Yeah!", "All right!", "THAT'S what I'm talkin' about!", short of chanting, "Amen!". Not only was it a political experience, it was an emotional and spiritual experience. I felt he related to me, spoke my language, and understood my desire for change. I don't usually get involved and understand the political mumbo jumbo. Kind of like having a lawyer read aloud a contract to me with fancy words I'm not supposed to understand so that I may be tricked in agreeing into something I don't agree in. In addition, some think that Obama's lack of experience is a detriment (read on for a specific incident/confrontation). I strongly say it's an *advantage*! He's not jaded and influenced by corporations and special interest groups. He's truly for the people, by the people.

The next day was caucus day in Nevada, Saturday, January 19th, 2008. In my Prada platform shoes and red-white-and-blue garb (armor?), I worked it with gorgeous-and-persistent Kelly up and down the caucus line, put Obama stickers on Obama supporters, carried a clipboard of voter regisration forms and stuffed pens in my tight Hudsons, helped some figure out which precinct they belonged to, and converted 3 undecideds into Obama supporters. My camera was lost/stolen (AGAIN for the second time in 5 months), so sorry I couldn't capture all the excitement. And believe me there *was* excitement and drama!

During the caucus, the Hillary staff played DIRTY - locking the doors too early and not letting anyone in. The chairman had to break the chains and the lock, then called the cops. As I served as doorstopper with an Edwards volunteer opposite of me to the other door, I watched her deal with the law enforcement over the phone in her 5'10"-5'11", Queen Latifah-ish-but-blonde glory. I was just amazed she yanked a thick metal chain with a heavy lock off the door, this superwoman of justice! Good for her, and for all of us!

To add to the boiling cauldron, my friend Rob who was the precinct captain at another location told me that the Hillary staff didn't give any of the ballot cards to the Obama and Edwards supporters, only to HIllary supporters, so come caucus time, they had to run to the front to get ballots so their votes would count. Sooo *evil*! Also a couple of old senior citizen HIllary voters attacked me and my uncle while we were separated. An old man was accusing me "You people are idealists!!! He barely has experience!", to which my reply was "Oh it's actually an advantage. He's not jaded and corrupted by the political games. But to each his own." I wanted to add, "I'm doing this for my niece. Are YOU doing it for your grandchildren???", but I didn't want to make a positive experience a negative one like he wanted to. In turn, an old lady hit my uncle pretty hard on his Obama button, "Why are you supporting him?!?", to which he replied "No speaky English," so she'd go away, ha ha!

If you were there to look at the crowd, all of the Hillary voters were mostly white and 90% senior citizens. For Obama, there were young people (college kids/twenty-somethings, etc.), older people (my uncle at 60 yrs old and a couple of 70-yr-old asian guys voting for the FIRST time in their lives), pregnant women, single parents and couples with children (some guy brought his 14-yr-old son to chk out the caucus, another brought her baby), and of different races (mexicans, asians, whites and blacks, I even helped a guy from Ethipoia since his English was not-so-great). That goes to show you something. Hillary supporters were bitter, instigators and negative; while Obama supporters were humble, hopeful, and positive. Kerry announced his endorsement for Obama, while Oprah was one of the first to do so.

The caucus itself looked like chaos. I wish I had taken a picture, but I lost my camera in the crowd of mostly Hillary supporters (clipped it on my jean's belt loop and when I reached down for it later, it was gone!!!). Seemed like an age-old process of voting. I'm not sure exactly how old it is, but there were at least a couple of good things. Like come counting time, the voters are there to witness it happen. And if there is a minority group for a candidate that's not enough and has to disperse and choose another candidate, you can talk to them and convert them to go to your side. It was like having a big party of mini-debates, just without the cocktails and usually in a public setting such as a school or civic center.

Unfortunately, Hillary won by a small margin. Afterwards, we said our goodbyes to Kelly, and I thanked her for helping me experience such a historical, political, emotional and spiritual event. My uncle then took me to Best Buy so I can get another camera (less sales tax in Nevada than Cali). We still had our Obama buttons and stickers plastered all over our chest and arms. The young ones who were the sales team we encountered in Best Buy were for Obama ("Obama, woo hoo!"). I told them I wish that they had made it to the caucus. Most of the people I know in Las Vegas had to work that day and missed it as well. If you lumped them altogether, I bet they could have made a difference. They were busy trying to make a living to pay the bills, and a shame since one of Obama's plan is to raise minimum wage a lot more often to be comparable with inflation. I felt so frustrated; I wanted to cry!

I'm supporting Obama for the future of my baby niece (up to $4000 in college tuition credit as long as the kids put time into community service volunteering for hospitals, etc.). I don't want a President who is going to pay favors back to corporations and special interest groups who donated to her campaign. I don't want my niece to pay $10/gallon of gas or something when she grows up. I don't want her to breathe dirty air, and have her ask me what it was like going to the beach and swim in the ocean. I want a President who has a plan for alternative energy and more effective use of resources, who has plan to fix social security I've been giving thousands of dollars from my paycheck to, and also has a sincere foreign policy plan (his name is actually an advantage, perhaps those crazy countries in that part of the world will think twice before doing anything...?). Obama is a Christian raised by a single mother, whose half sister is half-white, half-Indonesian (from his mom's second marriage). He comes from a multi-racial family and wasn't born into a political family with a silver spoon in his mouth like the rest of the candidates, so he understands the poeple’s needs and language. Was gonna go for HIllary first, but I don't feel she empathizes with my needs. Obama doesn't speak with all that political mumbo-jumbo talk that they want you to hear. I heard his speech at the rally and it was like he knew what my needs from the government are. He reminded me of Kennedy and Martin Luther King all rolled into one. And the bottom line is, we all need to vote for someone who is for the people, by the people, not for corporations and special interest groups. Someone who not only we believe in, but who, in turn, believes in US.

The California primary is in a couple of wks, so pls spread the message and vote for the Obama and the change that is long overdue! Do it for the yourselves, and for the children. I am.

Early morning lit drops

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 09:14:00 +0000

Sun rising as Angelica and Jenn drop off reminders to Obama supporters on the morning of the Caucus.

Early Morning Lit Drops for Obama

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 09:08:00 +0000

6:16am - still dark out, Stacy and Linda are dropping literature at the doors of Obama supporters to remind them to caucus

Audio Post: AAPIs for Obama in Nevada

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 07:19:00 +0000

Listen to this audio update from an Obama supporter in Nevada.

NBC's Jinah Kim & APAP's Curtis Chin

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 01:05:00 +0000

(and Jeff, Alex and Alan)

Jinah Kim speaks to Kelly Hu

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 01:01:00 +0000

More Big Thanks

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 00:55:00 +0000

Thanks also to Linda Leu, Claire Pimental, Oiyan Poon, Stacy Umezu, and Pat Wong....I hope I didn't forget anyone. (and a shout out to Kristy Nguyen who campaigned her heart out in Henderson)

Keep the posts coming and let's make sure to win California. Fired up!

Statement from Barack Obama:

"We're proud of the campaign we ran in Nevada. We came from over twenty-five points behind to win more national convention delegates than Hillary Clinton because we performed well all across the state, including rural areas where Democrats have traditionally struggled. The reason is because tens of thousands of Nevadans came out to say that they're tired of business-as-usual in Washington and ready for a President who can bring this country together, take on the lobbyists and special interests, and end the politics of saying and doing whatever it takes to win an election. It is the kind of politics that feeds our cynicism and distracts us from taking on the real challenges facing America – an economy that's left working families struggling, a broken health care system, and a war in Iraq that must end.

"We ran an honest, uplifting campaign in Nevada that focused on the real problems Americans are facing, a campaign that appealed to people's hopes instead of their fears. That's the campaign we'll take to South Carolina and across America in the weeks to come, and that's how we will truly bring about the change this country is hungry for."

Obama May Have Won More Delegates in Nevada

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 00:41:00 +0000

Several media outlets are reporting that Obama may have won more Nevada delegates than Clinton due to the complicated delegate allocation system used by the state party.

The Obama camp's argument: The state Democratic Party set up rules for apportioning the federal delegates across the Congressional districts, and then further sub-divided the Second District into three portions. Hillary's support was concentrated in Clark County (the Las Vegas area), while Obama ran ahead of her in the rest of the state — meaning that he was able to prevail among the delegates given over to the rural areas.

-- Talking Points Memo

While the process of delegate apportionment is extremely complicated, it boils down to this: in the places that Clinton won, there were an even number of delegates that were split between she and Obama. In the places Obama won, there were an odd number of delegates, meaning that he often took two delegates to one for Clinton.

-- Washington Post Politics Blog

MSNBC's results page shows Obama with 13 delegates and Clinton with 12.

Big Thanks to the Team in Las Vegas

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 22:54:00 +0000

Thanks so much to Jenn Fang, Angelica Jongco, Theresa Mah, Jenn Pae, Cate Park, Kelly Hu, Ramey Ko, Annabel Park, Eric Byler, Curtis Chin and the entire team that worked so hard for Barack Obama in Las Vegas this weekend. Curtis Chin, Cate Park and APA for Progress did a terrific job organizing the team's visit.

On to South Carolina!

Audio Post: AAPIs for Obama in Nevada

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 21:07:00 +0000

Listen to this audio update from an Obama supporter in Nevada.

MSNBC Projects Clinton Winner

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 21:07:00 +0000

MSNBC reports that Clinton will win the caucus with current returns
showing her at 52%, Obama at 44% and Edwards at 4% (with 51% of the
precincts reporting in).

Jenn Fang interview with Kelly Hu

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 20:58:00 +0000

Jenn Fang of reappropriate.com posted an interview of Kelly Hu during
a brief break in campaigning for Obama:

After spending a great deal of energy trying to get out the Asian American vote in 2004, (and perhaps being disappointed since it's unclear that 2004 represented a huge change in APIA voter participation) Hu seems to be reinvigorated by Obama's influence amongst voters, particularly youth voters. "Obama is bringing a new generation" of young people into the political process; indeed, Obama's early victory in Iowa included a sizable chunk of new and youth voters. And while his influence amongst Asian American voters has yet to be determined (neither Iowa nor New Hampshire have a significant Asian American population), Obama could be the watershed candidate to shatter the myth of the apathetic Asian American (non-)voter. He certainly was for Hu; she was so inspired by Obama's candidacy that she "felt the need to get the word out" in support of his candidacy, despite her history of shying away from politics during her early career.

Read the full post here:
http://www.reappropriate.com/?p=994

We're On DailyKos

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 20:42:00 +0000

Thanks to Ramey Ko, we got mentioned on DailyKos!

Nevada: Obama - 48%, Clinton - 46%, Edwards - 5%

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 20:20:00 +0000

Very early returns reported by MSNBC with only three percent of returns in.