Asian American Political Elites' Failed Assimilationist Strategy*
Empowerment, Discrimination, and the Fagade of Leadership: Asian American Political Elites' Failed Assimilationist Strategy* Kevin Shawn Hsut I. INTRODUCTION On November 8, 2006, the day after the midterm Congressional elections, the 2008 presidential campaign season officially began. The media began to tell and will continue to retell predetermined stories regarding the role of Black Americans as core to the Democratic Party,' the rising political power of Latino voters, 2 or the importance of certain demographics of White voters.3 The story that likely will not appear on the * Winner: 2007 Asian American Law Journal Student Writing Competition t J.D., 2007, Georgetown University Law Center; B.A., 2004, University of California, San Diego. This article began in the Critical Race Perspectives Seminar of the venerable Professor Charles R. Lawrence, I1l, to whom I owe many thanks for sage advice and encouragement. Much thanks and respect to my colleagues and friends Moneek Bhatia and Navneet Grewal for their insights. Special thanks to Lauren Fouda for her continuous encouragement and support. 1. See, e.g., Diane Cardwell & Jonathan P. Hicks, On West Coast, A Lesson Planfor Ferrer Bid, N.Y. TIMES, May 20, 2005, at Al ("The incumbent in Los Angeles, James K. Hahn, was viewed as a lackluster leader who had turned off some key constituencies, particularly black voters."); Political Grapevine, Fox Special Report with Brit Hume (Fox News Network television broadcast Apr. 8, 2005) (Tim Roemer (D), Fmr. Indiana Representative: "Church-going African Americans ...are starting to peel off to some degree the Democratic Party. That's something I think the Democratic Party needs to be greatly concerned about."); Frankie Edozien, Ferrer's Flub a Big Time Bloc-Buster, N.Y.
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