It's a Question of Inclusion

My reaction to the following story is that the Democrats say that they are the party for all people and the nasty Republicans are closed-minded exclusionists. Another example of hypocrisy. Think about how much press this story would receive if the roles were reversed. It would be on the front page of the Los Angeles Times.

from: The Record (Stockton, CA) December 27, 2004:
Statewide political group should include all Asian-American lawmakers

* Caucus: A closed meeting of a group of persons belonging to the same political party or faction, usually to select candidates or to decide on policy. Also, a group of people united to promote an agreed-upon cause.

So, which is it with the California Legislature's Asian-Pacific Islander caucus? Is it a Democrats-only club that assists the party by selecting candidates and deciding on policy? Or is it a group of lawmakers with similar cultural backgrounds united to support California's fastest-growing population group?

The answers to those questions mean a lot to Assemblyman Alan Nakanishi, R-Lodi. Along with two other Republicans in the Legislature, he's on the outside looking in.

If the group is nothing more than an adjunct of the Democratic Party, it might as well stay as it is now -- small, obscure, unimportant and ineffective. If so, it should be renamed the Democratic Asian-Pacific Islander caucus. If the group members want to represent the broad spectrum of Asian-American views in California politics, they should include Nakanishi, and Assembly members Van Tran, R-Garden Grove, and Shirley Horton, R-Chula Vista. Nakanishi and Tran want to join, but they're being excluded because they are Republicans. Nakanishi, 64, is no stranger to exclusion. He spent four years in the Tule Lake relocation camp as a boy during World War II. He was a young Japanese-American trapped on the inside looking out. Maybe that's why the exclusivity of this political group bothers him so much.

When the Legislature reconvenes in January, Nakanishi and Tran plan to petition for entrance into the Asian caucus. Horton, whose mother is Japanese, hasn't said she'll join them yet. The seven Democrats who are its members should welcome their Republican colleagues. California is home to 4.35 million Asian-Americans. That's more than the total population of half the 50 states. Their elected representatives should be able to get together and discuss common issues -- no matter which political party they're in. They deserve the broadest spectrum of viewpoints possible.

There's no room in California for such political profiling by any group. Or caucus.