Subject: RE: NBC AsAm Op-ed published
From: "Wei, Shu-Yen" <[email-masked]>
To: Comm_D <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 5 May 2016 05:42:04 -0700

And here is the GOP counterpoint
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/opinion-rnc-committed-earning-support-aapi-voters-n567916
Opinion: The RNC Is Committed to Earning the Support of AAPI Voters

by JASON CHUNG

I've been asked by a lot of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) from across the country how they can attend the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, OH. This tells me the Republican National Committee (RNC) has been successful in encouraging AAPIs to actively participate in the political and electoral process.

The RNC is committed to working with different AAPI communities. Each ethnicity and demographic has their own culture and their own heritage and, as immigrants, have their own issues they value. The AAPI electorate is not monolithic. The RNC has built an institution where we understand and welcome these differences, and develop an engagement program to have our activists and supporters better communicate Republican principles to our disparate ethnicities, and even more importantly, listen to them.

The RNC has also led the way with the hiring of a diverse workforce. Not including our field staffers, neighborhood team leaders, and volunteers in the states, we have AAPI staff working in areas as important as engineering, data, digital, press, research, and administration. Staffers of all backgrounds participate in our strategy sessions to ensure the issues of concern to AAPIs get the attention they deserve.

The RNC has developed a robust AAPI grassroots engagement program. We are working with our 100+ AAPI elected officeholders and AAPI party officials at the local, state, and national levels to ensure more of our communities are a part of the political process. This is not just a California, New York, and Texas strategy; this is a 50-state and 6-territory strategy where every AAPI ethnicity has a seat at the table, and their voices are included in the discussion.

RELATED: As Asian-American Electorate Grows, GOP Aims to Turn Local Wins National<http://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/asian-american-electorate-grows-gop-aims-turn-local-wins-national-n452661>

In the past three years we've effectively communicated with AAPI voters through developing native-language ads in ethnic community newspapers, targeting millennial AAPI voters via web ads and social media, and using Asian entertainment-streaming websites.

RELATED: Courting the Youth Vote: How Both Parties Plan to Target Asian-American Millennials<http://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/courting-asian-youth-vote-how-both-parties-plan-target-millennials-n471761>

The RNC is continuing a multi-million dollar investment effort to compete for the AAPI vote. Our initiatives are more than paying for booths at cultural events, festivals, and advertising; we are out there engaging AAPI voters where they work, live, and play. These long-term investments are already making our party stronger. Under the leadership of Chairman Priebus, Republicans achieved 50 percent of the AAPI vote in the 2014 midterm elections. In 2010, the GOP share of the AAPI vote was 40 percent. We as a party have gained momentum in winning the AAPI vote and we expect to pick up steam as we head into Election Day.

I was taught at an early age that actions speak louder than words. Politics is no different. I believe the Republican Party is an institution made for AAPI communities. In order to grow our party, our strategy is simple: we listen to AAPIs about what is important, and then build meaningful engagement initiatives without pandering. More than ever before, the Republican Party is dedicated to earning the support of AAPI voters.

Jason Chung is the Director of APA Engagement for the Republican National Committee.

From: Wei, Shu-Yen
Sent: Thursday, May 05, 2016 8:40 AM
To: Comm_D
Subject: NBC AsAm Op-ed published

Having them change "is" to "are" in the title
Opinion: The DNC's Efforts to Engage AAPI Voters Is Succeeding

by KOUSTUBH "K.J." BAGCHI

My family played a big role in why I became a proud member of the Democratic Party. My parents came to this country because, like many immigrants, they sought better opportunities for themselves and their children. They taught me that it was important to know what was going on in the world by having us watch the evening news each night. As I began to take a specific interest in politics, my father drove me to county Democratic Party meetings in our hometown of Reno, Nevada. I still remember him wearing his oversized gray wool jacket and slippers you could only find sold in Kolkata, India. Going to these meetings, and discussing the issues later around the family dinner table started off as a hobby and passion that eventually led me the job I have today.

As the Director of AAPI Engagement for the Democratic National Committee (DNC), I spend a lot of time in similar discussions, and in subsequent actions, about how our big-tent party can keep improving on its mission of inclusion and progress. I consistently see our issues framed through my parent's eyes.

As a first-generation American, I am grateful that my parents chose to settle in this country. Their story is the basis for my belief in treating everyone with respect and dignity. This is why I get so upset when I hear Republican presidential candidates target undocumented families and when they promote outlawing birthright citizenship<http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/ted-cruz-ending-birthright-citizenship-view-i-have-long-held-n412766> or banning and tracking<http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/trump-defends-muslim-ban-common-sense-n476086> all Muslims entering the United States. Democrats are fighting for comprehensive immigration reform and keeping immigrant families together under President Obama's Deferred Action programs for undocumented children and parents.

My family has always respected the fact that Democrats have campaigned on increasing education access and lowering the costs of higher education. As professionals who have worked in the STEM field, they get frustrated whenever they see or hear Republican candidates deny climate change and refuse to do anything about it. Democrats are the ones pushing for investments in clean energy, calling for action to combat climate change and proposing solutions based on scientific facts.

As I began to get involved in those early years, my parents got interested as well. Those early dinner table conversations were key. The DNC has invested in and built up a voter file over several election cycles that allows us to continually engage the AAPI community through similar conversations on the ground. The online tool also allows us to identify if voters speak other languages, so we can accommodate them. As a result, staffers refine and add to the information within the system year after year, so it stays current and robust.

RELATED: Courting the Youth Vote: How Both Parties Plan to Target Asian-American Millennials<http://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/courting-asian-youth-vote-how-both-parties-plan-target-millennials-n471761>

For elections, our campaigns and state parties work with community groups to get out the vote. Our voter protection operation makes every effort to ensure access at the ballot box, because no one should have to deal with burdensome restrictions when exercising a fundamental right.

This year, the DNC launched ProgressAAPI, a series of programs, trainings and conversations that build on the work that past AAPI Democrats have done, such as social media actions, webinars on the convention, connecting youth to campaign opportunities, and events to get our message out. We want to make sure our policies that benefit AAPI families are heard far and wide, and we will continue the Democratic tradition of meeting voters where they are, in person or otherwise.

The policies and inclusion efforts of the Democratic Party are nothing new, but part of a long endeavor, the results of which are widely evident now.More than 50 percent<http://articles.latimes.com/2012/sep/03/news/la-pn-dnc-asian-americans-20120903> of AAPI registered voters identify as Democrats, and President Obama won 73 percent of the AAPI vote<http://elections.nbcnews.com/ns/politics/2012/all/president/#exitPoll> in 2012. Twenty years ago, the trend was just the opposite, with 74 percent of AAPIs<http://observer.com/2016/02/why-asian-americans-dont-vote-republican/> voting Republican. And we understand the need to be continually engaged, even at the highest levels. President Obama has made a record number<https://www.whitehouse.gov/share/judicial-nominations> of AAPI judicial appointments, tripling the number who sit on the federal bench from eight to 25. All but one of the 14 AAPI Members of Congress are Democrats, and we are working to add to their ranks this election year.

RELATED: Is the GOP Losing the Asian-American Vote?<http://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/gop-losing-asian-american-vote-n423271>

The core principle that drives the DNC today is the same one that drew me and my parents in when I was a kid: that as Americans, we are greater together than we are on our own. Everyone deserves a fair shot to succeed, not just those already at the top. While we reflect on the advances AAPIs have made in our nation's history, we continue to push forward and demand progress with a Democratic Party that is part of the greater cause.

Koustubh "K.J." Bagchi is the Director of AAPI and Small Business Engagement at the Democratic National Committee.