Chinese American Citizens Alliance

National Board

Democrat Strategist's Racist Tweets Condemned

Chinese American Citizens Alliance strongly rebukes and condemns the racist tweets perpetrated upon former Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao and the damaging rhetoric these words have upon Chinese Americans whose loyalty and patriotism to our United States is questioned by some who claim to be from the party that celebrates diversity the most.

Kathy Groob, a supporter of the Democratic candidate for Senator from Kentucky, offered these comments about Secretary Chao, the wife of Republican candidate Mitch McConnell in response to McConnell's mention of his wife being a Kentuckian. Groob tweeted, "Hey Mitch, nothing against your wife and spouses should be off limits; since you mentioned, she isn't from KY, she is Asian.” When questioned, she responded through a tweet saying, “”...she’s not from KY, she is Asian and Bush openly touted that.” Wisely, the Kentucky Democratic Party quickly condemned the racist statements and she had the good sense to pull out the tweet and apologized for her "poor choice of words."

Little wonder that there is still much apathy exhibited by young people when the dirt of politics brings out the true feelings of small minded people who still see Asian Americans as being lesser American because we look different. If words were the only issue, we can move on. But, there is a mind set here that needs to be glaringly spotlighted. Groob is not alone in thinking that Asians are foreigners regardless of how long they have been in the country (Chao migrated to U.S. from Taiwan at age 8) or how loyally and visibly they served the nation (she was Director of Peace Corps, CEO of United Way of America and U.S. Secretary of Labor). In the heat of a political campaign, it looks like race baiting which is a tactic that should be condemned as well. This type of racism needs to be rebuked immediately and loudly.

Today, many companies have instituted “Hire Our Heroes” programs as a priority. At Shell's Houston office, two veterans, Andy Chung, a former Army helicopter pilot, and David Lee, a former Marine MP, founded MILNET, Shell's Military Network for military vets. Designed to be a multi-service resource, MILNET locates and hires veterans and offers training, development and mentoring. C.A.C.A. members who have knowledge of similar programs at their places of work can also become sources of referral.

Groob's apology does little to mitigate the damage already done and change the mindset of those like her; Groob's change of heart and attitude about Americans of Chinese descent will do more! How sincere an apology is it really?

August 8, 2014