80-20 Political Action Committee

[nskripchun]

Got this in my e-mail. I guess they're already starting fundraising for the PAC.

Hi, this is S. B. Woo, immediate past president of
80-20 PAC. Kindly please read my appeal to you.

For you who are among the first to face the insurmountable odds,
to suffer the insufferable and to achieve what others think are
impossible, please join me to help 80-20 PAC become much stronger:

1. Dip into your pocket and pay the $35 or $50 to become either a
Basic or Family Members of 80-20. 80-20 really needs you and
frankly our community really needs 80-20. I will match all
membership fees up to $2000.00 so long the joining occurs
within 10 days after 8/13, my birthday. It is in memory of my
parents and in the hopes of helping our offspring.

2. Place "AsianAmericanUnity@80-20.us" and "sbwEF@80-20.us"
into your email account's "Address Book" or your "Safe Senders
List."

A TREAT: A brand NEW 80-20 PAC website. Visit
http://www.80-20initiative.net/ Use the pull-down tabs. Much more info
is available to you in the new site, designed by Seechung Lee of CA. We are
still working on making the site more fun for you to visit.


Gratefully yours,

SB

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1. Basic (1 vote) -- $35
2. Family (Two names to get 2 votes) -- $50
3. Professional (1 vote) -- $75
4. Professional family (2 names to get 2 votes) -- $150
5. Student -- $15
6. Life ** -- $1000
7. Family life ** (two names to get 2 votes) -- $1,500
8. Honorary Life ** -- $5,000
9. Honorary Family Life ** (two names to get 2 votes) -- $10,000
** Membership names on permanent display on 80-20's web site. See
http://www.80-20initiative.net/about/lifemembers.asp

Any US citizen or permanent resident can be a member TODAY,
Using a credit card, visit
http://www.80-20initiative.net/membership/payment.asp (easy to use) or
http://www.80-20initiative.net/membership/join.asp
PERSONAL checks are payable to "80-20 PAC", mailed to:
Jing-Li Yu Treasurer
P.O. Box 527340 Flushing, NY 11352-7340 .
Write down your E-MAIL address & PHONE no. on the BACK of the
check. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I'll match what you'll give.

[jaehwan]

I don't like being negative against Asian American organizations because I think in general effort is good, but I'm against 80-20, and I think S.B. Woo is a slimy, dishonest, and sleazy motherfucker. What he and his group do is to get some "prominent" Asian Americans to vote about who is the better candidate, and then they urge people to vote along the same lines. There is no debate about the issues, just cries of "unity."

Asian Americans, in my opinion, don't need to be told who to vote for. We need more debate. We need to air our issues. We need to learn how to think for ourselves and to learn to ask the right questions. We need to actively think about identity.

With 80-20, it's all about following our "leaders." Fuck that. When I was in my early twenties, I met S.B. Woo and asked him where the debate was supposed to take place and what 80-20 does to educate Asian Americans. The conversation went something like this:

SB:We just figure out who the best candidate is, and we tell everyone.
JH: But what about the issues? Where does that debate take place? What about educating our people?
SB: We talk to the candidates and try to get them to respond to us. The most important thing is electoral votes. If a candidate supports us, we support them. We educate Asian Americans about which is the best candidate.
JH: What's the difference between having a white candidate "tell" us who to vote for and having an Asian person "telling" us the same thing? Shouldn't the people
SB: Look, if you don't like it, don't join us.

It was clear that SB Woo was being intentionally obtuse. He was dodging the important questions like Scooter Libby. It was really ridiculous because as soon as I sat down, people started asking variations of the same question, and he continued to bob and weave, telling us that he was the only one making a difference. He had this really slimy look on his face as he continued to act like a fucking weasel. There was another speaker at the same conference who spoke after SB--I think he was part of OCA--who said that OCA felt that education was important.

Like I said, I don't like being negative against people who are trying to make a difference. But in the case of SB Woo and the 80-20, there is a clear intent to empower a few "prominent" Asian Americans (I put it in parantheses because I don't recognize their prominence) at the expense of the rest of us. Asian American people should seek to empower us, not to dictate and to control our actions.

[nskripchun]

jaehwan-

Sorry for the late reply, but thanks for the heads up and the warning. It's disappointing to hear SB Woo and 80-20 are like that, because I definitely feel the need is out there for APAs to get involved in politics and lobby for our interests.

Maybe you could suggest some orgs out there worth supporting? I know you're connected.

[jaehwan]

Originally Posted by nskripchun

jaehwan-

Sorry for the late reply, but thanks for the heads up and the warning. It's disappointing to hear SB Woo and 80-20 are like that, because I definitely feel the need is out there for APAs to get involved in politics and lobby for our interests.

Maybe you could suggest some orgs out there worth supporting? I know you're connected.

Hey Dude, what's up?

I totally agree with you that the need is there. Unfortunately, I haven't found any good Asian American politcal orgs that focus solely on Asian American political issues. Most of them just regurgitate the same old deconstructionist ideologies that pollute our colleges (and who wants to support people who only know how to deconstruct rather than build?). This being the Pacific Northwest, there are lots of politically active and politically successful Asian American politicians, but the forum for ideas isn't there.

Anyway, I've been working on some projects. I'll share them with you next time I head north!

[SamuraiJack]

Originally Posted by jaehwan

I don't like being negative against Asian American organizations because I think in general effort is good, but I'm against 80-20, and I think S.B. Woo is a slimy, dishonest, and sleazy motherfucker. What he and his group do is to get some "prominent" Asian Americans to vote about who is the better candidate, and then they urge people to vote along the same lines. There is no debate about the issues, just cries of "unity."

Asian Americans, in my opinion, don't need to be told who to vote for. We need more debate. We need to air our issues. We need to learn how to think for ourselves and to learn to ask the right questions. We need to actively think about identity.

With 80-20, it's all about following our "leaders." Fuck that. When I was in my early twenties, I met S.B. Woo and asked him where the debate was supposed to take place and what 80-20 does to educate Asian Americans. The conversation went something like this:

SB:We just figure out who the best candidate is, and we tell everyone.
JH: But what about the issues? Where does that debate take place? What about educating our people?
SB: We talk to the candidates and try to get them to respond to us. The most important thing is electoral votes. If a candidate supports us, we support them. We educate Asian Americans about which is the best candidate.
JH: What's the difference between having a white candidate "tell" us who to vote for and having an Asian person "telling" us the same thing? Shouldn't the people
SB: Look, if you don't like it, don't join us.

It was clear that SB Woo was being intentionally obtuse. He was dodging the important questions like Scooter Libby. It was really ridiculous because as soon as I sat down, people started asking variations of the same question, and he continued to bob and weave, telling us that he was the only one making a difference. He had this really slimy look on his face as he continued to act like a fucking weasel. There was another speaker at the same conference who spoke after SB--I think he was part of OCA--who said that OCA felt that education was important.

Like I said, I don't like being negative against people who are trying to make a difference. But in the case of SB Woo and the 80-20, there is a clear intent to empower a few "prominent" Asian Americans (I put it in parantheses because I don't recognize their prominence) at the expense of the rest of us. Asian American people should seek to empower us, not to dictate and to control our actions.

I don't see any problem with what he's doing. Many Asian Americans don't want to spend the time to research the issues, and if there's an organization to tell us what's good and what's not good for Asian Americans, then more power to them. Of course, there needs to be some accountability and information needs to be available as to why the organization supports whatever they support, but in general, it's a good thing to unite and empower the Asian electorate.

[jaehwan]

Originally Posted by SamuraiJack

I don't see any problem with what he's doing. Many Asian Americans don't want to spend the time to research the issues, and if there's an organization to tell us what's good and what's not good for Asian Americans, then more power to them. Of course, there needs to be some accountability and information needs to be available as to why the organization supports whatever they support, but in general, it's a good thing to unite and empower the Asian electorate.

Your points, while well taken, mischaracterize both my position and the 80-20.

First, who said that I was against unity and empowerment? "Unite and empower" is a good thing, but since my point was that 80-20 is not uniting or empowering us, your point is not relevant--not to my post, anyway. Within the 80-20, we are not united because our voices isn't being heard; I'm not empowered because there is a hostility against ideas and a focus on top down obedience. I support unity and empowerment, but this has nothing to do with either.

Second, you also said that "many Asian Americans don't want to spend the time to research the issues." While this may be true, it's irrelevant since 80-20 also doesn't want to spend their time doing research! Don't confuse 80-20 with a group like the Heritage Foundation or Center for American Progress. 80-20 isn't a think-tank. They don't do research other than basic surveys of their membership. They simply get a bunch of their friends together--many of whom are not even involved with politics or thinking, and they decide. There isn't any kind of published debate that takes place, from the look of it, they just decide. I don't know what their decision is based on, but it doesn't appear to be research.

Haha...I just checked out the 80-20 website, and I saw that there is a section called "Success Stories." This is quite ironic given the fact that S.B. and Company endorsed Gore in 2000 and Kerry in 2004. That's right, no presidential candidate endorsed by 80-20 has ever won. I'm an Obama supporter, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed in hope that they'll endorse someone else.

S.B.'s "Success Stories" are also quite dubious. Look at this one:

http://www.80-20initiative.net/about..._bushadmin.asp

What a joke. The title says the 80-20 helped "induce" the Bush Administration--which should've never come to power if 80-20 had as much "success" as S.B. claims--to put APA's in the Cabinet, but if you read the actual article, it's clear that no one from the 80-20 ever had any contact with the President or his staff. Fuck, one reason 80-20 endorsed Gore over Bush was that Bush didn't return S.B.'s calls. And now that lying sack of shit S.B. is saying that Norm Mineta's appointment came about because of 80-20? This is intellectual dishonesty at its worst.

Unity, empowerment, and the like are great words and noble goals. We just need to make sure that we're getting exactly what we want. With 80-20, there is no indication that they have anything an empowered Asian American would want.

[nskripchun]

Originally Posted by jaehwan

Haha...I just checked out the 80-20 website, and I saw that there is a section called "Success Stories." This is quite ironic given the fact that S.B. and Company endorsed Gore in 2000 and Kerry in 2004. That's right, no presidential candidate endorsed by 80-20 has ever won. I'm an Obama supporter, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed in hope that they'll endorse someone else.

hahaha!

On a slight off-topic note, I'm an Obama supporter too. He's the first politician I've actually donated $$$ too.

Anybody have an info about Asian Americans for Obama?

http://www.asianamericansforobama.com/

They legit?

[SamuraiJack]

Originally Posted by jaehwan

Your points, while well taken, mischaracterize both my position and the 80-20.

I didn't mean to suggest that you were against all those things, but just trying to keep an open mind about this organization.

From looking at their web site, it does look a bit cheesy, and some of their information on their web site looks preposterous (ie "...get the TV ad off the air immediately or face 80-20's wrath...")

On the other hand, your post also seems a bit illogical as well,
ie.

This is quite ironic given the fact that S.B. and Company endorsed Gore in 2000 and Kerry in 2004. That's right, no presidential candidate endorsed by 80-20 has ever won. I'm an Obama supporter, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed in hope that they'll endorse someone else.

I think they voted for the right candidate each time.

But I agree that there should be an organisation out there that helps consolidate the Asian voters (as well as encourage the ones that don't). I think most politicians currently take the Asian vote to be the same as the white vote.

[jaehwan]

Originally Posted by nskripchun

hahaha!

On a slight off-topic note, I'm an Obama supporter too. He's the first politician I've actually donated $$$ too.

Anybody have an info about Asian Americans for Obama?

http://www.asianamericansforobama.com/

They legit?

He's in Portland today. Just found out about it. Yup, we sent money to him. (I also sent money to Kerry, but I want my money back. How could he let those swiftboat guys get away with that?)

Originally Posted by Samuraijack

On the other hand, your post also seems a bit illogical as well,
ie.

I think they voted for the right candidate each time.

But I agree that there should be an organisation out there that helps consolidate the Asian voters (as well as encourage the ones that don't). I think most politicians currently take the Asian vote to be the same as the white vote.

My point, which I think was clear since nskripchun understood, was not whether or not they voted for the right person; it's whether they are being honest about their efforts. An honest person doesn't endorse a candidate, lose the election, and then claim victory. Hell, they didn't even get the 80-20 Asian bloc that comes from their name! In the face of defeat, an honest person steps back and says, "What could I have done differently?" An honest person doesn't claim to have achieved something he didn't.

I'm all about keeping an open mind, and I'm very patient. People accused Min Jin Lee of writing another Joy Luck Club (see the thread in the books category), and I patiently read all 560 pages of her book just so I could see for myself (and yes, it was a disappointment). In fact, part of my open-mindedness was my effort to go out to meet S.B. Woo at a location which was far from my home at the time.

But after approaching with an open mind, one has to make a decision. S.B. Woo has lied, not just once, but repeatedly. He makes tons of false claims regarding his activism. In my life, professional and beyond, I've found that it's hard to succeed when your leader is dishonest. So I don't endorse organizations with sleazy leadership.

Even more significantly, though, is that I don't agree with the theory behind his efforts. Why would I vote for someone based on nothing but what a bunch of old Asian guys tell me to do? I applaud voter education, not voter demands. The model of 80-20 is based on ignorance; if Asian Americans are naive enough to vote for someone without being given any reasons for that decision, then 80-20 succeeds. I'd rather support organizations which truly tries to help Asian Americans through education, not through taking advantage of our naivete.

[jaehwan]

Obama refused to sign 80/20's double bull (BULLying BULLshit) questionnaire, and 80/20 responded by attacking Obama's "courage," "character," and "experience."

http://www.reappropriate.com/?p=895

What kind of bullshit is that? He simply doesn't return a questionnaire (and you can see from Reappropriate Jenn's blog post that they had good reason), and they go out and attack his character and courage? A cheapshot if I've ever seen one. Further proof that 80/20 is a crappy organization and its de-facto leader S.B. Woo is a fucking shameless prick.

What a fucking joke. I don't know what pisses me off more, the dirty S.B. Fool tactics that these assholes are using against Obama, or the fact that these lying sacks of shit are claiming to represent Asian Americans.

Fucking unbelievable.