I recently made note of this brave claim found in a Northern Virginia Asian-American newspaper called Asian Fortune:

Vietnamese American voters in Virginia helped tilt the balance of political power in the midterm election … Vietnamese Americans in Northern Virginia and elsewhere in the Old Commonwealth … flocked to the polls in greater numbers to help elect Democratic candidate James Webb in a tight-wire senatorial contest with incumbent Republican U.S. Senator George Allen.

Now we read in Gabriel Schoenfeld’s piece in the latest Commentary:

It is worth bearing in mind that in some states where the balance between Republicans and Democrats is close, Muslims are now able to serve as a decisive swing vote. In the critical and close-run Senate race in Virginia, for example, the Republican incumbent George Allen lost by fewer than 10,000 ballots to the Democratic challenger James Webb. Approximately 50,000 Muslim American voters participated in this election; according to one Muslim advocacy group, some 90 percent cast their ballots for Webb.  This is almost certainly an exaggeration. Nevertheless, a significant majority did vote for Webb. American Muslims can thus claim credit not only for sending him to the Senate but for handing over the Senate itself to Democratic control.

Vietnamese, Muslims — certainly many other ethnic groups can claim Webb’s victory as their own.  I’ve seen it plausibly argued that the influx of Guatemalans and Salvadorans into the Northern Virginia suburbs put Webb into the Senate.

Whichever group it is, there’s one stark reality about the new Virginia, neither red nor blue.  The Commonwealth is not, as pundits suggest, purple — which conjures up images of mountains majesty.  Instead, it’s become Mid-Atlantic political equivalent of the Balkans.  The birthplace of the Confederacy has now become the home to a much looser confederation of many different ethnic groups, each flexing muscular political power.

Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) has won re-election.  That’s wonderful news.  With Tom Delay, Bob Ney, Mark Foley, Curt Weldon and many other scandal-plagued members of Congress absent from the new Congress, I was beginning to worry that Americans no longer ignore or reward political corruption.  Good to see that we got that ethical temper tantrum out of our system.  With Jefferson’s win, we’re back on track with good old honest bribery, graft, and wrongdoing — and maybe some sloth, gluttony, lust, and pride throwin in, too.

I just happened today to pick up a copy of Asian Fortune, the newspaper serving over 500,000 Asian Americans in the metropolitan Washington area.

The paper should sound alarm bells for Republicans running for office — and give comfort to Hillary Clinton’s presidential prospects.

Some excerpts from stories in the December 2006 issue:

The community gained further political clout as kingmakers and swing voters. Forging coalitions with Asian American advocacy groups, they worked tirelessly in many campaigns and mobilized a high voter turn-out on Election Day – not just for Asian American candidates, but also for others who supported their education, health care, civil rights, immigration and veterans’ concerns, as well as local issues. Most of these candidates won. Majority of the winning Asian American candidates are Democrats.

and

Vietnamese American voters in Virginia helped tilt the balance of political power in the midterm election … Vietnamese Americans in Northern Virginia and elsewhere in the Old Commonwealth … flocked to the polls in greater numbers to help elect Democratic candidate James Webb in a tight-wire senatorial contest with incumbent Republican U.S. Senator George Allen.

That was the 2006 elections.  The warning signs for the future for the GOP?

Consider this front-page treatment the paper gives Sen. Clinton under the headline “Hillary Clinton Hails Ethnic Media”:

Senator Hillary Clinton (Democrat-NY) hailed Asian, Latino and other minority media in the nation, stressing “the impact you are making” at the New America Media (NAM) 1st National Ethnic Media Awards held on Nov. 14 in the nation’s capital. … Hillary, the Democratic frontrunner in the 2008 presidential elections, electrified the reception with her five-minute appearance. Guests greeted her like a rock star, applauding, fist-pumping and making “woo-woo” sounds.

Rock star, indeed.  Here’s Asian Fortune’s page one photo:

Asian-American voters may have been the sleeper swing voters of 2006.  But there should be no surprise the role they’ll play in 2008.  Their political value is worth, as they themselves might put it, a fortune.

Another day, another political eulogy for defeated GOP Iowa Rep. Jim Leach on the Washington Post’s op-ed page.

Earlier, Mark Shields: “The Class Act Caught in the Landslide.”

Today, David Broder: “…the man who was known as ‘the conscience of Congress’ because of his personal high standards…”

There’s lots of talk about Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger turning around his political fortunes in California — touting his peculiar brand of Arnold Republicanism, which seems anything but Reagan-esque or Bush-esque Republicanism.  Conservativism, mind you, doesn’t seem to be part of Arnold’s winning equation.

Which makes Schwarzenneger’s appearance on “Meet The Press” yesterday all the more intriguing, particularly when he bundled up liberal causes such as the miniumum wage, environment, prescription druges, and solar energy — SOLAR ENERGY! – into a tidy package called state leadership:

The states in the United States are not waiting anymore for the federal government to provide leadership. We are going off on our own. We are providing leadership. The Northeastern states, Pataki and all of those guys, are providing leadership in the Northeastern states. I think that you will see more and more states joining to show leadership in protecting the environment, or showing leadership in lowering the prescription drugs, or showing leadership in increasing the minimum wage. All of those kind of things—oh, and solar energy—and all those kind of things. I think that the states are providing this leadership and working together with other states and doing regional partnerships rather than waiting for the, for the United States, for the, for the federal government to do those things.

State leadership?  Sounds awfully close to states rights, a staple of conservative beliefs — even if it means solar energy.

From today’s Washington Post:

Republicans must resolve their own questions: Can they reconstitute conservatism to make it attractive once again beyond the party’s base? GOP strategist Mary Matalin said the Reaganite model of low taxes, smaller government and strong defense can again serve the party well, if it is updated. “It needs to put some Britney Spears clothes on it,” she said.

And here’s what Britney Spears’ clothes look like, or don’t look like:

The Washington Post reports today this nugget about Ohio Gov.-elect Ted Strickland from the campaign:

The Democrat advertised on Christian radio, quoting a biblical injunction “to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with our God.”

We previously noted that Harold Ford, a Democrat, said this:

“We’ve had a great campaign manager and one of the unseen campaign managers has been my Lord and Savior.”

Any chance Republicans could get away with these tactics?

What will the GOP public blood letting look like?

Check out the preview in today’s Dallas Morning News:

The 2006 race, some analysts say, could be the harbinger of a return to centrist politics. They point as a model to Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has worked actively at bipartisan compromise and easily won re-election as California governor Tuesday.

“People are looking for leaders who are going to put aside the partisanship and focus on the issues people really care about,” said former White House spokesman Scott McClellan.

He cited Sen. John McCain of Arizona and former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Democratic Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois as the kind of political figures who might emerge as most appealing to voters in 2008.

Mr. McClellan said the Rove strategy of identifying and motivating the base might not be sufficient to win under those conditions.

“You’re going to see emerging in the 2008 campaign leaders that have such a strong force of personality that they can really transcend the partisanship and bring people together,” he said.

Another not-to-subtle spank of Karl Rove.  Any response from McClellan’s successor, Tony Snow?

President Bush on Karl Rove, Nov. 8, 2006: “I obviously was working harder in the campaign than he was.”

President Bush, Nov. 3, 2004:  “I was impressed every day by how hard and how skillful our team was. I want to thank Chairman Marc Racicot and the Campaign Manager, Ken Mehlman. And the architect, Karl Rove.”

Before we close the book on Harold Ford, let’s not neglect this comment he made Monday on “Larry King Live“:

“We’ve had a great campaign manager and one of the unseen campaign managers has been my Lord and Savior.”

Perhaps Ford’s campaign will at least end Democratic lectures about the appropriateness of religion in politics?