Lessons Learned from Participating in the Political Process (part 3 of 3)

by S. B. Woo

Second, appointed officials:

Their strengths lie in having immense administrative power.  For example, 
Elaine Chao, as the Secretary of Labor, is in charge of administering 
Executive Order 11246.  Executive Order 11246 essentially states that any 
institution discriminating against any American for any reason may not 
partake in any project involving federal funding.  It has been hauled out 
to force Fortune 500 companies to lift the glass ceiling from the blacks 
and women but not the Asian Americans.  Elaine Chao, helped by all of us, 
could lift the glass-ceiling from the heads of all Asian Americans if she 
simply fulfills the power already given to us faithfully. But we must 
help. Their weakness is that they also avoid risks, because they serve at 
the pleasure of those who appoint them.  If they take such risks, they get 
un-appointed.

Finally, the NGOs:

The NGOs don't face elections by the general populous.   They are not 
appointed by political officials.  Their bosses are their own constituents 
who provide them with money and broad-based, national grassroots support.  
Hence, good NGOs DARE TAKE RISKS on behalf of their constituents.  For 
example, AIPAC stood up for Isreal and pushes the elected and appointed 
officials to follow them.  NAACP pushes black interests and pushes its 
elected and appointed officials.  So often, the NGOs took up the issues 
where the elected and appointed officials were not only silent, but were 
forced by circumstances to be deceptively misleading.

The three different approaches to politics complement each other 
perfectly.   NGOs can help politicians seeking election greatly. NGOs can 
"speak softly" to elected officials with appointive power to persuade them 
to appoint the right people.  But NGOs don't have the administrative power 
that appointed officials have.  NGOs can not pass legislation to use the 
immense human and financial resources of the government.  The elected and 
appointed officials do.

That NGO is key and perhaps the leading component in our community to win 
and secure civil rights and equal opportunity for Asian Pacific Americans 
(APA) is a very new concept.   To have the three different components of 
"political power," the elected officials, the appointed officials and NGOs 
working together is an even newer concept.  However, if history is to be 
made, that is a MUST.

Every APA [or American] is ultimately the real boss of every elected and 
appointed official and NGO.   If you believe that is the right thing to 
do, speak up.   When every individual does one's own share and speak up, 
you'll be surprised how powerful that voice is.  Your children and 
grandchildren will thank you for doing your share.   In short, in terms of 
seeking equal opportunity and equal justice for Asian Americans and in 
that process help make America "a more perfect Union" the elected official 
on this panel, the appointed officials on this panel and organizations 
like C-100 and 80-20 must work together.  Together we shall overcome. 
To be effective in politics, it requires mostly power.  UNITY is power.

**

S.B. Woo is a physics professor and former Lt. Governor of Delaware. 
He was born in Shanghai, China, and came to the United States from Hong Kong at the age of 18.   He received his B.S., summa cum laude, in Mathematics and 
Physics from Georgetown College in Kentucky and his Ph.D. in Physics from 
Washington University in St. Louis, MO in 1964.

His other experiences include being the Founding President of the Faculty 
Bargaining Unit at the University of Delaware, its Chief Spokesman and 
Chief Negotiator; a Trustee of the University of Delaware; an Institute 
Fellow at the Institute of Politics, the Kennedy School of Government, 
Harvard University; and serving as the National President of the 
Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA).   He is listed in Who's Who in 
America.  A life-sized picture of him is displayed in Smithsonian's 
National Museum of American History in Washington D.C..  Another of his 
picture is in interactive display in the lobby of Asia Society in New 
York, NY. Last year, "A-Magazine" ranked him the 6th of the 25 Most 
Influential Asian Americans.

He is the president of The 80-20 Initiative that works on organizing Asian 
Pacific Americans (APAs) into a swing bloc-vote in presidential elections, 
thereby inducing both major political parties to take rightful interests 
of the APA community into proper consideration.