The Mystery of Jewish and Asian-American Democratic Loyalty: Progressive proselytizing at top universities may explain why so many Jews and Asians are liberals.

Liberal commentators are fond of associating the more recent leftward tilt of Asian-Americans with hostile rhetoric toward immigrants coming from some Republican candidates, as well as support for progressive positions on issues such as health care, economic policy and even racial preferences. But the Asian-American community is diverse and includes many different ethnicities—from Indians to Chinese to Vietnamese—that cannot be characterized as having a monolithic view on any of these issues.

So what accounts for the predominance of liberalism among both Jews and Asian-Americans? Perhaps it’s higher education. In the U.S. population at large, the possession of a college or postgraduate degree has been a predictor of Democratic Party affiliation. We believe, in particular, that the liberal leanings of many professors at elite schools likely play an important role.

Jewish and Asian parents have long pressed their children to attend top universities. Despite obstacles like higher standards for admissions, both groups are disproportionately represented at those schools. Though they account for only about 2% of the U.S. population, according to Hillel’s Guide to Jewish Life at Colleges and Universities, Jews represent 10% of undergraduates at Princeton, 12% at Harvard and 27% at Yale. Asian-Americans are about 5% of the U.S. population, yet make up 22% of the class of 2019 at Princeton, 21.8% at Yale, and 21.1% of the admitted class at Harvard.

Once there, these students—who have heard for their whole lives about the importance and perhaps even near divinity of these elite schools—are exposed to unrelenting progressive messaging from many of their professors, administrators and fellow students. No surprise, then, that after four years they emerge as liberals, vote for Democrats and retain their political affiliation well into adulthood.

These political affiliations remain despite socioeconomic factors that might suggest greater support for conservative causes and candidates—and wariness of Democrats who seem to regard success as shameful and higher taxes as a cure-all. For example, 25% of Jewish households in the U.S. have annual incomes over $150,000, according to a 2013 Pew Research Center survey, compared with only 8% of American households generally. And despite differences between different ethnicities, the Asian-American median household income of $72,689 is about $20,000 higher than the U.S. average, according to U.S Census Bureau data.

Mr. Troy is a presidential historian and former White House Jewish liaison under George W. Bush. Mr. Chen is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, lecturer in public policy at Stanford University, and was policy director to the Romney-Ryan 2012 presidential campaign.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-mystery-of-jewish-and-asian-american-democratic-loyalty-1465943377

Do you agree? That Asian Americans become Democrats because of university, and the professors/administrators/students there?