Affirmative action was banned in Washington 20 years ago through the initiative process because the people of this state had this crazy idea that people should get jobs and college admittance based on merit, rather than on the color of their skin.

Late Sunday night, the Democrats in the Legislature passed I-1000, which brings affirmative action back to Washington state.

I will tell you what no one else in the media has the guts to tell you. This initiative that the Democrats passed is a horribly anti-Asian initiative.

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If you compare percentage of population to percentage of student body, the University of Washington has a disproportionate number of Asian students. Why? They tend to excel academically as a group. It’s a bit of a generalization, but it’s well-known that Asian-Americans tend to value family, diligence, and education.

Asians in America have suffered their fair share of indignities. I understand that African-Americans suffered the evils of slavery and I appreciate what that means. But far more recently than that, we put Asian-Americans in internment camps during World War II. These were American citizens who were cruelly locked away for years, for no reason other than their ethnicity. You cannot say that Asian-Americans have not suffered oppression in America. But by prioritizing the right things, you have a minority group that has thrived, despite these hardships. Why can’t every minority group achieve and thrive at the same level?

You’ve seen what’s happening at Ivy League schools like Harvard. Asians are now being discriminated against, because Harvard has decided it wants to help elevate other groups into their university. There is a lawsuit, which the university will almost certainly lose.

Democrats here in Washington don’t care about minorities or about equality for all. They care about making sure everybody feels like a victim. And the groups that refuse to embrace victimization — like Asian-Americans, in general — tend to excel. This is because they refuse to be consumed and bound by identity politics. Instead, they focus on striving for excellence.

The argument of the Left always falls apart when they say that people need a helping hand. That just means expanding the role of government in everyone’s lives. The reality is, if you give people the freedom to make great choices and prioritize things that lead to successful outcomes, this is still a land of opportunity. But that’s not the message from the Left. The message from the Left is that you are a victim and you can’t do anything unless you have government giving you handouts.

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What you’re going to see from this affirmative action initiative is people who have lower test scores get elevated over people with higher scores, all because they are from an under-represented group. Company owners seeking loans can be discriminated against based on their skin color. Democrats have to make everyone a victim. Because once they stop the identity politics and victimization, they lose their power.

If every racial group — including whites — valued intact families, hard work, and education to the same extent as Asian-Americans, it could enjoy the same level of success.

But no, we cannot have people getting ahead based on hard work and achievement. It has to be based on government making everyone equal.