Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton penned an op-ed piece for NBC News criticizing Republican incumbent Sen. Mark Kirk’s racially insensitive comments about Rep. Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat challenging him in the race to the Illinois Senate.
Duckworth, a Thai American veteran who lost both of her legs in an helicopter crash while serving in Iraq, had her family military history and heritage questioned by Kirk during a debate last week when he remarked, “I forgot your parents came all the way from Thailand to serve George Washington.”
Kirk’s remark was not only factually incorrect – Duckworth was born in Thailand to a Thai mother and American father whose family served in the US military since the Revolutionary War – it drew ire from many members of the Asian Pacific American community, as well as Clinton, who promised to stand with Asian Americans in her op-ed, titled “As President, I Will Stand With Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.”
“The correct answer to Congresswoman Duckworth’s comment about her family’s military service is, ‘Wow. That’s amazing. Thank you, and thanks to your family,’” Clinton wrote. “Instead, her opponent, Sen. Mark Kirk said [what he did]. That’s just plain wrong. And sadly, it wasn’t the only racial insult we’ve seen in this election – far from it. It’s 2016. We need to do better, and if I’m elected president, we will.”
Clinton went on to state her plan for Asian Americans, citing three ways in which her administration would help the AAPI community.
She said she will first build an economy that would close the wage gap between AAPI women and white men and help businesses owned by Asian Americans by making it easier for them to access start up capital and combat discrimination. Second, she will strengthen ties militarily and diplomatically with America’s allies in the Asia-Pacific region, which she said is a region that is vital to the world’s economy and security. Finally, she said she would build a community of respect and tolerance at home, and address the current wait times associated with obtaining family visas into the United States.
“I’ll introduce legislation for comprehensive immigration reform that will shorten these timelines. It will also provide undocumented individuals with deep ties to our communities a pathway to citizenship and chance to stay in America,” she wrote.
A fall survey by the National Asian American Survey found that Clinton had a 41-point lead over Donald Trump between Aug. 10 and Sept. 29.
