Crossposted at Asian Pacific Americans for Progress.
Okay, this may not come as a surprise to some readers, but it did to me. I guess Republican Senator John Ensign of Nevada, who recently admitted to having an affair with a former campaign worker and then having his parents provide the woman and her husband with questionable "gifts" of $96,000, claims to be part Filipino. As an Asian American, I say, "Noooooooooo!"
According to the article in the Filipino Reporter:
Ensign's paternal grandfather, whom he said he has never met but believes is still alive, was born in the Philippines and is half-Filipino and half-German.
He said he did not know he was part Filipino until his paternal grandmother told him shortly before she died.
"I think I might have already been in Congress when I learned about it," said Ensign, who was elected to the House in 1994.
...
Ensign claimed his natural father deserted the family when Ensign was four years old.
Ensign's mother later married casino executive Mike Ensign, whom the senator considers his real father.
I guess his Filipino roots came out during the debate on federal benefits for Filipino Veterans. His "nay" vote was immediately denounced by members of the local Filipino American community.
"At election time, he always tells us he is part Filipino," Rozita Lee, vice chairwoman of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA), told the Review-Journal. "Many of us feel he should not keep saying that if he cannot support this."
"What he told me was that Filipino men were fighting for the Philippines during World War II, not America," Lee said. "I was incredulous. The bullets did not differentiate between Americans and Filipinos, and President (Franklin) Roosevelt promised Filipino veterans these benefits."
When Ensign, who has two Filipino Americans on staff, tried to defend his vote:
He added his Filipino aides were not bothered by his vote against increasing federal benefits for veterans living in the Philippines.
Wonder if they were bothered by his affair either.
Personally, I don't care if he's 100%, 50% or 2% Filipino, he still doesn't support the interests of our community and he's done some things that are quite shady. This is one AAPI we don't claim!