HUYNH: Hung Cao's story is powerful – don't take the bait – The Cavalier Daily

A 25-year Navy veteran. A convert to Protestant Christianity. He is an advocate of Trump-era social conservatism approved by the man himself. In many ways, he is the prototypical contemporary candidate of the Republican Party. But what sets Hung Cao apart – and the factor his campaign appears to be banking on – is his unique status as a Vietnamese refugee. Throughout his campaign, Cao used his background as a Vietnamese refugee and Asian American to form a narrative that might seem different unauthorized. However, Cao's rhetoric fundamentally simplifies the history and experience of his people and cleverly packages it to advance an agenda that has little to do with the interests of those Cao supposedly represents.

Sabatos Crystal ball is currently predicting a comfortable victory for Kaine over Cao in November's Senate elections, which would only further extend the 22-year period of Democratic dominance of Virginia's Senate seats. Given this drought, perhaps it would be logical for the Virginia GOP to seek a moderate who can appeal to moderate voters. However, Cao can hardly be described as a moderate ideologically – he is more committed to a moderate stance brasha populist personality that is widespread among Trump loyalists and appears to be balanced further right as the ever-divisive former president. It appears the GOP chose Cao instead because they believed running a minority candidate with an immigrant background could increase their chances of pulling off an upset in our now-blue state. The fact that populist rhetoric combined with Cao's background forms the basis of his campaign lends credence to this notion.

Most thorough Account Information about Cao's worldview can be found in his recently published memoir, Call Me an American. One quickly noticeable theme of the book is its numerous references to “Marxism” and “communism.” These words are understandably significant for Cao and many other Vietnamese Americans who have fled this regime carried the banner these ideologies.

However, Cao uses these words indiscriminately and uses them as swear words to describe various things he disagrees with. In one case, he equates “the undeniable realities of communism” under Pol Pot, Mao Zedong, and Joseph Stalin with the “expansion of social welfare programs, tuition waivers, and public health care.” By describing the policies proposed by his opponents as comparable to those of autocratic, genocidal regimes, his attacks come from a perspective that almost no one other than a Vietnamese refugee could take, even though they appear legitimate.

Despite the repeated allusions to “Marxism” and “communism,” Cao makes no real attempt in his memoir to define these words or explain why voters should care about them. That's because he doesn't have to. Using ideologies as scapegoats is not unique to Cao's campaign – in fact, sentences like “Cultural Marxism” have recently found widespread support in some conservative circles. Therefore, when Cao uses these words, he misinterprets their meaning and compares political opinions with slogans around which negative rhetoric has formed. Therefore, comparing unified health care to communist atrocities is not as shocking as one might think. Examples like this demonstrate Cao's appeal to conservative circles, as the words allow him to easily dismiss opposition to his political thinking as extremist ideas without actually justifying the connection.

Cao's campaign is historically not the first encounter between the Republican Party and Vietnamese Americans right-wing demographic, particularly among Asian Americans. The collective experience of Vietnamese Americans fleeing a Marxist-Leninist regime is seen as a crucial factor in the group's right-wing political orientation. It may then seem inevitable that Cao, as a representative of this community of over 2 million60,000 of them live in Virginiawould follow this trend. However, there are also other Vietnamese candidates such as the Illinois State Representative Hoan Huynh have successfully spoken to other stakeholders who reflect the Vietnamese American experience as immigrants and refugees.

While Cao uses his family's refugee experience to denounce Huynh uses the same experience as a cover for illegal immigration and an advocate for increased border security supportive Chicago's current status as Sanctuary City and for public investment in small – often immigrant-run – businesses. Huynh's campaign shows that Vietnamese American politics can reflect this group's values, which go beyond staunch opposition to communism. The irony of comparing Cao and Huynh's platforms is that it reveals something crucial about the nature of running as “the Vietnamese” candidate. When it comes to the policies that truly impact Americans' lives, that label means absolutely nothing on its own. The way Vietnamese can inspire someone to serve their community is entirely up to the individual.

The use of terms like “communism” and “Marxism” as a catch-all for progressive politics is an unfortunately familiar trend. But it underscores an attempt to portray political opponents as existential threats rather than political rivals. Cao's campaign exemplifies this approach, using his personal story to add a touch of authenticity to his criticism. This tactic by Cao of creating identity-driven narratives that reinforce conservative fears may appeal at first glance, but it only highlights the limitations of using group membership as a substitute for substantive political engagement. This year, the stakes are particularly high, and Virginia voters have the power to reject empty rhetoric and demand candidates who prioritize meaningful change over soundbites.

Viet Huynh is an opinion columnist who writes about politics for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at [email protected].

The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect those of The Cavalier Daily. The columns reflect the views of the author only.