GOP Can Learn From Jeremy Lin

Republicans should pay attention to the rise of New York Knicks star Jeremy Lin, writes Marc Ambinder at GQ. Stories like his underscore the point that Asian-Americans could become a "true swing constituency" for the party, even though they now tend to vote Democratic. "On paper, Asians—culturally conservative, family values, entrepreneurship, fiscally conservative, meritocracy—seem tailor-made for Republicans," says a Korean-American editor at Human Events. But it hasn't come to pass at the voting booth.

Republicans could start to remedy that by cutting ties with their "anti-immigrant wing" or at least "not allow their primaries to be controlled by it," writes Ambinder. Think of Lin's story: As the son of Taiwanese immigrants, he was discriminated against on the basketball court as a kid, but he overcame all that because he could play. "That up-by-the-sneaker-laces narrative is a vital part of Lin's appeal—and the Republican deal." The Asian-American vote could be a "huge opportunity for Republicans," he writes. "Right now, they're blowing it." (More Jeremy Lin stories.)