POLITICS: Resources for 2008 Presidential Race

The 2008 U.S. Presidential Race & South Asians / South Asia

For the 2008 presidential race, the South Asian population (approx. three million voters, non-voters, etc) will play a disproportionate role (multiple roles, actually). Watch for stories about efforts to woo the community and its money. Of course, there's no such thing as a single South Asian community, so watching this all play out is going to be fascinating.

On this page, we will track all the SAJAforum items having to do with the race, along with links to the campaigns' outreach efforts and more. Send items to saja[at]columbia.edu.
We are also looking for experts (partisan and non-partisan) on U.S. politics.

* Listen to SAJA Briefing with senior Clinton & Obama supporters, Feb. 28, 2008

 

South Asian Campaign Sites & Contacts (whatever we could find): HILLARY CLINTON South Asians for Hillary Rajen Anand, former Bill Clinton administration official: ranand2[at]csulb.edu Reshma Saujani, working on South Asian outreach BARACK OBAMA South Asians For Obama Hrishi Karthikeyan, PR contact: hrishi1[at]gmail.com Preeta Bansal, former Solicitor General of New York State; classmate of Obama; a past lawyer in the Clinton White House and a member of several Obama national policyc ommittees and outreach teams: pbansal[at]skadden.com Ahalya Nava, volunteer, AhalyaNM[at]hotmail Indian Americans for Obama Dr. Kumar Narayanan: ksn[at]comcast.net Shankar A. Iyer: sairam[at]cox.net JOHN McCAIN Kishan Putta, helping with outreach efforts kishanputta[at]gmail.com John Edwards Asian Americans for John Edwards   Lutfi Hassan, traveled with Edwards to India in 2005: lutfi[at]apexgroupofcompanies.com Experts on the political process: IAFPE - Indian American Forum for Political Education Ravi Sakhuja, national president RSakhuja[at]aol.com; 781 861 6797 AALDEF- Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund See AALDEF report on voter discrimination Glenn D. Magpantay, staff attorney, gmagpantay[at]aaldef.org Margaret Fung, executive director, mfung[at]aaldef.org USINPAC - US India Political Action Committee media[at]usinpac.com; 202-628-3451 Michael D. Taylor director of government affairs also, lecturer in the political science dept. of Shepherd University, Shepherdstown, WV mtaylor[at]usinpac.com cell: 202-302-3925 SAALT - South Asian Americans Leading Together Has produced several reports about politics (PDF examples here and here) Deepa Iyer, executive director deepa[at]saalt.org Priya Murthy, policy director saalt[at]saalt.org 301.270.1855 Robin Andersen, professor of media at Fordham University and expert on press and politics andersen[at]fordham.edu John Laxmi, moderator, SAJA Discussion List - and close observer of the political process: johnlaxmisaja[at]gmail.com This is just a start - let us know of others! E-mail saja[at]columbia.edu SAJA members closely covering the campaigns: Aziz Haniffa, Washington editor, India Abroad (closely follows the political process from an Indian-American perspective) Aswini Anburajan, campaign reporter for NBC News/National Journal K.P. Nayar, U.S. correspondent for Kolkata's Telegraph newspaper Rekha Basu, columnist for the Des Moines Register (wrote a column about Obama + others) Adi Raval, senior Washington producer for the BBC, overseeing campaign coverage Sonia Moghe, reporter, KGAN-TV in Cedar Rapids, Iowa (closely following the caucuses and campaign) Seema Mehta, reporter, LA Times, covering various campaigns Kiran Chetry, CNN anchor, covering the campaign regularly Ali Velshi, CNN business anchor, following biz aspects of the race. Chidanand Rajghatta, Washington correspondent, Delhi's Indian Express Ravi Baichwal, anchor at Chicago's WLS-TV, has been on the road with the Obama and McCain campaigns See SAJA's list of freelancers in more than a dozen cities around the U.S. This is just a start - let us know of others! E-mail saja[at]columbia.edu We are also looking for names of any South Asians who are delegates this year or have been in previous elections.

All items in SAJAforum Presidential Politics Category (in reverse order; *** = must-read): *** Roundup of Jindal's weekend at McCain's Peggy Noonan compares Clinton to Indira Gandhi McCain to meet Jindal, Crist, Romney Jindal on "Tonight Show" *** Bobby Jindal's name floated for VP slot *** SAJA Briefing with senior Clinton & Obama supporters Obama writes in India Abroad *** "Tsunami Tuesday" now over Use of the term "Tsunami Tuesday" Little India endorses Obama; editor gets 5 questions *** Essays on Clinton & Obama by Rajen Anand and Preeta Bansal The Top Indian-American Bundlers Mike Huckabee's promise to amend the constitution AALDEF on discrimination again Asian American voters in 2006 Saggy Tahir's endorsement of McCain Ted Rall cartoon imagines Huckabee as Hindu fundamentalist Iowa - Obama's South Asian support ***The candidates react to the Bhutto assassination news Bollywood Obama Kal Penn & Barack Obama Mansoon Ijaz on "A Muslim Belongs in the Cabinet" John Edwards's Outreach Efforts Clinton Campaign Responds to Sikh Fundraising Event Controversy Clinton and a Sikh Fundraising Event in California Ethnic diversity in the presidential campaigns IIT Alumni Gather in California - And So Does the Press Obama's Unusual Pakistan Plan Bal Das, "a quiet rainmaker" Hillary takes in $2 million at Indian-American fundraiser Hillary courts the Indian vote, and purse NYT & WP Examine InfoUSA-Clinton Connection Obama Apologizes for Campaign "Screw-up" Obama Digs In, Plays Outsourcing Card Desi Supporters of Obama and Clinton Selected blog & news coverage (in reverse order) Vijay Prashad, Trinity College professor: on McCain on the primaries on Iraq & the elections Rediff/India Abroad: Clinton writes op-ed for India Abroad, promises to strengthen Indo-US ties Telegraph (Kolkata): Oh, Hillary! Obama off the blocks with a bang Des Moines Register: Rekha Basu column - Obama can heal divisions, win hearts and minds Chicago Trib: GOP trailblazer has a life story to rival Obama's NY Sun: Clinton Taps Newly Active Indian Donors AALDEF: Asian American priorities for 2008 Little India: South Asian Flak for Obama SepiaMutiny: Enter South Asians for Hillary

Comments

[Varun]

Hey All,

I wanted to let you know about www.usinpac2008.com it is a Presidential Portal Dedicated to connecting the Indian American community with the upcoming presidential elections. It focuses on the issues and looks to getting you engaged!

Find out more!

Thanks,

Varun

[Dennie Williams]

This is for: Adi Raval
To The Editor:

I am a Middlebury College graduate, class of 1962, and an investigative news reporter for over 40 years. I am inspired to read about the journalistic experiences of a far younger Middlebury graduate, Adi Raval, the BBC Bureau Chief, who covered some amazing and tragic history in Iraq.
The well written story of Mr. Raval's reporting in Iraq by Megan James deserves high praise. She captured what appears to be the essence of Mr. Raval's experiences and more importantly what he learned about the incredibly sad U.S. foreign policy decimating the Iraqi people with family deaths and wartime sicknesses and yes, brutality by U.S. troops.
“When you are an American in Iraq you see the best in (what) our country (has done), but you also see some of our country’s darkest moments,” Mr. Raval said. Well, many US troops have behaved heroically and have brought much affection and professional assistance to the Iraqi people. But it seems the ones who have raked havoc, including US contractors like Blackwater and Vice President Dick Cheney's former employer, Halliburton, have never been properly investigated and punished for some incredibly evil conduct.
And, as time goes on, it becomes apparent that the US Congress and the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush presidential administrations during several wars have done relatively little to care for hundreds of thousands of perpetually sick US soldiers and perhaps even a larger population of Iraqi and afghan citizens suffering deadly illnesses as well.
Sincerely,
Dennie Williams
PO Box 511, Litchfield, Ct. 06759 telephone 860-567-0280