Don’t forget to set those TiVos because tonight marks the debut of Season IV of The Apprentice. As previously reported, Toral Mehta will make her debut. Guess who just decided to steal the spotlight? That’s right. The Raj is back (thanks for the tip “Bella”):
Raj Bhakta, former contestant on Donald Trump’s reality show, said he is contemplating challenging Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz in next year’s election for the 13th District.“I think Allyson Schwartz is a formidable opponent, clearly. At the same time, I think she’s beatable,” Bhakta said, adding that he wants to run “because I think it’s very important to have a fresh, progressive, conservative voice representing the parts of the country that are not necessarily blue and not necessarily red.”
Bhakta, a 29-year-old businessman from the Fort Washington area, is a Republican. He said he has talked to Montgomery County GOP chairman Ken Davis and Philadelphia GOP leader Vito Canuso and plans to go to Washington, D.C., next week to talk to the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Davis – who said he never watched “The Apprentice” – said he had no trouble taking Bhakta seriously.
“Any candidate who decides to do this and is as organized and as thoughtful as I think he is, you have to take them seriously,” Davis said Tuesday. “He has a lot of ideas, and he’s a very bright young man. I think he is a serious candidate.”
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p>What would Raj stand for? If you remember I previously blogged about his political venture the Coalition for the Advancement of the Republic. Doesn’t seem like he has added much to the website though.
Before he can hammer his opinions into a campaign platform, however, Bhakta said he knows he has a monumental task: figuring out where the cash will come from.“Everywhere I’ve gone, even before they ask me what I believe, they ask how much money I can raise,” Bhakta said. “For one district in Congress, to know that $10 million could be spent on the election, aggregately. Well, something’s wrong there.”
Yes, Raj now knows that in the world of politics the only thing that matters is how much cash you can raise. He should also know to stay on Karl Rove’s good side if he wants Roves operatives to help him out. Recently Raj, and other semi-celebrities, were asked to suggest a reading list for President Bush while he vacationed at Crawford. Here was Raj’s advice:
” ‘Empire,’ by Neil Ferguson. He should read it with an eye towards realizing that as we stumble further into ’empire,’ we should avoid the inevitable fate of them all.” – Raj Bhakta, former contestant, “The Apprentice”; chairman, Coalition for the Advancement of the Republic
Rove has an all seeing eye. That kind of teasing could get you in the GOP’s dog house.
See previous Raj posts.
Hmmm, there was nothing about this in my weekly fax from Rove…….
or, alternatively
Raj is on my side of the aisle? Oy vey, abhi, I may actually have to give your side another look….
Maybe now he can get Kournikova to go out with him. But will he be able to ever erase this? 🙂
Maybe soon, we’ll hear comments from the “Apprentice Veterans United for the Truth” who will vouch on TV that Bhakta actually wanted Kournikova to be his fag-hag. That should see his career as a Republican sinking.
Seriously though, I think America and Indian-Americans would do well with progressive Republicanism, or atleast South Park Republicanism. Since the strongest pillar of conservative policy-making is being ignored by a President who just wants to spend but does not care where the money comes from – in a move harking back to his coke-snorting days – neo-con is now just Big Government with a healthy dose of Religious hardlining. A moderate Republican stance would do the US (and by induction the world) economy a whole lot of good.
Yeh koi bhula bhatka lagta hai.
Argh messed my pun up b/c of bad punmanship Yeh koi bhula bhakta lagta hai.