Mutineers, we have our first brown Governor. 🙂 Join me, as I bold my favorite parts of the NYT article which declares this history-making outcome.
Bobby Jindal, a conservative Republican congressman from the New Orleans suburbs and the son of immigrants from India, was elected Louisiana’s governor Saturday, inheriting a state that was suffering well before Hurricane Katrina left lingering scars two years ago.
Mr. Jindal, 36, defeated three main challengers in an open primary, becoming this state’s first nonwhite governor since a Reconstruction-era figure briefly held the office 130 years ago.
With more than 90 percent of the vote counted, Mr. Jindal received 53 percent, above the 50 percent-plus-one threshold needed to avoid a runoff in November. He will be the nation’s first Indian-American governor when he takes office in January.
Have I popped champagne? Yes, I have. No, I don’t believe in teaching Intelligent Design, I certainly am not an advocate of getting rid of a woman’s right to choose and I still support hate crime legislation.
I can guzzle bubbly despite all that, because there’s something else stirring within me– recognition that someone who looks like me did something so significant, combined with an uncomplicated thrill over the fact that Bobby made history.
There are so many valid reactions to Jindal; I know about them because thanks to Amardeep’s post, we have hosted a lively discussion regarding his background, his policy positions and the greater implications of his politicking, for “the community”. Amardeep’s thoughts resonated with many of us who are conflicted about Louisiana’s new Governor. The good news is, there are no wrong reactions.
Each of us is allowed to feel how we do, so while some of you gnash your teeth, I’m happy for him and by extension, us. Better than that, the next time some little kid decides that they want to be in government when they grow up, their immigrant parents now have a visual, a template, a precedent to latch on to, much the same way my English minor was suddenly acceptable once Jhumpa won.
There is much to do, much which is owed to the great state of Louisiana and her people; this is just the beginning of that story and I idealistically hope that it has a happy ending. What Jindal can do (and really, whether he can do it) remains to be seen. But I don’t think it’s disrespectful or inappropriate to raise a glass to him tonight and wish him a sincere congratulations.
Doing so doesn’t mean we buy in to his positions lock stock, neither does it mean he’s like, the greatest thing EVAR. It just means that we are happy for someone who accomplished something extraordinary. Congratulating Bobby is something I humbly think we should do, because ideally we should each choose generosity of spirit over bitterness and rancor. Choosing the former and congratulating a winner doesn’t lessen us or diminish our passionate convictions, it just demonstrates our tolerance, equanimity and good faith that we will allow a person’s actions to speak before we do, negatively and presumptously.
one as a wall street investment banker, the other as a neocon, of all things.
It might be that I have high (too high?) standards – but neither Fareed nor Bobby particularly impresses me – neither on the strength and depth of their ideas nor on how well they articulate them. I spent a good bit of time on youtube over the weekend listening to Bobby, and with Fareed I’ve heard a good fraction (virtually all) of his shows (on his own website) and read most of his articles and columns. I never got how early in his career he became Editor of Newsweek and Foreign Affairs.
Unfortunately the logical counterfactual to run on him and his brothers (to ask how well they would have done in India) would be complicated by the fact that they would have encountered strong anti-Muslim prejudice. Then again, they were (are) quite privileged, and their parents and sister certainly did very well.
That bobby kennedy jindal so sexy.
lollapalooza de souza, Sanjay xray Guptay, benazir bootilicious so long. i have found ma match.
Tila
chachaji, i am so glad that someone finally recognizes this about fareed. he is pretty vapid and has little by way of insights to offer. his first book about u.s. power was o.k., but nothing special. its been downhill since then; all he offers are the usual bromides; i don’t think he is a particularly deep or clear thinker. but i do disagree with the last line of your post; this is precisely why he became the editor of newsweek; these are the exact qualities you require to succeed in american corporate media (that and a penchant for ingratiating yourself to some faction of the establishment, be it republican or democratic)
They do, and if they don’t watch out they will end up losing much of the desi vote. The problem with the Democrats is they take the minority vote for granted and are not putting much effort into either voter registration or campaigning. I consistently vote Democrat but feel increasingly disenchanted with the party, and have certainly never felt that they have tried in any way to get my vote: as a young professional, as an ethnic minority, or even as a woman. On Election Day a few years, someone from the Democratic party came by our house and asked if my husband (white) had voted. I told them that he had, and asked why they weren’t asking whether I had voted and she just looked at me blankly and said ” you aren’t on our list”. Well, I’m not sure how they make their list, but that’s when I realized that the Democrats are totally failing in tapping into the right target demographic, and it is their fault the country is in the mess it’s in, and their fault they lost the last presidential election. They suck, but I’m still going to vote for them. Not everyone in my position is such a yellow dog though, and that’s why I worry they will fail once again.
— Ennis: If red states want to embrace Copernican positions …
Did you mean Ptolemaic?
— pied piper: Most desis are not named “Bobby”;
You clearly haven’t seen Bobby
The problem with the Democrats is they take the minority vote for granted and are not putting much effort into either voter registration or campaigning
This is true, of course, they could always count on the repubs alienating the minorities by a wide enough margin, that any effort targetting the minority vote is essentially preaching to the choir.
But I agree that still shouldn’t be an excuse.
As for Jindal being involved in the convention, I can completely see that. The repubs are masters of the image and they know how to milk that sh*t. Last year it was the terminator and guliani, with the convention in nyc pushed so it was like a week beore 9/11. They even got that nutbag zell miller, who still thinks he’s a pre 1960’s dixiecrat.
They will put Jindal up and he can say, “bla bla bla ching chong danny devito ching chong” it wont matter, the message will be, “See? we don’t hate all dark skinned people from that India-middle-east looking type world”
I don’t doubt that. I’m only poking fun at some Hindu upper-class desis who tend to think of all Muslims uneducated/philistine reactionaries. Needless to say, to them people like Zakaria are highly unusual and examples of ideal minority figures. I’ve had many an argument on this very issue (till I’ve gotten blue in the face).
btw, Christopher Bayly’s brilliant “Empire and Information” describes the rich intellectual culture which thrived under Muslim patronage in North India in the 17th and 18th century. In modern urban India, sadly, this literary and cultural legacy has been neglected (Dalrymple also alludes to this in The Last Mughal as well). Islam is now largely identified with international terrorism, and the scientific sophistication of the Arab civilization/cultural production of late medieval/early modern Indian courts (and many other such examples) have been entirely forgotten.
Chachaji, I agree that Zakaria is not profound in the way a Chicago school theorist might be. But his brand of punditry is more nuanced and careful than the demagoguery that so characterizes people who wheel and deal like him. At least, his political commitments don’t lead to absurd or over-determined conclusions (compare him to his advisor, Huntington or Coulter or D’Souza, who crave to be recognized as sage and astute conservative intellectuals).
nicely done, sigh!
But is it? The Republican rhetoric, if you take it at face value, can be very compelling for young professionals of any color. Pay lower taxes, send your kids to private school on the government’s dollar, and see people that look like you in positions of power, because the only colors we care about are red, white, and blue. I don’t hear any compelling rhetoric of any kind from any of the Democrats except John Edwards, and he’s not doing so well. There are a lot of people on the fence that could swing this election one way or another, and only the Republicans are telling them what they want to hear. The Democrats ought to have this election in the bag, but they don’t, and this is precisely why.
[Link]
ok, i hereby rescind all my previous statements about Zakaria. eew! paging divya.
lower taxes, send your kids to private school on the government’s dollar, and see people that look like you in positions of power, because the only colors we care about are red, white, and blue.
But thats just a superficial reading of their rhetoric. Because it just stops there, at rhetoric.
The lower taxes are promised to all, but end up disproportionately for the rich (so rich people of color will vote), private school on the gov dollar? not sure what you’re referring to here? and as for only caring aboud red white and blue, well, they’re against the very programs designed to unravel the old white boys network, which they themselves had a direct hand in creating.
Vouchers.
And I totally agree with you, which is why I would never vote Republican,and why I said if you take their rhetoric at face value, but I think the Democrats underestimate the value of all that rhetoric to the average, or even smart, voter. People are easily swayed, and the Dems don’t take enough advantage of that, nor do they recognize that people are swayed by different things. They rely too much on their ideology speaking for itself.
But thats just a superficial reading of their rhetoric. Because it just stops there, at rhetoric.
But, reading over your original statement, you did preface it with “taken at face value” so, I do agree, I just see their rhetoric as an empty shell.
408 portmanteau
–> I thought desi referred to people of south asian descent outside India ? It includes India as well ? It would be nice if someone settled on a standard usage of the term.
I am sure modern urban india is sensitive to literary and cultural legacy of empires(buddhist, muslim, hindu) of times ealier than 17th/18th century. Urban india has a strong sense of every nations’ history but their own.
Didnt Pervez Hoodbhoy allude to Islam not contributing anything meaningful in recent times compared to its earlier avatar, in a recent article ? Unless it reforms, why use its past glory to excuse its present culpability in international terrorism ?
–> D’Souza should be beaming now. He is mentioned in the same class as Coulter(even if his book didnt get as much attention as hers). It is not saying much about Zakaria that he looks better when compared to the drivel mentioned above.
Congrats, Bobby. I hope he succeeds where his predecessor failed.
While I don’t agree with everything Bobby Jindal stands for (I am a libertarian; he’s not), I don’t expect him to. Indeed, suggesting that someone should have a particular viewpoint because of his race is intellectual segregation, where a person is expected to drink from a particular fountain of idealogy, simply because of his race — not his beliefs.
avg tax rates by income group
HMF..the tax cut by Republicans help the rich because its the rich who pay the taxes. I don’t have exact figures but top 10% of earners pay something like 80% of the taxes. The poor do not pay any taxes and may actually get a credit under the earned income credit program. It may sound cliched but its the so called rich that create the economic engine that create jobs. There has been no country that has got wealthier or spurred economic growth by raising taxes.
One has to look no further than Michigan’s Granholm’s Job creative initiative on how ‘good’ intentions squanders money. Its the tobacco settlement money. They have wasted millions away on boutique projects has created minimal jobs, or any created any worthwhile technology. Now she has raised taxes again which will squeeze spending some more.
desishiksa: young professionals are usually in neighborhoods with high enough property values and students with republican family values that the public schools are fine, if not great. vouchers are aimed at poor americans who are sick of failing schools and their undisciplined students and thus want to send their kids to (usually catholic) private schools. its really aimed at the poor, and its about choice and empowerment, not unlike micro-lending, free-enterprise zones, or social venture capital.
There has been no country that has got wealthier or spurred economic growth by raising taxes.
The countries that do get wealthier by tax cuts, have that wealth amassed within a select few. It’s not dispersed.
well, rhetoric is all good, but the dems have displayed no ability to get anything done. for pete’s sake, they’ve been outplayed on symbolic resolutions and trying to expand insurance on children. pathetic!
as for zakaria, i think he’s a brown thomas friedman (that is, if you catch friedman on a good day when he’s not doing to metaphors what an iraqi i.e.d. does to jeeps). he just spouts the obvious stuff and doesn’t usually say anything particularly insightful. but maybe i am just jealous because he gets to banter with my boy jon stewart.
I grew up in Louisiana, and I say congratulations to Bobby on his victory! If I still voted there, I certainly would have voted for him. It’s worth noting that my parents voted against Bobby – that certainly attests to the fact the like-minded people can disagree on the import of Bobby’s win!
Like Anna, I disagree with quite a few of his political views, but I am elated to see that a desi can win in my home state. It says a lot about how far Louisiana has come, and how far the nation has come as well. Sure, the Jena 6 is a contemporaneous race-related story in Louisiana, but I’m proud of both Bobby and Louisiana for making this step.
I also believe that Bobby was the most competent candidate in the field. What Louisiana needs most is economic development, and I think (and hope) that Bobby has the ability to help generate that during his term.
I agree with #3. I am somewhat proud that Jindal, a Desi, is victorious. But my enthu is somewhat curbed due to his party affiliation. (There are only a handful of Republicans I respect and admire and will get my vote.)
I’d be a lot more impressed with Bobby Jindal’s governorship if it was achieved with a platform I could respect even if disagreeable to me. I don’t respect his politics. There is no denying Jindal is an incredibly smart & accomplished young man. While some are enamored by yet another macaca “first” and his remarkable success at a young age, I view him “morphing” his personal background to the extent he has to fit his political ambition as less impressive than if he had achieved his governorship “organically” versus the overly manufactured approach he took. I so wish that this American political milestone had been achieved in a manner that it doesn’t send the message to future Indian-American political hopefuls that one must transform themself into an almost ethnic less being to be successful in American politics. I have no problem with him changing his name to “Bobby” but changing his religion, adopting bigot like philosophies, and naming his kid “Slade” point to a man uncomfortable in his own brown skin. I can see how people will be impressed if one looks at his successful win for governor in an absolute sense but the methods he employed to reach this success IMO don’t make this the landmark achievement some on this blog make it to be.
How generous of you to allow the man to change his own name. 🙂
On a less jovial note (and this a general set of points, not aimed at just Shiv, because dozens are making comments similar to his), I’m tiring of these digs at his religion and what he named his children; I take no issue with people who are bothered by Jindal’s policy positions. But something as personal as faith? What we choose to name our babies? I know brown people who were born in this country, who are Hindu, who didn’t give their kids “desi names”. It’s going to happen and it’s not the end of the world nor is it indicative of self-hatred. I have cousins with Danish first names, because that’s where they were born. The fixation on little Slade’s name and this idea that it somehow “proves” or confirms something unsavory is pathetic.
The overarching theme I’ve noticed, which I have been very troubled by, is that there seems to be some unwritten set of guidelines for who is a “real” desi and no one is allowed to deviate from them. No one is allowed to change their faith (they are only allowed to reject it), no one is allowed to be a conservative, no one is allowed to give their kids “western” or Americanized names. Well, I think all of that is ridiculous. Who are we to judge? And what about the fact that we live in America now, and it’s extremely unreasonable to expect that every 2nd gen person is going to name every child they bear something brown enough, in order to prove something.
Well kudos to the interesting conversations. I also agree that I don’t particularly care to celebrate the fact that Bobby Jindal is desi and now governor of Louisiana. It is amusing that people in India are so jubilant when he has never even visited the place, and doesn’t make an attempt to highlight his roots. It’s apparent that he really doesn’t care to emphasize it. To his credit, it has worked quite well. I have the feeling that if he portrayed himself as an ethnic politician, he would fall into the trap that many ethnic politicians do– they are considered “the other” and don’t get elected by mainstream whites (which was impt in Louisiana). Also, ANNA, this is meant in total kindness and respect: I always hesitate to post on your entries, because in part I am afraid of the harsh responses you sometimes write back, which can sometimes be quite defensive and rude to the other person (when no rudeness to you was ever intended).
If I still voted there, I certainly would have voted for him.
Like Anna, I disagree with quite a few of his political views, but I am elated to see that a desi can win in my home state.
I am very different then you. I guess, you are saying you would vote for Bobby Jindal b/c he has a shared ethnicity to you, whatever his policies. I could care less what his ethnicity is, to me his victory is a defeat for the sound policies that I think would help this country. So it’s just a defeat to me.
I don’t think I’d ever be “harsh” to someone who phrases things as gently as you just did. 🙂 I’m sorry if I have discouraged you from commenting, that’s a little heart-breaking. 🙁
I know I’m sensitive, but I generally only react “harshly” when I’m being attacked, not when I’m being disagreed with (see: Maitri, Shaad, Camille etc). Part of the problem is, people who are new to the blog have no way of knowing that some of this “harshness” and rude volleying goes back for years. I doubt if anyone who is still here remembers the golden age of trolling, when we regularly got comments like (I’m paraphrasing) “the reason you are such a bad writer is b/c you are single, and no wonder. what man would want someone so black, fat and ugly etc.” If you got hate mail and comments like that for years, even someone as kind as you might lash out from the corner. 🙁 The “harsh”, it doesn’t come from nowhere.
But Anna you are gorgeous….and I am not speaking about the inner beauty either
Ah, memories of our first year. Sorry for the temporary threadjack, just wanted to provide context for my comment to NP. I’m really saddened that I’ve given someone so civil such a negative impression. I’m a work in progress, innit.
::
Thanks, Vic. Sweet of you.
Anna
It isn’t just the “Slade” issue. And it isn’t just the religious conversion. It’s each of those things combined with the platforms he utilized to win governorship. It’s too simplistic to view each individual action in a vacuum.
In no way did I say he doesn’t have the choice to choose his son’s name or which religion he practices. However, evaluating his actions holistically gives me a sense there is more going on than just “freedom of choice” here. That’s just my opinion. Maybe if he wasn’t a politician, I would give him more benefit of the doubt regarding these actions. He’s a very smart guy who figured out at a very young age how the American political systems works thus he did what he felt gave him the best chance to reach his political ambitions. I just don’t respect his policies or the methods he employed to reach this so called landmark achievement. Let’s agree to disagree here.
I understand that, but what if each action wasn’t part of some master plan to suck up to the white man? I guess what I’m wondering is, does he not deserve the benefit of our doubt?
If I found out that some up-and-coming desi politician named his kids “brown names” to avoid precisely this situation, I’d be a little bothered by that, wouldn’t you? I just think that people shouldn’t focus on the Slade thing. The confusion/angst over the conversion bit, I can understand more.
Okay, sure. Sorry if you feel like I singled you out, I tried to emphasize that I was addressing several similar comments. If anything, I think the majority of people feel the way you do.
Jindal
I think he’d have a hard time justifying running as VP after nary a month in office as Gov. 🙂 Perhaps this a more realistic expectation in 2012?
Zakaria (Fareed)
I was going to say exactly the same thing 🙂
Dems & the “Minority Vote” I’m with desishiksa re: the Dems. They talk a lot of talk and completely take the “minority vote” for granted (I mean, they dare to presume that there’s a homogenous minority vote and that it’s in their pockets). All of my friends (self-included) who have worked on Dem campaigns across the country run into this problem time and time again. We argue for ESL outreach and turning out the “minority vote” and in response we get blank stares and comments that it’s “preaching to the choir.” It’s not preaching to the choir if people who could be voting for you aren’t turning out to the polls and/or are not registered with your party.
Taxes Generally the folks who bear the brunt of the burden on taxes are folks who fall in the brackets we would call “working poor” (i.e. above poverty, but not living a life that most would consider “above poverty”) and the “middle class.” Really rich people don’t pay taxes at the rate that we think they do (please see marginal tax rate). And really smart really rich people have hot shot accountants who get them to shelter their wealth in lower-tax or tax-free places (assuming these are trustworthy folks who aren’t sheltering the cash in the accountant’s private off-shore account).
“Non-desi” names
ANNA, you “know” a Sikh with a non-desi name, too [me] 🙂
I know, dear girl! I didn’t want to induce “Camille-fatigue”; you see, I’m citing you constantly as proof that I really can disagree with people. 😉
I wouldn’t be surprised to see his name come up as a possible VP candidate for Giuliani or Romney to give their ticket culturally conservative credentials (a whole lot of evangelicals are threatening to go for a third party candidate)
He has a better chance of winning the Police Benevolence Ballet Competition than he does a VP spot. The executive branch is sealed off, still white male. We can elect a martian governor, and still the executive branch’ll be sealed off.
Aack – over 400 comments means starting from the beginning and reading my way through just isn’t going to happen…but I did need to put my $.02 in about why I can’t be happy about how Bobby Jindal’s has making history. I don’t consider it a happy occasion for Indian Americans when this quote comes directly from his victory speech:
http://www.bobbyjindal.com/docs/articles/Bobby-Jindal-Victory-Speech.html
“in America and specifically in Louisiana — the only barrier to success is your willingness to work hard and play by the rules”
Nice discounting of the experiences of SO many people of color, including many Indian Americans, and in the very state where race and socioeconomic status were such significant factors during Hurricane Katrina and her aftermath…
Reminds me a bit of Clarence Thomas….
🙂 I am, if nothing else, disagreeable 😉 [I keed, I keed]
I appreciate #430’s humor!
Now about the topic of Western vs Indian names. I personally favor names in both cultures. Many of my friends who are of Chinese origin keep a culturally traditional name as well as a Western name. Some of my friends ( both Indian and Caucasian) who have gone to China for work adopted a local Chinese name. (I think the Chinese government may have assigned those names.) Maybe (changing/altering one’s name) it is a good way to get identify and assimilate with the majority.
I thought he mentioned that in a self-referential way?
Is there a litmus tests for black/brownness? If a POC deviates from this now-repeatedly-alluded to, apparently-secret-but-unanimously-agreed-upon bill of ethnic credibility, this is the first name which is mentioned…next on the continuum: “Uncle Tom”. It’s kinda ugly. And it’s hurtful. That’s why Amardeep and a few other bloggers here in the bunker aren’t fans. The good professor even wrote a post about it:
Amardeep was writing about writers, but I wish we could extend it to everyone.
i agree with your point at large, and i find all these comments about jindal’s wannabe whiteness etc. completely irrelevant. but the case of clarence thomas is much more complicated, because he has gone on record repeatedly about his conflicts with his own blackness, and how that has significantly shaped his life and views.
I think Clarence Thomas is just a great example of someone who has a) discretely benefitted from specific policies designed to address systemic disadvantage and discrimination, yet b) actively works to dismantle these same programs. And, as we all know, many of these programs were designed in the context of a very specific ethnic/racial community. First, I think this is MUCH MORE clear (although rapidly becoming less “black and white” – no pun intended) for some “minority” communities than others.
I think there are certain instances when the same could be said of desis acting against the interests of the larger desi community (I use “desi” in the specific context of the U.S.-diaspora, here). That said, I think there’s a strong argument to make that the diasporic community is not homogenous enough in its outlook or experiences to define “group interests” in the same way. If we could, would we have such split opinions on immigration, outsourcing, economic restructuring, party affiliation, etc.? I don’t think Bobby Jindal meets the criteria that Clarence Thomas has set (yet). I’m sure someone will blow up at me on that last point, and as problematic as his politicking may have been, it seems on par with what other POC and non-POC politicians in LA have done (not that that makes it ok, but it establishes a sense of “business as usual”).
Amen. Way better stated than anything I could say.
Reading all the ANNA-bashing early posts actually makes me miss old commentators (a bizarre reaction, I know) 🙁
I agree with you. I’m not the one who keeps namechecking Clarence Thomas in order to be…erm…efficient? While Thomas has gone on record with such anguish, I feel like the Uncle Tom-ming that Jindal is getting comes from the unholy name-conversion-name trifecta…which is just…it’s problematic on many levels. I don’t think the two situations are analogous. Again, my larger concern is what Camille started speaking to– that there’s this assumption of a homogenous political identity, when this thread alone shows that’s not the case. Why isn’t it okay to be on either side of the aisle?
Cutie. 🙂 That’s hilarious (I know what you mean though). Quite the turnover we’ve had.
It is amusing that people in India are so jubilant when he has never even visited the plac
that’s wrong. the articles in the indian press note that his cousin said he had visited his ancestral village when he was 6 or 7. i also believe he was in india relatively recently while in congress on official business, but i could be wrong (it could be that he showed singh around D.C.). like the legend of the pre-teen legal name change i guess there’s no point in fact-checking these things when they support a negative image of the man….
Bobby Jindal was in India recently with Congressional delegation ahead of Bush’s visit
Quite the turnover we’ve had.
would be nice to quantitize the turnover via a reader survey… ;0)
Now THAT is old skool. 😉
you can get correlation structure out of this http://www.advancedsurvey.com/
for $10 you can get cross tab data which you could cruch with SAS or something….
Please don’t 🙂 I bet you could get a mutineer to do it for free! (muahahaha)
But really, please don’t.