As one commenter pointed out yesterday, despite getting invited to the Democratic National Convention, Sepia Mutiny was NOT invited to the State Dinner last night. We are human here in the bunker. We hurt and feel slightly slighted. I think I should have have been invited so that I did not have to suffer the indignity of spending hours at Stubhub.com…just hoping in vain. As I alluded to in my post yesterday, an invitation to a state dinner is a big deal. So is not getting an invite. This is especially true if you are widely seen as the current elder statesman of Democratic Indian American Politics. A source tells me that Kumar Barve feels like he got hit by a bus (or thrown under it).
First elected in 1990, and re-elected three times–in 1994,1998, and 2002, Delegate Kumar P. Barve, age 48, is the Majority Leader in Maryland’s state legislature and is the longest-serving elected official of Indian origin. He represents a district with a population of 110,000 in Montgomery County, Maryland. He is known for his self-effacing sense of humor, and deep commitment to his community. [link]
It can’t simply be because he was a Hillary Clinton supporter. Other D-Punjab friends were invited. [update: Reader Subodh Chandra corrects me: Barve endorsed Obama. However, he was close with Clinton and also part of Bill Clinton’s Democratic Leadership Council. It seems highly unlikely that the omission of Barve was a mere oversight. Given his endorsement of Obama, the mystery deepens.]
This post is mostly targeted at our hard-core political junkie readers/insiders. What do you think is going on here? Anonymous tips to me are welcome: abhi [at] sepiamutiny.com
It does seem to be an odd oversight. Kumar is well known to the Indian American political scene, often a key speaker at Desi events across the DC area. Maybe they were trying to move the invites away from the mover and shakers politically? Did anyone else in local (state assembly/city) politics get an invite?
Yes. Both Raj and Jay Goyal (no relation to each other)
We should’ve just gate-crashed, Abhi. 🙁
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/26/us/politics/26crashers.html?src=twt&twt=nytimes
Next time.
In addition to Barve, this article mentions Neera Tanden, Huma Abedin, Preet Bharara and a few others as not invited.
It’s kind of stunning that Huma wasn’t there. Isn’t she still Hillary’s top aide?
I guess you have to be a blonde to do that.
Abhi, please run an update/correction. Kumar endorsed Barack Obama a week before the Maryland primary–it was perfect timing. I know because I helped secure the endorsement and leverage it.