The last day of a month is often a crucial milestone for a fledgling campaign, given that its when the party insiders count up the dough. I would like to use my cousin’s campaign as an illustrative example of what you need to do to break in to a race and then remain in it past the first cut (see previous SM entry on Trivedi campaign here).

Since entering his PA primary race against fellow Democrat Doug Pike, Manan has been trying to raise cash in order to have a respectable fundraising figure by the end of September cut-off. He entered the race late due to the fact that he was barred by law from running until his military service was complete. Since then however, he has picked up a major endorsement from Bob Roggio, the democratic candidate who lost in 2008. On October 1st a lot of local politicians and donors are going to look at the Roggio endorsement, look at Manan’s fundraising totals, and look at what kind of local reaction he has been generating through his policy ideas. After analyzing these three factors a bunch of donors may come off the fence and support him…or throw their support behind Pike. On the policy front Trivedi released a statement earlier today:

Have you been watching all the craziness surrounding the health care reform debate in Washington? The Senate Finance Committee just failed to pass the public option. There are too many lies and not enough reality. This is exactly why I need to get down there, why we need a physician’s voice in Congress. I will fight for a healthcare system that is more efficient, brings costs down and covers all Americans. And, I will not back down from ensuring that everyone has a choice of private insurance or a Medicare-like public health insurance option.

An overwhelming majority of physicians like myself support a public option because we deal with real family members who become sick with real illnesses. These cases aren’t just numbers on a spreadsheet or a topic for discussion around a boardroom table. [Link]

On the money front, the campaign has raised over $35,000 the last time I heard. They believe a notable amount of it came from SM originating traffic. I am curious to learn if any SM readers are involved in this race (on either side) and if any have donated (to either side). Manan tells me they are working around the clock on a final fundraising push to make it into the next round. A little more cash may propel them into contention. If you would like to donate or volunteer for the campaign, particularly if you are passionate about healthcare reform, then you can visit Trivedi’s website to learn more.

UPDATE: Remember how I warned in my last post that you should beware anonymous comments singing the praises of a candidate? Pike’s campaign manager just got busted [for anonymous manipulation of blogs](http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/9/30/786774/-Community-Trust).

If you are involved in a campaign for another South Asian American candidate somewhere in the country, please share your experience with me via email (abhi [at] sepiamutiny.com). I would love to blog about it.

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…So much so in fact that the Republican congressman from South Carolina yelled “lie” when President Obama made the following statement earlier tonight:

“There are also those who claim that our reform effort will insure illegal immigrants. This, too, is false – the reforms I’m proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally,” President Obama said. [Link]

Yelling at the President during a joint session of congress is pretty much unheard of. What is this the British Parliament? Even McCain condemned the outburst.

There is fiction and there is truth. Here is FactCheck.org’s take:

The bill is designed to exclude those immigrants, though some Republicans have called for more explicit bans on funding for illegal immigrants and have claimed the bill will funnel money to illegal immigrants.

FactCheck.org described those claims as “false” and noted that one version of the legislation already includes an explicit bar on federal funding for illegal immigrants’ health care. [Link]

Joe Wilson should be a familiar name to Indian Americans. He is the former co-chair of the House India Caucus. Here is an excerpt from a 2003 interview:

Q. One of the criticisms of the Caucus over the years has been that all members like to proudly declare how large the Caucus is whenever they attend some Indian American function, but when it comes to real tangibles, there are not more than a handful of members who are really committed and involved. Is this something you hope to change during your tenure in terms of resurrecting or to be more charitable, rejuvenating the Caucus?

A. It will be. In fact, on my election I had a number of members of Congress tell me that they wanted to become more involved. Over and over, I have had topnotch and very enthusiastic members of Congress tell me they want to become involved. We will be more active and again a reason that we are going to become more active is not just because of a change in leadership but because the Indian American population of the U.S. has become more active and better organized itself.

Does incumbent NJ Governor John Corzine have a lock on the state’s “desi vote?” Well apparently he didn’t take the time to build a float and enter it into the Indian Independence Day Parade in NJ over the weekend (but instead sent U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone in his stead). His opponent, the slightly-ahead-in-the-polls Chris Christie did enter a float (although Rose Parade this was not):

The presence of GOP gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie’s float at the Indian Independence Day Parade on Sunday came as a broadside to Democrats who didn’t field a rival “Corzine” four-wheeler in what is generally a Democratic Party safe zone.

As reported over the weekend on PolitickerNJ.com, Sheriff Kim Guadagno, the Republican lieutenant governor candidate, stood front and center behind the parade’s main banner before going back and climbing aboard Christie’s campaign mobile, where she and her sons waved to the crowd.

A 19th District candidate float commanded by Peter Kothari likewise contributed to a sense of GOP dominance. [Link]

You know who wasn’t happy about this float? New Jersey Assemblyman Upendra Chevy-Cola Chivukula:

“Perhaps the presence of the GOP Lt. Gov. Candidate Kim Guadagno caused a media buzz because it is rare to see Republican top brass at Indian-American events,” Chivukula said. “There was a very strong presence of Democrats at the Indian Independence Parade as a demonstration of our party’s long-standing commitment to diversity, not one that surfaces only at election time.

“As the only South Asian lawmaker in the New Jersey General Assembly, I say this with conviction and from experience.” [Link]

Come on Corzine. You can’t afford to be this sloppy. Next time just build a freakin’ float and throw some jalebi or barfi into the audience and say something Indian national-isty. Continue reading →