The current Atlantic Monthly has what I find to be a brilliant and informative article titled, “They Won’t Know What Hit Them.” Anyone who digs the intricacies of politics should read it for some of the insights it provides into how politics works in this age of campaign finance reform. The article focuses on how a small group of wealthy gay donors are working “stealthily” behind the scenes to make our country more “Gay-friendly.” On its surface this doesn’t have anything to do with South Asian Americans (unless they are gay), but by the time I get to the end you’ll see that it could have everything to do with us.

A tough loss can be hard to swallow, and plenty of defeated politicians have been known to grumble about sinister conspiracies. When they are rising stars like Danny Carroll, the Republican speaker pro tempore of Iowa’s House of Representatives, and the loss is unexpected, the urge to blame unseen forces can be even stronger–and in Carroll’s case, it would have the additional distinction of being justified. Carroll was among the dozens of targets of a group of rich gay philanthropists who quietly joined forces last year, under the leadership of a reclusive Colorado technology mogul, to counter the tide of antigay politics in America that has generated, among other things, a succession of state ballot initiatives banning gay marriage. Carroll had sponsored such a bill in Iowa and guided it to passage in the state House of Representatives, the first step toward getting it on the ballot…

Over the summer, Carroll’s opponent started receiving checks from across the country–significant sums for a statehouse race, though none so large as to arouse suspicion (the gifts topped out at $1,000). Because they came from individuals and not from organizations, nothing identified the money as being “gay,” or even coordinated. Only a very astute political operative would have spotted the unusual number of out-of-state donors and pondered their interest in an obscure midwestern race. And only someone truly versed in the world of gay causes would have noticed a $1,000 contribution from Denver, Colorado, and been aware that its source, Tim Gill, is the country’s biggest gay donor, and the nexus of an aggressive new force in national politics.

Carroll certainly didn’t catch on until I called him after the election, in which Democrats took control of both legislative chambers, as well as Carroll’s seat and four of the five others targeted by Gill and his allies. [Link]

As I read this article it got me thinking about some of the races and candidates that we’ve highlighted on SM in the past. Remember Durbin, Abraham, and Webb? I think in the case of Macaca-Gate, South Asian money did have some impact on the race. That effort had no real organization behind it, however. I also realize that unlike the gay community (to an extent), South Asian Americans aren’t necessarily a voting block, but are rather voting “icebergs” (a term I like to forward). Still, some of the ideas that Gill has put into practice could work very well for other groups.

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I make no secret of the fact that I am extremely annoyed by what I feel is the waayyyyyy too early ’08 Presidential campaigning going on and the hype surrounding many of the candidates. Instead of acting to implement the will of the people (which seems clear) it feels like there are a bunch of Presidential hopefuls out there using “non-binding resolutions” as a means to define their candidacy in relation to their opponents. Isn’t the point of lawmakers to enact binding resolutions? I make non-binding resolutions at SM all the time but most people just ignore them.

Part of the reason I wanted to help launch a blog like SM was to cover the ’08 elections from a South Asian perspective. I’d like to make sure that we aren’t simply following politics like it’s a sport but rather keeping an eye on the issues that matter. I’m hoping also that those of you that may get involved with campaigns will feed us information about your experience. That experience is a large part of the South Asian perspective I want to capture here.

As always, SM does not endorse any candidates but will sniff out the desi angle on a story. And so, in February of 2006, a full 22 months before the next Presidential election, I bring you news of South Asians for Obama (SAFO). Their first fundraising event will be held Thursday, March 1 in D.C. (details will soon be on our EVENTS PAGE):

South Asians for Obama (SAFO) is a grassroots movement to unite the South Asian American community around Barack Obama’s vision for our country’s future. CLICK HERE to contribute to Senator Obama on behalf of the South Asian American community. [Link]

My political operatives (what? I could have operatives. You don’t know) also tell me that some of the former leadership of South Asian’s For Kerry in 2004 will soon be starting something like a “South Asians for Hillary.”

In order to be fair and balanced I thought I’d link to South Asians for Rudy, or McCain, or Mitt but I wasn’t able to find such fundraising sites. I would be forever grateful to anyone that could alert me to such a development though. I also love posting pictures of candidates hugging South Asians (or making dosas with them).

I kind of just miss the good old days when people threw their hat into the ring only 11 months before the election. I mean, there are plenty of other things to do until election day. Now it seems that if you don’t lock up donors and have money in the bank almost two years out, it’s all over. I’m sure everyone sees where this is headed. In the future we will have people announce on Nov. 3rd.

Now where can I get me that button as a keepsake?

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