Kamil Hasan and Howard Dean

I'm sure Tim Russert, Chris Matthews and many others in the national press are just lining up, bursting to say and write kind and wonderful things about Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Howard Dean. If only they could find the time.

Yeah, probably along the lines of let's revisit 'The Scream' for the 1,563,874th time. Or let's quote some of those oh-so-easy-to-find unnamed sources that Dean is fighting with Demo honchos Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi. Or the financial contributions aren't coming in as well as prior to Dean's appointment.

Well, you DCers, spouters of what is supposed to be graciously accepted as righteous conventional wisdom and unadorned truth, sit down. I know it's tough to hear this but little 'ol Lisa Fernandez of the San Jose Mercury News (Knight Ridder chain yet again you WPosters and NY Timers) beat you all to it. You've been scooped.

What's that?

Plain heresy.

Unvarnished apostasy.

Howard Dean has actually accomplished something--a postive act--how can that be spinned? C'mon, there has to be a down side. We'll find something. you just wait. Get Ken Mehlman on line one--he'll be good for a juicy Dean smackdown. We can always count on him..

Well, while you DCers are rushing around in search of fairness and balance, let the American public read this:

   Indo-American fundraiser gets seat at national table
    By Lisa Fernandez
    San Jose Mercury News
    Mar. 07, 2006

   Kamil Hasan of Saratoga has a new job: collecting serious cash from the Indo-American community for the Democratic National Committee.

   That job may not be as powerful as senator or congressman. But for the Bay Area's roughly 155,000 Indo-American community members, Hasan's appointment represents another step the well-educated, affluent immigrant group is taking to gain political clout. His goal is to raise at least $5 million through a newly formed Indian fundraising council in time for the next presidential election.

   What's most important, community members said, is that the appointment isn't just about Hasan: It's about the voice of the entire Indo-American community, about 2 million strong.

   ``It's basically a seat at the table,'' Hasan said in an interview at Hitek Venture Partners in Mountain View, a company he founded in 1995 that funds about 30 high-tech start-ups. ``It's a clear acknowledgment that the Indo-American community has made major contributions. We want to make a major impact on where this country should go, and to be involved as a player.''

   For years, the 60-year-old venture capitalist and his high-powered peers have individually forked over large donations to political campaigns. He and his family gave more than $70,000 to political campaigns in 2004, and he and his wife, Talat, 54, formed the first Indian American Leadership Council for the Democrats -- raising $1.5 million for John Kerry.

   But such contributions from Indo-Americans rarely led to positions that allowed community members to help shape public policy on issues many hold dear: immigration, education and research funding.

   Frustrated, Hasan and about a dozen others flew to Washington, D.C., about six months ago to visit Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, to ask for an appointment on the national political stage. Dean acquiesced and in the fall tapped Hasan because of his fundraising abilities to be one of the DNC's 75 members-at-large. The job includes raising money and voting on party resolutions. Hasan is the first Indo-American from the Bay Area on the committee, and the second ever after Moina Mohib of Washington, D.C., in 2001.

For the rest go here:

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercuryne ws/news/14037081.htm



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Re: Kamil Hasan and Howard Dean (none / 0)

As a Democrat and an Indian-American, I don't find this story that noteworthy.

Let's face it.  Hasan got the DNC spot because he is a rich, large donor.  There would be an outcry here at MyDD if this was someone who was not Indian-American.  But here, this gives the party "diversity"

As for Hasan being a "community leader", give me a break.  I used to live in San Jose, and my family still lives there.  None of us have ever heard the name before in the community.  This diary is the first I have heard of him.  It is pretty easy to be a self-proclaimed "community leader"

As for the Indo-American Leadership Council, well, this doesn't represent the average Indian-American.  Rather, it represents the rich, cocktail party contingent of the party that is more about status than working to improve the Democratic party.  It certainly does not represent me.

The fact is, there are a lot more important Indian-Americans than Hasan that are active in the Democratic in a working capacity.  Swati Dandekar is in the Iowa House representing a rural district with very few Indian-Americans.  Kumar Barve is the majority leader in the Maryland House of Delegates.  Madhu Chugh served as Director of Health Care Policy for the John Kerry campaign in 2004 after serving as Communications Director for Governor Tom Vilsack in Iowa.  Along the way, she was an integral part of Team Franken as a researcher for Al Franken's "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tells Them" and a helpful reviewer for "Take It Back", the new book by James Carville and Paul Begala.  Preeeta Bansal previously served as Solicitor General for the State of New York under Eliot Spitzer.

This is just a sampling of important Indian-American Democrats; there are many more.

Unlike Hasan, however, they are more than just important Indian-American Democrats.  They are important Democrats -- PERIOD -- who have served all Democrats with their service, not just Indian-Americans.

As for myself, I'm a nobody Democrat, and I say that truthfully.  I try to be active.  I am the Treasurer/Precinct 16 Chair for the Gregg County Democratic Party in Northeast Texas, and serve as the President of Democrats United, the largest Democratic club in Gregg County.  In 2004, I was a volunteer for the Arkansas Victory 2004 Coordinated Campaign (featuring the Kerry-Edwards campaign and other pertinent Arkansas and Texas races) in Texarkana, Arkansas -- in particular, I served as Phone Bank Captain for the last 5 days of the election.

Through all of these experiences, I was and am the only Indian-American in these groups.  Yet I was allowed to progress in these endeavors, and was viewed simply as an active Democrat.  And that's what I want.  I, like many Indian-Americans, don't want to be left in a corner.

Again, I'm a nobody.
But Kamil Hasan doesn't represent me.
I represent myself.

Finally, Tim Russert is an idiot.
But he has nothing to worry about with this fluff, a self-serving piece regaring Hasan to be sure.


by v2aggie2 on Sat Mar 11, 2006 at 12:01:28 AM EST


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