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Bobby
Jindal: The Hope of Indian-Americans
Indian-Americans
have made their mark in fields ranging from high technology
to medicine. But in politics, success has remained elusive.
That may change thanks to a young, dynamic politician
named Bobby Jindal. Jindal
is a candidate for Governor in the state of
Louisiana
who’s turning heads with his extensive knowledge
of all things political. The South is an unusual setting for the rise
of a minority candidate. But
Jindal won Louisiana ’s
open gubernatorial primary and is running competitively with
the state’s Lieutenant Governor, Kathleen Blanco, in the runoff
set for November 15th. If he finishes strong, Jindal might just become
the first Indian-American governor in American history. A Jindal victory could pave the way for future
Indian-American politicians the same way that the successes
of people like Kanwal Rekhi have done for aspiring Indian entrepreneurs.
Jindal
is something of a wunderkind. At the age of 32, he has already been a Rhodes
scholar, a consultant for McKinsey, the head of Louisiana
's Department of Health and Hospitals, the executive
director of the Breaux-Thomas commission on Medicare reform,
president of the University
of Louisiana system,
and assistant secretary of the federal Department of Health
and Human Services under President George W. Bush.
He has the endorsement of Louisiana
’s popular governor, Mike Foster who asserted
that Jindal has one of sharpest minds of anyone he’s worked
with. And in endorsing
Jindal, former Speaker of the House Bob Livingstone said,
“Bobby Jindal is one of the brightest most capable people
I've ever met. His experience and success belies his youthful
appearance."
Jindal
is driven by ideas and has a record of success. He turned Louisiana
’s Medicaid department’s deficit into a surplus
during his brief tenure.
In order to remedy Louisiana
’s 7.2% unemployment rate, Jindal has trained
his eyes on the local economy.
He has promised to eliminate costly business taxes
that drive businesses out of Louisiana
. These include the sales tax on manufacturing
equipment, the corporate franchise tax, and the property tax
on offshore equipment. All
these business cost savings mean more jobs for working families.
And Jindal supports school choice to give underprivileged
children new opportunities when their schools fail to teach
and refuse to change. He is a Republican problem-solver.
Jindal’s
opponent, Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Blanco, has engaged
in questionable conduct on the campaign trail. For instance, Blanco released a poll showing
her ahead in the race by six points.
What she failed to mention was that her campaign had
“adjusted” the undecided vote in her favor based on assumed
voting patterns using such broad factors as race.
Some Louisiana political
publications such as BayouBuzz.com criticized Blanco for this
underhanded press release. The poll was also conducted before the open
primary election, which Jindal won by a substantial margin
and which surely boosted his standing in the state.
In fact, on October 15th, Jindal released a poll showing
him seven points ahead of Blanco.
The
open primary left only Blanco and Jindal to compete in the
runoff, the winner of which will be Louisiana
’s next governor. Blanco has made nasty, unsubstantiated allegations
that Jindal is working to suppress voter turnout, especially
among African-Americans.
When asked by the Jindal campaign for proof, Blanco
has produced nothing. There is a long legacy in Louisiana
of racial tensions and stoking these racial flames
without one iota of evidence is highly irresponsible of Blanco.
While Blanco has been playing the race card, Jindal
has been running a positive campaign and has focused on collecting
endorsements- first from Louisiana House Speaker, Hunt Downer
and then from U.S. Congressman Billy Tauzin, Chairman of the
influential House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Why
should Indian-Americans support Jindal? Put simply, he represents the hope that we
all have that we can climb to any station in life if we put
our mind to it. Indian-Americans have surmounted tall hurdles
and Jindal is showing that it can be done in the political
world as well. Successful minority communities like the Jewish
community have supported candidates both on the political
right (such as Republican Senator Norm Coleman) and political
left (such as Democrat Senator Joseph Lieberman).
The path to avoid is throwing our lot with one party
or being used by one party to savage Indian-Americans on the
other side of the political aisle. While Indian-Americans may not vote for Jindal
strictly on the basis of ethnicity, they can appreciate the
merits of his character.
He is the son of immigrants, a high achiever, and has
impeccable integrity. What’s
important is that we put aside petty partisanship and unite
as a community to support Jindal in his daring bid to become
the first Indian-American governor.
You can learn more about Jindal’s candidacy or make
donations to his campaign at his website- www.bobbyjindal.com.
His election would deliver a clear message to all Indian-Americans,
young and old: All is possible in this great land.
-Bob
Chandra is a Bay Area activist and writer. He can be reached by e-mail at bobchandra@comcast.net .
The
opinion presented here is that of the author and not GaramChai.com
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