It is the growing clout of the Indian Americans in the Democratic Party that has led to such a visible number of presidential appointees. And that clout was further strengthened Sept. 12, on the second day of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) fall meeting in Austin, Texas, when three from the community were made members-at-large of the powerful body.
DNC Chairman Tim Kaine, the governor of Virginia, named Ohio State Rep. Jay Goyal and Washington, D.C. political activist Sunita Leeds to the at-large positions, and reappointed Kamil Hasan, founder and CEO of Hitek Venture Capital in California. The three will serve a four-year term on the DNC.
Kaine, in his capacity as governor, has developed a personal relationship with the Indian-American community in his state, and was instrumental in furthering President Obama's choice of Aneesh Chopra and Vivek Kundra as federal chief technology officer and chief information officer, respectively. Chopra and Kundra had previously served in the Virginia state administration.
In Austin on Sept. 11 and 12, at least 30 to 40 Indian Americans were part of the general public attending the DNC sessions, a historically high number. And for Kaine to name three Indian Americans, it is a bonus that party activists are crowing over.
"Never before have there been three Indians, and it is very unusual for any ethnic community, other than African or Hispanic. And we are a very young community. It is very unprecedented," Hasan told News India Times.
Added to this is the fact that Goyal is in his late 20s, and among the very few that young in the DNC. His position as majority whip in the Ohio Legislature, plus being on the short-list for lieutenant governor of the state, lends him a potential the party cannot ignore.
"His was the only appointment from the whole state of Ohio as an at-large member," Hasan pointed out. "The party wants to bring young people from different ethnic groups."
Influential Indians in the Democratic Party were key to all the new Indian-American appointments to important positions in the Obama administration.
"Our list that we submitted to the Obama transition team had 15 names on it. Preet Bharara, Vivek Kundra, Aneesh Chopra, Richard Verma, Ro Khanna," Hasan reeled on. "All were on it, as were Arunava Majumdar, a nanoscientist recently nominated to the Department of Energy, and Islam Siddiqui, who has been nominated chief agriculture negotiator at the U.S. Trade Representative's Office. A few of the names on the list are yet to be appointed," Hasan said, noting that all past appointments were the result of pressure from insiders.
The DNC's role since Barack Obama's run for the presidency has undergone a change, with the group widening its scope to include implementing the agenda of the president. Where it earlier had the primary task of getting a Democratic president elected, the DNC—by incorporating the Organizing for America (formerly Obama for America) network of 16 million members—is now focusing on implementing the White House agenda.
"These 16 million members have effectively become members of the DNC, which has become a political arm of the president and is also helping to get his agenda implemented," Hasan noted.
Hasan maintained the health-care reform bill would be passed, regardless of whether it contained the controversial public option in it or not. He said his interactions with Indian Americans have revealed they are for health-care reform, even if the issue of public option is up in the air.
