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SIDEBAR: Indian-American delegate pledged to free market, Republicans
By Frank Fuhrig Sep 5, 2008, 15:49 GMT
St Paul, Minnesota - Second-generation Indian-American Sunita Krishna is a Hindu, political moderate and new law school graduate.
She is also a member of the conservative Republican Party, serving as an alternate delegate from her home state of Arizona at the just- concluded presidential nominating convention in St Paul, Minnesota.
At the opening of the four-day meeting, Krishna took the main stage alone to lead 4,600 regular and alternate delegates and thousands of additional conventioneers in a peculiarly American ritual of patriotism - the pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States: 'One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.'
Invited a few days before to lead the pledge, Krishna said she was not nervous until she stood at the door leading onto the same glossy, black stage where Arizona Senator John McCain accepted the presidential nomination three days later.
'You can hear the crowd,' she recalled, 'and you kind of realize there's a lot of people out there.'
For more than 20 years, conservative Christians have been the single largest constituency within the centre-right Republican Party. The convention in St Paul featured prominent, and sometimes fervent, prayer to open and close each day's session. On Thursday, a legendary football coach stepped on to the dais and for a few minutes delivered an almost entirely religious address.
Being a rare non-Christian Republican doesn't bother Krishna, whose parents are immigrants from India's information technology hub Bangalore.
'It's just a non-issue for me,' she said. 'I believe in God. The mention of God doesn't offend me.'
While the Christian conservative wing of the party is often focused on its own moral agenda - such as opposition to abortion, stem-cell research and euthanasia - Krishna describes herself as 'more socially liberal, as a lot of young people are today.'
Krishna is more motivated by economic and business issues, such as tax cuts and personal-injury lawsuit reform, and finds that the free- market, free-trade Republicans fit her political outlook better than the centre-left Democrats, who tend to impose more regulation on the economy and resort more readily to tax increases.
She grew up with politics around the dinner table, thanks to her mother, a college professor in political science. 'In my house, we would sit down and watch the evening news and talk about the issues,' the Arizona-born Krishna said.
After studying political science at university, she spent three years on Capitol Hill in Washington, working for Senate Republicans before starting law school.
Krishna sees a natural pro-business constituency in the Indian- American community, which has education levels above the US average and is disproportionately represented in medical professions and technology, and tends toward entrepreneurism in businesses such as hotels and software development.
'I think there's an amazing, hard-work ethic that's unique to immigrants,' she said.
Krishna's father is a doctor, her sister is in medical school, and 'my aunts and uncles are all physicians.'
While awaiting her results from the bar exam, Krishna has already found a position with a law firm, defending doctors against medical malpractice lawsuits. 'I start on Monday,' she said.
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Older Talkback
page: 1
...and there is LOTS of tape on it.
i agree with sp4
Hey you two, did you stick your tongue out when you were saying that. What a bunch of desperate babies. I know you like Ms. Palin because she reminds you of your mothers? Difference is she knows who the father of her babies are!
Not exactly a rebuttal to anything said... Again.
Joe Biden’s just a barrel of gaffes
By Jonathan Chait (abridged)
Biden’s charming cluelessness was on display in a recent ABC news interview. The famously verbose senator was asked to state in 25 words or less why Democrats should nominate him. His response was 45 words. I suppose that, by Biden’s standards, coming in at just under twice his allotted length counts as a victory of sorts. Biden then explained why he could win: “If people learn my story, learn my record, I think I can compete. The question is, can I raise the money?” This is sort of like me saying that I think I can compete for a starting NFL quarterback job, but the question is, can I avoid injuries? It’s a question, but it’s certainly not the question.
In addition to his uncontrollable verbosity, Biden is a gaffe machine. He ran for president 20 years ago but had to abandon his campaign when it was discovered that he had plagiarized speeches from a British politician, substituting in key details to make the story his own.
In his latest effort, Biden wasted no time subverting his already microscopic chances. On the day of his announcement, he mused about Illinois Sen. Obama: “I mean, you got the first mainstream African American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy.”
In Biden’s defense, the quote was widely misunderstood. Having listened to it, it’s obvious that Biden was not saying Obama is the first mainstream African American candidate who is also articulate and so on. He was saying he’s the first mainstream candidate – meaning ideologically mainstream, unlike Carol Moseley Braun, Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson – and that he’s articulate and so on. He wasn’t calling Jackson or the others inarticulate. To be sure, this is still a pretty cringe-inducing way for white people to talk about African Americans. There’s a famous Chris Rock routine in which he complains about how people describe Colin Powell as “articulate,” as if it were a surprise that a secretary of State can speak well.
And, of course, last summer Biden attempted to endear himself to an Indian American supporter by telling him that in Delaware, “you cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin’ Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent.” Not only was this an offensive line, it didn’t even make any sense: The observation, familiar to anybody who watched a comedian on cable television 15 years ago, is that Indian Americans are the only ones who work in convenience stores, not that they’re the only ones who shop there. The man can’t even keep his condescending cliches straight.
Biden looks as if he’s the product of a laboratory experiment designed to create the world’s worst presidential candidate.
articles.latimes.com/2007/feb/04/opinion/op-chait4
You continually post articles written by right wing journalists that have an ax to grind? The article you posted points out nothing in regards to Biden's experience and qualifications for the job. it is all about how Joe puts his foot in his month, but not his qualifications. Too bad the same cannot be said about your VP pick---Caribou Barbi. The best part of her is left in Northern Idaho along with the rest of the White supremists. Cannot wait until she has to face the press, that will be fun. My first question would of course be 'please explain to us your experience with foreign leaders'?
You are so jaded it really makes you look like a complete and total idiot. Thanks, you and SP4 help show just how totally out of touch you on the right really are.
'You continually post articles written by right wing journalists that have an ax to grind? '
That was from the LA times, idiot.
'it is all about how Joe puts his foot in his month, but not his qualifications.'
That is one of the things that disqualifies him, idiot.
'. Too bad the same cannot be said about your VP pick---Caribou Barbi.'
She is running for vp and has more experience then the person you want to be president, idiot.
'. The best part of her is left in Northern Idaho along with the rest of the White supremists'
It is always white peoples fault, huh, idiot...
'My first question would of course be 'please explain to us your experience with foreign leaders''
She is running for VP, Obama is running for president. His experience in a foreign country was attending a madrassah and going to Pakistan... Idiot.
'You are so jaded it really makes you look like a complete and total idiot. '
You are such an infant that it is a waste of my time to humiliate you, idiot.
page: 1
Biden is an idiotSep 5th, 2008 - 17:36:40
Maybe she saw this disgraceful Joe Biden gaffe:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll_goH-aivU
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