As we approach Super Tuesday, why most Indian Americans are saying ‘Hillary Clinton Zindabad’

In my discussions with several fellow Indian Americans, I have heard a common theme when I inquired why they are supporting Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders and why they will support her in November over the Republican nominee; Clinton has the most domestic as well as foreign policy experience out of any candidate running and has built close friendships with the Indian American community over the years.  Currently, her key advisors are Indian American and we will likely have more Indian Americans appointed to key posts during a Hillary Clinton administration than any previous administration.

Super Tuesday

As we approach Super Tuesday on 1 March, I believe we will see a lot of Indian Americans active in their communities Getting Out The Vote (GOTV) in support of Hillary Clinton.  On Super Tuesday, a total of 865 delegates are up for grabs on the Democratic side.  Alabama, American Samoa, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and democrats abroad will cast their votes.

I am currently in Virginia joining fellow veterans who are supporting Hillary Clinton as a part of Operation Rolling Victory for Hillary.  Veterans and military families have convened in Virginia to canvass and make calls to Get Out The Vote for Hillary.  Campaign surrogates kicked off the event on Saturday and hundreds of Hillary supporters joined us in Arlington and Alexandria, Virginia.  Senator Tim Kaine (D – Virginia) joined us during a stop at a Latinos for Hillary event in Arlington, Virginia.  He highlighted why he is supporting Hillary over Bernie Sanders and why forty out of forty-four of his democratic colleagues in the United States Senate, who have worked with both Bernie and Hillary have endorsed Hillary instead of Bernie.  He said the reason for their endorsement is definitely not because they believe she is the “establishment” candidate, but it is because they have seen her get things done and keep her promises over and over again.

Conversations with Indian Americans

I recently spoke with Mr. Frank Islam, an Indian American business leader and entrepreneur who is my colleague on Hillary for America’s India Policy Working group. Frank currently heads the FI Investment Group, a private investment holding company that he established in 2007 after he sold his information technology firm, the QSS Group.  Frank founded the QSS Group in 1994 and built it from 1 employee to more than 2,000 employees and revenues of approximately $300M before its sale.

Frank Islam | Frank is a major fundraiser for Hillary’s Campaign and serves on the Campaign’s National Finance Committee.  He has worked hard to engage the Indian American community to get involved and contribute to help Hillary.  Frank told me he is supporting her because Secretary Clinton “has a lifetime of accomplishments and will be able to govern effectively on day one. More importantly, she also has a demonstrated history of concern, compassion and commitment to fighting for the rights of all people no matter their caste, color or creed.  I support the Secretary because she will make America and the world a better place for everyone.”

My friend Puja Mukherjee, who attended undergraduate studies with me, recently moved to Washington, DC and works for an IT recruiting firm.  While discussing her thoughts on the 2016 race, Puja stated that she is supporting Hillary because she has seen how her policy platforms relate to disability rights and heard her speak about issues pertaining to the protection of minority groups, which are not just limited to racial identities, but include gender identities, sexual identities, and labor groups as well.

Puja Mukherjee | “My family, as immigrants from India have worked so hard to get to where we are now and I believe Hillary Clinton understands the struggle immigrants go through to make it in America. I identify with her not only as a woman, but as a seeker of the path to righteousness, unlike Bernie Sanders who seeks the easy road without paying attention to the groups who have struggled the most.   I also believe she has the best chance to win in November.  The anti-minorities and divisive rhetoric coming from the Republican side is troubling.  I will talk to all my Indian American friends and encourage them to support Hillary.”

While chatting with my friend Anuj Patel, who went to law school with me, I asked him whom he was supporting for president.  I wasn’t surprised to hear his response.  He was also supporting Hillary Clinton.

Anuj Patel | He told me he’s supporting her because “he believes she is the right person to represent us in the world.” As Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton traveled to 112 countries, more than any other Secretary of State.  The international community respects her and with Hillary as our President we can probably bring new allies and partners to join the fight against terrorism and promote world peace.

 

“Email Scandal”

While I was at an event supporting Hillary on Saturday, someone asked me about the “email scandal,” and I’m sure a lot of us have seen misleading media reports about Hillary Clinton’s use of her personal email and that “classified information” may have been exchanged and that she is under FBI investigation. In my discussions with former senior military intelligence officials, they believe Hillary Clinton did not break the law and operated in a similar fashion as her predecessors Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice.  Any information that has been marked as “classified” has been done retroactively, after she left the State Department.  The FBI also probed former Secretary of State Colin Powell and aides to former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.  This has turned into a fishing expedition into finding anything negative about Hillary Clinton and her staff, although her opponents have not had much luck so far. As someone who recently attained my JD from The George Washington University Law School, the key concept I learned while taking Evidence was that you need evidence to prove your case.  There is currently no evidence against Hillary.