Voter Insurrection Turns Mainstream, Creating New Rules New York Times .... after this week’s primaries in Arkansas, Kentucky and Pennsylvania, 2010 seems destined to be one of those years...... an anti-incumbent tsunami is roaring ..... The old laws of politics have been losing their relevance as attitudes and technology evolve, creating a kind of endemic instability that probably is not going away just because housing prices rebound. ...... Voter insurrection has gone as mainstream as Miley Cyrus .... The first is that this age-old idea of “clearing the field” for a preferred candidate, so as to avoid divisive primaries, is now, much like the old party clubhouse, a historical relic. This should have been clear to everyone after 2008, when Barack Obama, shunned by most of his party’s major contributors and its Washington establishment, simply shrugged off endorsements and raised more than half a billion dollars from his own constituencies. ...... makes you wonder whether Mr. Obama and his aides really thought they could “clear the field” for Mr. Specter ........ A new generation of politicians has been raised with more consumer choice and less loyalty to institutions, and they are no more likely to take their orders from, say, party leaders like Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, than they are to drive a Malibu just because some car magazine tells them to. Nor, thanks to the Web, are they reliant any longer on the party structure to raise the necessary cash. ....... less affinity for parties makes incumbent politicians less safe, generally. That’s because when fewer people bother to engage in party politics, it takes a smaller group of ultra-motivated activists to overturn the traditional order of things. ...... the politics of issues, the stuff of which parties have most often crafted their core identities, has now been largely displaced by a politics of personal conviction. ....... we are living in the era of the upstart...... The intraparty rebellions now will be increasingly local, sufficiently financed and built around credible candidates — the kind of campaigns that made Barack Obama president and that may yet give us Senator Paul or Senator Sestak. My gosh, these people in Washington are in for it now.
Image of Reshma SaujaniIf you are going to blame Reshma Saujani for the Great Recession, I am going to blame you for the earthquake in Haiti. And the thing about Harvard and Yale is she has an amazing personal story from when her parents were sent out of Uganda by Idi Amin. Reshma Saujani personifies the American dream in her story in this country of immigrants. That is part of what makes her such a compelling candidate. If she can do it, you can do it. She is an inspiration.
Last Saturday I went canvassing for Reshma Saujani in Long Island City - although I have a feeling I might have ended up in Astoria again; I was driven to my neck of the woods - and the Saturday before that I did 100 knocks and 10 talks on behalf of her with my fellow volunteer friend Arnab Majumdar, a Bengali who grew up in the tri-state area. A staffer called me "not a volunteer, but The Volunteer."
A few days back I emailed her saying if it makes you feel good, I want you to know, you are my favorite politician right now. You compete with Obama, a few politicians in Nepal, with John Liu. I love Obama as much as ever; all the guy needed to do for me was win in 2008, all the great work he has done since has been bonus. This blog is named after him. But I follow Reshma Saujani's campaign more than that of the career trajectory of any other politician right now. That favorite tag is measured in the sheer number of hours. A few days back the thought of going to work for Reshma Saujani For Congress full time for three and a half months flashed through my mind.
Just like Barack raised more money than Hillary the first two quarters, Reshma has raised more money than Maloney the first two quarters. Eight months after I had been supporting Barack, he was still 20 points down in the polls in Iowa, and I was firm in my thought that if he lost Iowa, he was history. He won Iowa and the race was still so close for months. I was right about Iowa.
If the election were to be held today, Maloney would win. And that is why Reshma Saujani is on a sprint to September 14.
I have asked the question, what if she lost? Barack Obama lost to Bobby Rush when he ran for Congress in 2000. Bill Clinton went to Arkansas from Yale and ran for Congress. He lost. But I don't see Reshma losing. She is going to hit the national headlines come September.
You are lucky this is a tough race, I emailed her a few days back, great things are going to happen to you at a rapid pace after November. Because this is a tough race in a district where Obama drops by to raise money for his candidates across the country.
When I am thinking Reshma Saujani, I am thinking 2016. Here are a few scenarios that play in my mind.
After November she is going to vault into the national imagination. If her parents showed up with nothing except maybe a few small gold nuggets in toothpaste tubes, she is obviously self made. She is a woman. She was totally sold on the idea of the first woman president in the 2008 race. She is razor sharp. She is a quick study. She works hard, she works like crazy. She is a political animal. Either you have those instincts, or you don't. She has plenty. She is sufficiently aggressive.
Obama achieved JFK status as a candidate. He became FDR after health care reform got passed. I am confident he will see the passing of financial sector reform, even immigration reform. But all those big tasks are FDR level work. If the guy wants to compete with Lincoln in the greatness department, he is going to have to tackle the global trafficking of women. Will he go for it? I don't know. Not now.
2016 is going to be a gendered election. There is a lot of pent up emotion from 2008. Joe Biden is a great guy but he is not going to be president. He is going to do the Dick Cheney thing. 2016 is going to be the year for the first woman president. Reshma Saujani has a shot as much anyone out there. Noone else has even remotely compelling a personal story. Reshma also has an Africa story, it is different. She also has a Harvard story. Four years in Congress are going to be enough time. Obama needed only two. Because he realized it was not about him, it was about the country. He could wait, the country and the world could not.
Another thing going on for her is her "getting" tech. She is poised to ride the third wave nationally. The first has been firefighting, Obama doing the stimulus bill to make sure the economy does not go down under. The second wave will be the deficits and debt phase. I suspect this is going to be a major part of the Obama re-election effort. Some time during his second term Obama is going to have balanced the budget. The third wave is going to be about creating the next generation of jobs, companies and industries. That just so happens to be Reshma Saujani's number one strength.
Would you blame me that I want to play Chanakya to Reshma?
And, by the way, Reshma Saujani all along has been a strong advocate for financial sector reform. She is going to jump with joy when Obama signs the bill into law. And I asked around. A lot of people think having gone to Harvard and Yale is a good thing. Obama only went to Harvard. Clinton only went to Yale. Reshma Saujani went to both.
Reshma Saujani Goes on the Attack Against Carolyn Maloney in Upper East Side Congressional Race DNAinfo
Maloney V. Saujani: The Drill-Down New York Daily News (blog)
Newcomer Saujani challenging Maloney Queens Courier
The burdens of fundraising Politico (blog)
Maloney snubs Obama, Pelosi Examiner.com
Parsing Reshma's Words New York Observer
In New York, Wall Street Is on the Primary Ballot BusinessWeek
A Primary Challenger in Carolyn's Court New York Observer
Wake Up Call » New York Daily News (blog)
Desi Congressional Challenger Lines Up Backers Forbes
Congressional Candidates Share Their Perfect Upper East Side Afternoon DNAinfo
Pressuring Sestak, Raising the Cap and More in Capital Eye Opener: May 14 Center for Responsive Politics
Six 'desis' in race for the US Congress Express Buzz
Asian-American Heritage: Queens District Leader Maintains Political Prowess NY1
Fresh-Faced Reshma and the Assault on Fortress Maloney New York Observer
Square Brings Credit Card Swiping to the Mobile Masses, Starting Today Fast Company
Wall Street Runs for Congress Village Voice
NY-14: Oh Please, Reshma Swing State Project
Obama Raises $$ in NYC While Slamming Wall St. FOXNews
Upstarts Aim to Unseat Upper East Side Fixture Wall Street Journal
Republican Candidate for UES Congressional Seat Takes Progressive Approach to Campaign DNAinfo
Maloney Declines To Raise $25k To Host Obama On East Side City Hall
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