I recall that for Bush Sr. Indian-American doctors gave him some 60% of his soft dollars (prior to election campaign reform).

Can’t find any stats for this election (I can’t bill Google time) but quickly found this article on the Mallu Zach Zachariah Indian Republicans in Florida Wield Their Clout in National Politics. He may have been blogged on sepia.

India West, News Report, Sunil Adam, Nov 08, 2004

Dr. Zach Zachariah may be a man of considerable influence, but he’s not a very attentive host. Some might consider it sheer audacity to invite George H.W. Bush to dinner and serve him broccoli – even a political novice will tell you that the 41st president of the United States hates that much-misunderstood vegetable. But Zachariah did just that when he hosted Bush 41 and Florida Governor Jeb Bush at a fund-raiser for President George W. Bush at his home in Palm Beach, Florida, recently.

Bush Sr. was more than tolerant with his host when he joked about the dreaded vegetable on his plate while addressing the 100-odd guests who had paid anywhere between $5,000 to $25,000 each for an indifferent menu consisting of shrimp salad, medium-rare steak and, of course, broccoli. There was a good reason why the patriarch of the American political dynasty was so gracious – the evening netted over a $1 million for his son’s presidential campaign.

But Bush 41 went further than mouthing mere niceties and told “Zach,” as friends refer to the cardiologist, that he and his wife Barbara “love him.” Even his governor son was effusive in his praise for the doctor who has been among the top fund-raisers for the Grand Old Party for over a decade.

Saying this was the last fund-raiser for anyone in the Bush family, now that both his brother and he cannot run for their respective offices because of term limits, Gov. Bush thanked “Zach” for opening his house many a time for the Bushes. “Bush supporters flock to Zach’s house like migratory birds,” he said. Zachariah has held several fund-raisers at this house for all three Bushes – 41, 43 and Jeb.

Zachariah is not the only one who enjoys such influence with the Bushes or the Republican Party. In fact, Indian American doctors in Florida, a dozen-odd of whom were present at the fund-raiser, have carved out a niche for themselves in the GOP nationally and are wielding influence far disproportionate to their numerical strength.

If their professional accomplishments and the correspondent wealth afford them the influence, their ideological identification with the Republicans spurs their activism. Take, for instance, Dr. Raghavendra Vijayanagar of Tampa and Dr. Akshay Desai of St. Petersburg, who along with Zachariah were the prime movers of the Indian American Republican Council, a not-for-profit organization that lobbies Congress on issues related to U.S.-India relations and the Indian American community.

Both are deeply involved in Republican politics and are highly motivated in rallying the community toward the GOP and also influencing the federal government’s policies toward India and Indian Americans. Desai, who is a member of the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, regards Indians as natural allies of the Republican Party.

Disputing the popular assertion that affluent Indian Americans gravitate toward the Republicans, Desai feels the traditional Indian commitment to family ties, education and even faith, makes it easier for them to identify themselves with conservative values.

Arguing that Republican ideology provides a better chance for people to realize the American Dream, Desai reasons one should not look at it only in material terms. Realizing the real American Dream involves participating in all aspects of the civil society, he says.

Before offering some convincing arguments, Vijayanagar, who is regarded by the Indian community in Florida as a godfather-like figure, says that historically Indians are closer to the elephant rather than the donkey. On a more serious note, he says Indians’ inherent genius, ability for hard work and enterprise results in their identifying with an ideology that promotes the individual rather than the government.

A self-made man who came to the U.S. decades ago with a $20 bill in his pocket, Vijayanagar drifted away from the Democratic Party 20 years ago. He is now an ideologue who sees the commonalities between Abraham Lincoln and Mahatma Gandhi as the foundations of Indian American Republicanism.

Why is it that these Indian American leaders, who wield so much clout in the Republican Party, do not run for elected office themselves but are content to be the backroom boys? After all, these Florida doctors have both recognition and goodwill that reach beyond the Indian community, which in fact, is rather small in the Sunshine State as compared to, say, New York or California.

Zachariah laughs it off saying that he’s quite content doing what he does. But his eldest son Reggie is not so sheepish about his political ambitions. The 24-year-old financial analyst, who like his younger brother Alex has not followed his father into the medical field, says he is likely to pursue public life in a few years.

Like the young Zachariahs, the three Desai children also display considerable interest in politics, although they are much younger. In fact, 12-year-old Parth Desai accompanied his father to the fund-raiser and engaged the former president in a brief conversation during the photo-op.

One can be certain that with a pedigree in academic excellence, professional success and ideological commitment, the second generation of Indian American Republicans will be something to watch out for.

–>

He would then convince america to attack Thailand, “to fight the terrorist there so that we dont have to fight them here”.

2%. weighted by

1) how much money they give 2) how important they are in battleground states 3) how much they vote for his party

hindus have no shot on #2, they live in strong democratic or republican (mostly texas) states. #3, though i don’t by the “90% voted democratic” number, i doubt a majority voted republican (in addition to low voter participation which is likely, as asian americans are below the median). that leaves #1. i’m skeptical that the brown doctors gave that much, but i don’t know.

there is an easy way for hindus to catch bush’s eye: kill 3,000 americans in a religiously motivated attack. then he’ll start talking about how “hinduism means peace.”

NYC-Subway’ers know what what I’m talking about.

Others can read about it in the last few paragraphs here

Yes, it is from his bicycle fall a year or two ago. It is the stock picture that most comes in handy when you want to convey that the president is under siege. I still think it was because he got out of line with Laura…or maybe Cheney.