Election 08: The Mutiny Inquires and the Candidates Respond. Well, one of them anyway .

Last month, we profiled Amit Singh who’s running for a congressional seat representing Virginia’s 8th district. To get there, he’s first fighting for the GOP nomination against Mark Ellmore on June 10th. The winner of that race will in turn do battle against long serving Democratic incumbent, Jim Moran in November.

Amit recently (and quite graciously) took some time out of his busy campaign and day job to answer some questions via email. The Q&A is below the fold and spans the gamut from his positions, to why he’s a Republican, to his observations on Desi-American politics, down to some of his thoughts on controversial national issues like illegal aliens and Iraq.

In addition to answering our questions, Amit also pointed me at a few of his other, recent interviews including this video and some updates on his website including a WaPo profile. For example, he recently took a position similar to McCain in pledging to avoid the widespread practice of earmarks - a cornerstone of pork barrel politics, and particularly so at the local congressional district level.

His video interview on Darshan reveals him to be a well spoken, thoughtful individual in RealTime and he gives us some tantalizing clues about his “intelligence community” job -

“the rest of the world is adopting free market principles… including India and China and the United States seems to be going in the opposite direction.”

“we have a very young district, I myself am 33 and our average voter is 32”

“my niche is building prototypes for the intelligence community… we do a lot of work for soldiers that are deploying out to Iraq and Afghanistan that have an evolving threat. IEDs, for example, are consistently changing and maturing so we have to stay ahead of the game…”

- Amit Singh on DarhsanTV.com

Amit Singh in WaPo

General Questions

[Vinod:] So, the biggest question - Why are you running?

[Amit:] I am running because I feel that the current group of politicians is leading our country in the wrong direction and we need problems solvers to put us back on course. I was compelled to run when I saw so many people around me struggling to pay their mortgages and losing their freedoms. I never had any political ambitions but could not sit idly by while our country was being lead down the wrong path. I wanted to support one of the candidates already running for local office.

However, after I learned more about their positions I only saw people who would continue to lead America down an untenable and irresponsible path, candidates who felt that a bigger more intrusive government which did not respect the people was the solution.

Can you summarize the top 3-5 elements of your platform?

1. Limited Government - I believe that we should have faith in the American people and trust them to run their lives. By promoting free markets and personal freedom we will have a stronger, wealthier, and better educated nation.

“I believe many follow this general notion that the Democrat is automatically better for minorities and immigrants without actually looking at the policies implemented and positions taken by the candidate.”2. Fiscal Responsibility - The ballooning national debt and huge amount of government waste are the greatest long-term threats to the American economy and security. We are currently mortgaging the futures of every young American to pay for our current needs. Unless we take corrective action now and begin to reign in wasteful spending, we will see the dollar continue to fall in value and find ourselves unable to provide for our citizens.

3. Personal Liberties - Unfortunately, we have seen our civil rights and civil liberties slowly taken away from us. I oppose measures like the Real ID which violate our constitutionally inviolable rights and in the end make us more vulnerable.

4. Immigration - Our immigration system is broken. I believe we need to secure our borders, but also need to encourage legal immigration. We can foster legal immigration by improving our economy, streamlining the cumbersome immigration process, and implementing guest worker programs.

Party Affiliation & Background

Why are you running as a Republican?

Nothing says Real like a cameraphone photo…

I believe that the principles of limited government, fiscal responsibility, and respect for personal liberties most closely match with the core principles of the Republican Party. Granted, recently some Republicans have been promoting, encouraging, and enacting a platform that counters those principles that rest at the foundation of Republicanism. However, I am running a true Republican who always respects the rights of all the people.

In some reports, you qualify yourself as a “libertarian Republican”? How is this different from other shades of “Republican”?

I believe a true Republican respects the rights and power of the people at all times and on all issues, not just when they find it convenient. Some have described me as a “libertarian Republican” because I strongly believe in the idea and practice of fiscal responsibility, protecting our civil liberties, and limiting the size of the federal government, thereby differentiating me from others who have co-opted the name Republican. Unfortunately, there are some who call themselves Republicans who believe that a more intrusive government, a more wasteful government, and a government that ignores the fundamental rights of its people is the preferred type of government. To me, that type of government sounds like the polar opposite of core Republican values and what America should be.

By some measures, most Indo-Americans see themselves as Democrats (estimates for the margin ranges from 3-1 all the way up to 10-1). Why do you think this is so? “My father is a college professor of statistics and my mother is wanting me to get married.”

I believe many follow this general notion that the Democrat is automatically better for minorities and immigrants without actually looking at the policies implemented and positions taken by the candidate. Additionally, as my parents described the philosophy of government they saw in practice, many South Asian immigrants come from a world where the central government was responsible for all services and the citizen was wholly dependent on the government - a system they recognized being offered by some Democrats.

However, I see a change occurring as more South Asian Americans analyze their positions. Many begin to describe themselves as fiscally responsible Democrats, Blue Dog Democrats, or socially tolerant Republicans, Main Street Republicans. In truth, they find that they are actually more moderate and centered politically than the more philosophically extreme candidates typically offered by either party.

Unfortunately, our politicians encourage people to blindly vote for the letter next to the name as opposed to examining the positions and views of the candidate in question.

Many / most politicians come into the game from a law or policy background. Your educational background is in engineering and professionally, small business. How does this shape / alter your approach to & expectations from government?

I was born and raised near Richmond, VA and attended the University of Virginia where I received my Electrical Engineering degree in 1996.

“I’m a big believer in limited government,” said Singh, 33, who is single. He also said federal bureaucracies, although “well-intentioned,” are “counterproductive.”

- Amit Singh in WaPo; Perhaps chiming in on the ever popular Intentionalists vs. Consequentialists debate.

My father is a college professor of statistics and my mother is wanting me to get married. In the past few years I have made it a point to visit at least one foreign country a year. Last year was China and before that included Budapest, Czech Republic, Thailand, Austria, Korea. I wanted to go to Turkey this year but with the campaign I may have to break the promise to myself.

I am an engineer by trade and started my own engineering firm about 8 years ago which primarily serves the Defense Dept. I specialize in designing and building prototypes because I have a talent of working with a number of unknowns in a highly fluid situation.

My engineering background and personality drive me to be a very solutions oriented person. The beauty of engineering is that you learn there are many ways to solve a problem and to arrive at the best solution you need to try many things. That is a fundamental reason I am against the Federal govt controlling so many of our services like Education with a one-size-fits-all solution. By allowing the States to control many of our services, we are more likely to learn from one another and improve the services for everyone.

As a businessman, I understand the entrepreneurship spirit that has made America so strong. I also understand how over-regulation and over-taxation reduce the incentive to take risks and serve our customers better. I would use this background to help foster a better business environment in the US and help repeal regulations like Sarbanes-Oxley and lower the corporate tax rate which is the second highest in the world so that American business will be more competitive on the global market.“My background has encouraged a level of support from the South Asian community because many are proud to have “one of their own” running for office…”

South Asian-ness

Aside from highly notable figures like Bobby Jindal, there’s an oft-noted dearth of South Asians involved at different levels of the political process. Why do you think this is so? What sort of participation are you seeing from Indo-Americans in your campaign?

I may see a slightly different side of this living so close to DC, but I have seen and know many South Asians directly and actively involved at all levels of the political process. Regardless, many of our parents’ generation came in search of economic mobility and did not have roots in the community which allowed them to feel comfortable actively running for office. Thus, many second generation South Asians were brought up in households where we were encouraged to become professionals and a political career was not promoted. In my case, the jump from being an engineer running a business to a Congressional candidate has posed many challenges; for example, the expectation that a politician will always be evasive when my profession requires me to be very straightforward and realistic.

My campaign has attracted the support of people of all backgrounds, ranging from traditional Republicans and Democrats, to young and old people of both genders. I have a number of South Asians supporting my candidacy and a few are on my full-time staff. Admittedly, some were initially attracted because of similarities I share with them.

However, they all became my supporters because they believe in my message of limited government, fiscal responsibility, and respect for our civil liberties.

Given how much attention is being given to “Identity” as a campaign issue in the presidential race, has being Indo-American affected your campaign and positions?

My background has encouraged a level of support from the South Asian community because many are proud to have “one of their own” running for office. However, they continue to support me because my positions are universally beneficial to all Americans regardless of background.

In fact, I believe when politicians attempt to gain favor from groups by pandering to them or giving them special treatment, any short-term gain comes at a heavier long-term price.

What issues tend to resonate more with the Indo-American community in your district vs. the community-at-large?

The DC area is so diverse, even among Indo-Americans, its difficult to pin it down to a few issues but the Economy is the one most important to me. Even if its not the biggest issue for most, I try to remind them it is the first issue. When the economy is strong other issues such as Immigration and Health care are easier to address.

Other Issues

Illegal immigration & undocumented workers are pretty polarizing issues to say the least. Still, on your campaign website you highlight this issue in particular. As the son of immigrants do you have a unique perspective to the problem?

Pounding Pavement

Absolutely. I understand the logistical issues and emotional attachments that immigrant families have with their native countries. That is why I am strongly in favor of a smart guest worker program so families can remain in native countries while the breadwinner is able to safely travel across the border and not be forced to take the calculated risk of bringing their families over as well.

Iraq. Where should we go from here? While most on both sides of the aisle want to be out of the country, the real questions are How and When. And the limiting factor seems to be “what would happen if we pulled out”? Could it turn into another Somalia or post-Soviet Afghanistan if the pullout happens too fast? How do we determine if it’s our very presence there vs. deeper faultlines that are causing the violence?

Realistically, the US will maintain logistical personnel, diplomatic protection and some strategic forces in Iraq for a very long time. US forces have been in South Korea for almost 60 years. The real question is about combat troops and how and when they can return. We cannot pull out of Iraq in a day, but we can take aggressive actions to turn over control to local authorities faster. My experience in the Intelligence Community has shown me this is most effective method of ridding the country of extremists. Also, the Iraqi govt must take more ownership of their country and help improve their economy. Even in Iraq, a good economy will solve multiple problems.

Most importantly - Bhangra or Filmi-Pop - what’s on your iPod right now?

I’m old school filmi, Aap Ka Jaise Koi, Qurbani, and Amitabh, etc. but they’re on my 8 track not my iPod ;-)

Like what you hear? If you’re of a similar mindset, I’m sure Amit would appreciate your support - join up, buy a t-shirt, watch his YouTube channel, or heck, join the facebook group.

DC-area mutineers, you get a particular call to action: your Congressional Primary is June 10; and Amit has a couple of electioneering events this weekend. You can sign up on his email list to learn more and contribute.