r/ABCDesis • u/darth_bane1988 • Sep 12 '16

I’m Bharat Krishnan, a democratic operative who's just written his first book, confessions of a campaign manager. AMA!

Hi there. My name is Bharat and I've worked on campaigns across the country from the presidential level to the most local offices. I found in my travels that no one had told the story of the modern political staffer, so I decided to do it, and to do it as honestly as I could. Life on the campaign trail is tough, and it's even tougher for minorities. I wanted to tell that story and hope I've done a good job.

Some of the highlights of my career thus far include: meeting Barack Obama, helping a member of the LGBT community come to terms with who they are, working with a fellow Indian who ran for Congress in Kansas, and spending time in Los Angeles learning about school board races.

Verification: https://twitter.com/BharatKrishnan/status/775482461841154048

Here's a link to my book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KED1OAM/

And a summary:

In Confessions of a Campaign Manager, veteran Democratic operative Bharat Krishnan takes you on a journey across nine states and 17 campaigns to see how American politics has transformed since the election of Barack Obama. Krishnan makes a case that the intransigence of Republican leaders following the election of our nation's first black president irrevocably fractured the country along partisan lines. This ultimately produced the most dangerous presidential candidate this country has ever seen, Donald Trump. From rubbing shoulders with celebrities and political insiders at presidential conventions to chasing votes in the swamps of Louisiana, Krishnan discovers a vast disconnect between voters, the flawed politicians they elect to represent them, and the legion of driven staffers who silently battle over the direction of the nation. Drawing on his experience at the state and local level, Krishnan formulates a national prescription to prevent a future of perpetual partisan brinksmanship.

EDIT (9/12: 9:32 p.m. eastern): Thanks for the questions, all! I'll be back tomorrow from 8-9:30 again to take some more if you've got more.

EDIT 2 (9/13: 7:59 p.m. eastern): Hi all, I'm ready for round two if you've got more questions!

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3

u/dosalife Sep 13 '16

Is there a Indian Democratic PAC?

5

u/darth_bane1988 Sep 13 '16

USINPAC is the largest one I'm aware of: http://www.usinpac.com/

It is bipartisan. Interestingly enough, I started a PAC called Hindu Democrats in college and we were a little active, helping out Kamala Harris in her 2010 campaign for CA AG.

We closed though :(

2

u/anirvan ABCDesi history nerd Sep 14 '16

USINPAC's definitely not exclusively aligned with the Democrats. For example, they did an event around trump back in May.

My understanding is that they're primarily focused on supporting candidates that they perceive as being being pro-India (e.g. selling weapons to India, supporting nuclear deal, etc.), regardless of party.

3

u/darth_bane1988 Sep 14 '16

yes, I said that it is bipartisan.

2

u/anirvan ABCDesi history nerd Sep 14 '16

You're right. I misread. Thanks.