By NIMMI RAGHUNATHAN
FULLERTON, CA – Democratic Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi at a fundraiser here on March 23, showed off his political stripes. Walking in, he astonished people recognizing them from a similar gathering three years ago, rattling off names, anecdotes and even citing their e-ids.
FULLERTON, CA – Democratic Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi at a fundraiser here on March 23, showed off his political stripes. Walking in, he astonished people recognizing them from a similar gathering three years ago, rattling off names, anecdotes and even citing their e-ids.
Democratic Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi at a fundraiser here on March 23, showed off his political stripes. Walking in, he astonished people recognizing them from a similar gathering three years ago, rattling off names, anecdotes and even citing their e-ids.
Then, during the formal Q&A, he showed he had mastered another trick: acknowledging questioners by name. By the time he was done, he should have had even the Republicans in the crowd on his side. Self-effacing and never seeking to dominate the room, he mingled and bantered with a select audience over wine and cheese, at an event hosted by SoCal attorney Navneet Chugh of the Chugh Firm and his wife Ritu.
Compared to a few years ago, the changes were apparent with the two-time Congressman from IL, sounding more determined and confident, pushing back when needed and assuring listeners he had his hand on the tiller. Appearing regularly on MSNBC and CNN, Raja’s views on a host of matters are known to all: he wants the release of the full Mueller report, has sponsored bills on net neutrality, LGBTQ rights, whistleblowers and college transparency and is examining the public health risks of carcinogens in consumer products.
At the fundraiser, the Congressman addressed some of these issues as well as immigration – against the wall but system needs correction; climate change – there is time till Nov.2020 to change the US position on the Paris Agreement; gun control – guns cannot be used to hunt people; telecommunications – the US has fallen behind China’s Huawei in the 5G race.
He also fielded several questions and deep concerns of Democrats at the fundraiser over the 2020 elections. Raja’s view basically being that a crowded arena of presidential hopefuls was okay and that it was not necessary to push the button on any candidate right now but to just soak in their policy positions. He cautioned that Donald Trump was not to be dismissed and his running for re-election was to be taken very seriously.
In what is arguably one of the nation’s most fraught political times, he gave credit to Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her leadership and praised her for handling several situations with grace and clear headedness. Speaking of his new congressional assignments after Pelosi took charge, he said important work was being done by the intelligence committee and he was sure he wanted to be on it. The congressman is also on the oversight committee which has been investigating Trump.
Raja applauded Orange County turning blue in the last election cycle and said work needed to be done to ensure it remained that way. Urging the young in the crowd to get involved in public service, he pointed out that aside from him, Indian-American representation in Congress was right now only from the West Coast. That needed to change, he said, and the momentum had to be more wide spread.
Chugh in his concluding remarks said it was for the community to make sure that Raja’s 8th District remained a safe one and over the years, just turned into the Krishnamoorthi seat. At the event a couple of announcements were made including that Chugh would helm the L.A. chapter of the U.S.-India Political Action Committee, a bipartisan PAC that endorses candidates in local and federal elections. The second was that Dr.Harvinder Sahota would be a 2020 GOP candidate for Congress from Orange County’s 48th District.
Then, during the formal Q&A, he showed he had mastered another trick: acknowledging questioners by name. By the time he was done, he should have had even the Republicans in the crowd on his side. Self-effacing and never seeking to dominate the room, he mingled and bantered with a select audience over wine and cheese, at an event hosted by SoCal attorney Navneet Chugh of the Chugh Firm and his wife Ritu.
Compared to a few years ago, the changes were apparent with the two-time Congressman from IL, sounding more determined and confident, pushing back when needed and assuring listeners he had his hand on the tiller. Appearing regularly on MSNBC and CNN, Raja’s views on a host of matters are known to all: he wants the release of the full Mueller report, has sponsored bills on net neutrality, LGBTQ rights, whistleblowers and college transparency and is examining the public health risks of carcinogens in consumer products.
At the fundraiser, the Congressman addressed some of these issues as well as immigration – against the wall but system needs correction; climate change – there is time till Nov.2020 to change the US position on the Paris Agreement; gun control – guns cannot be used to hunt people; telecommunications – the US has fallen behind China’s Huawei in the 5G race.
He also fielded several questions and deep concerns of Democrats at the fundraiser over the 2020 elections. Raja’s view basically being that a crowded arena of presidential hopefuls was okay and that it was not necessary to push the button on any candidate right now but to just soak in their policy positions. He cautioned that Donald Trump was not to be dismissed and his running for re-election was to be taken very seriously.
In what is arguably one of the nation’s most fraught political times, he gave credit to Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her leadership and praised her for handling several situations with grace and clear headedness. Speaking of his new congressional assignments after Pelosi took charge, he said important work was being done by the intelligence committee and he was sure he wanted to be on it. The congressman is also on the oversight committee which has been investigating Trump.
Raja applauded Orange County turning blue in the last election cycle and said work needed to be done to ensure it remained that way. Urging the young in the crowd to get involved in public service, he pointed out that aside from him, Indian-American representation in Congress was right now only from the West Coast. That needed to change, he said, and the momentum had to be more wide spread.
Chugh in his concluding remarks said it was for the community to make sure that Raja’s 8th District remained a safe one and over the years, just turned into the Krishnamoorthi seat. At the event a couple of announcements were made including that Chugh would helm the L.A. chapter of the U.S.-India Political Action Committee, a bipartisan PAC that endorses candidates in local and federal elections. The second was that Dr.Harvinder Sahota would be a 2020 GOP candidate for Congress from Orange County’s 48th District.