Huh? You don’t need a Gypsy fortune teller with a crystal ball to learn that Aruna Miller, the Indian snake charmer, is going to have some of her pets bite Governor Wes Moore in a sensitive spot.
On May 17, 2023, the Maryland Governor and his Lieutenant Governor, Aruna Miller, held a fundraiser at the Chinese restaurant inaptly named New Fortune, in a shabby Gaithersburg, Md. shopping center.
Note the Broken Light Cover. Photo: J. Michael Springmann
According to Jordan M. Hines, Political Director of MD Dems, about 400 people were expected to pony up $1,000 each to support Moore and Miller.
The attendees were an eclectic mix of Westerners, Indians, Sikhs (Sardar--heads), and a representative from the Thai embassy, who arrived in an official car. Some were well-dressed, others weren’t, including one fellow with his shirttail handing out of his suit. There were even some Sikhs for Trump at the affair.
Photos: J. Michael Springmann
The event attracted a small but focused protest by members of Peace Action Montgomery County. Using posters, loudspeakers, and a sign attached to the hood of a red Slingshot (a 3-wheeled sports vehicle) which drove around the parking lot, the group made plain its dissatisfaction with Moore and Miller.
Photos: J. Michael Springmann
Photo Courtesy of Scott Webber
Why? Miller, as noted in earlier articles MARYLAND IS FOR FASCISTS - by J. Michael Springmann (substack.com); LESS IS MOORE - by J. Michael Springmann - Hausfrauleaks (substack.com); HEAD FOR THE HILLS! - by J. Michael Springmann (substack.com) is closely connected to an unsavory lot. She got and, presumably, still gets substantial funds from Hindutva, a fiercely fascist and intolerant group of Indians who believe in Hindu supremacy on the Subcontinent—to the detriment of Arabs, Christians, Jews, and Muslims.
Neither she nor Wes Moore, the governor, will renounce Hindutva, its politics, and its fanaticism. Despite strenuous efforts by a variety of human rights groups, Miller will not relinquish the funds that brought her to power, first as a State legislator, then as Lieutenant Governor. She has repeatedly defied calls to donate such monies to genuine civil rights groups. Indeed, both she and Moore have turned on their critics, attacking them as “taking things out of context and trying to divide the South-Asian community.” cf. Hindu Nationalist Money to Moore, Miller in Maryland’s Governor Race (theintercept.com)
Illegal Money. Someone may eventually catch the leger de main of Aruna’s fundraising. It’s illegal for foreigners to contribute to candidates in U.S. elections. Even one Montgomery County policeman we spoke with knew that. However, the reptile charmer obviously has ways of laundering money. It’s given here (without a trail of deposits or gifts going back to the land of the Sardar). Or it can be brought in as cash, provided it’s below the reporting threshold of $10,000. Or influential rich American supporters of Hindutva can spread the wealth.
Identity Politics. Can come back and bite Wes Moore and his Democrats. He won’t drop Miller; he won’t denounce Hindutva; he won’t give Miller’s money to people who can put it to good use. Instead, he’s riding a Trojan Horse filled with cobras—and he has no antivenin. Aruna is still trying to use her position, it appears, to make herself into another Nikki Haley, another unfortunate, fanatical import from Hindustan. There are other ethnicities in Maryland besides Negro and Indian. And other voters who do not live in heavily-Democratic Baltimore City, as well as Montgomery, and Prince George’s County (both neighboring Washington, D.C.). What happens when they tire of a tendency for people of a particular religion, ethnic group, social background, etc., to form exclusive political alliances, moving away from traditional broad-based party politics? If they see that Politics is no longer the “Art of the Practical” but, rather, the “Art of Silencing Opponents”, and unite, what happens then?
There’s a popular T-shirt making the rounds that calls into question the basics of the Moore-Miller program:
Unless Wes Moore dumps his slithering seductress, he and the Democrat Cheek of the Great American Behind will have more problems than they can handle, especially if the biased media and sleeping Republicans ever wake up and see the reality.
This is especially so since Maryland Democrats apparently equate their pet pols with pet dogs. A VW Bug, obviously belonging to one of the attendees at the New Fortune soiree, depicted the situation perfectly.
Photo: J. Michael Springmann
With stickers proclaiming support for all the Usual Suspect Democrats (Chris Van Hollen, U.S. Senator from Maryland; Jamie Raskin, U.S. Representative from Maryland; and Wes Moore-Aruna Miller), the owner interspersed them with Love for Dogs labels. While politics makes for strange bedfellows, the VW and its decals are a bit much.
COMMENTARY. Wes Moore, with no political background, parlayed his “feel good” politics into a visible, influential position. He has been an international banker; author; advocate for alleviating poverty and promoting college education; as well as a host for an Oprah Winfrey program. His campaign touched all the Woke buttons and, since election, he has added attacks on personal possession of firearms, in defiance of U.S. Supreme Court decisions.
Lacking political experience and connections, Moore has tied himself to the dangerous Aruna Miller and hired staff that don’t or can’t see how she will destroy him. On May 17, 2023, I posed the following questions to Jordan M. Hines, as noted, political director for MD DEMS. He immediately passed the buck to Brandon Stoneburg, Communications Director for MD DEMS.
1. Will Governor Moore pressure Aruna Miller to renounce and denounce Hindutva, the notorious Indian extremist organization?
2. Will Mrs. Miller actually do that?
3. Will Mrs. Miller return the thousands of Hindutva dollars she used for her campaigns either to the donors or to an organization that supports human rights?
4. Will Governor Moore and Mrs. Miller apologize to Peace Action Montgomery County for their prior denunciations of the group?
I generously gave them until 5 p.m. on May 19 to respond. They did not.
They also don’t seem to realize that elections are only 18 months away, an eternity in U.S. politics.
J. Michael Springmann is an attorney, author, political commentator, and former diplomat, with postings to Germany, India, and Saudi Arabia. He previously authored, Visas for Al Qaeda: CIA Handouts That Rocked the World: An Insider’s View, recounting how the U.S. created and used Islamic Terrorism. Additionally, he penned Goodbye, Europe? Hello, Chaos? Merkel’s Migrant Bomb, an analysis of the alien wave sweeping the Continent. He currently practices law in the Washington D.C. Area. He is a frequent commentator on Arab and Russian news programs.
He is also on the Ukraine’s “Enemies List”, having questioned, inter alia, the country’s refusal to honor the Minsk Accords and for stating that its government is Nazified.