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Whoopi's Switch to Clinton ... and the laughable basis!!
In case you missed it, after Super Tuesday, Whoopi Goldberg switched her endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama to Sen. Hillary Clinton. Her rationale: the first among them to have promised a policy proposal to punish companies that outsource American jobs! You must be wondering if you are hearing me right and I guarantee you are. Whoopi’s gigantic election issue and primary concern is the time at which either of the candidates made this declaration.
Watch VideoIt is disgusting and quite honestly disingenuous for
celebrities of Whoopi’s ilk to imagine we are as simple minded and as blatantly
idiotic when they come out, attempting to base their flawed judgment on reason
and principle when the supposed judgment and principle is so fatally flawed. Supporting
a candidate based on the date they said something convenient to your ears
rather than what their actual policy inclinations have been over the years is
just simply stupid. Hold on, don’t get all worked up on me on the timing of Sen. Obama's anti-war speech because this is different.
I stumbled upon this Asia Times article highlighting Sen.
Clinton’s stance on the very subject, during her India visit back in 2005.
Hillary clears outsourcing air
Hillary Clinton made it apparent where she stood on outsourcing during her India visit, in an attempt perhaps to clear the Indian misgivings received during the Kerry campaign. "There is no way to legislate against reality. Outsourcing will continue," she told an audience of Indian big-wigs. She pointed out that there were 3 billion people who feel left behind and are trying to attack the modern world in the hope of turning the clock back on globalization. "It is not far-fetched to imagine ... if the Indian miracle would be the one of choice of those who feel left behind," said Hillary.
Hillary has been at the forefront in defending free trade and outsourcing. During the height of the anti-outsourcing backlash in the US last year, she faced considerable flak for defending Indian software giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) for opening a center in Buffalo, New York. "We are not against all outsourcing; we are not in favor of putting up fences," Hillary said firmly, despite inevitably invoking the ire of the anti-free trade brigade.
-- Asia Times, May 1, 2005
For the record, I am not at all against all outsourcing; I
am just disgusted by celebrities babbling about without knowing what they are talking
about, especially in the presence of people who somehow depend on their
perspectives to make political decisions. As for the endorsement, I'm sure Sen. Obama's campaign is having cool sweet laughs at her.
Comments (3)
Hillary Clinton is my Senator. She promised on her original campaign trail to bring several hundred thousand new jobs to Western New York State. The only company I know of that she brought to Buffalo is Tata Inc, which outsources 90% of their jobs to India. For the handful of local jobs they brought in to Buffalo, people interviewed by phone to India. A friend of mine was hired without ever meeting anyone from the company. (She refused the job, feeling it all to be shady.) Still, this "new company" Clinton bragged about getting federal dollars to relocate to Buffalo, merely has a shell of an office here, employing mostly people in another Country. So, reading the insightful article above, really hit a sour note with me.
February 9, 2008 2:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
The only company I know of that she brought to Buffalo is Tata Inc, which outsources 90% of their jobs to India.
Tata Inc is an Indian held company that outsources jobs to the US, not the other way around.
February 9, 2008 5:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
CLINTON CLAIMS OUTSOURCING "WORKS BOTH WAYS…IT ACTUALLY BROUGHT JOBS TO BUFFALO." Clinton Says "Outsourcing Does Work Both Ways." Crain's New York Business wrote, "Mrs. Clinton may be motivated by a desire to uphold the free trade legacy of the Clinton years. […] In an appearance on CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight, she boasted about attracting 10 jobs to New York from India-based Tata Consulting. When Mr. Dobbs inquired if she had understood the degree to which Tata, which helps U.S. companies outsource, was stealing American jobs, Mrs. Clinton rejoined: ‘They've actually brought jobs to Buffalo. Outsourcing does work both ways.'" [Crain's New York Business, 6/21/04; CNN, 3/3/04] In An Interview With Lou Dobbs, Senator Clinton Defended Her Support Of Tata Consulting, A Company That Brought Ten Jobs To Native Buffalo Residents But Destroyed Thousands Of Jobs Over The Years. Lou Dobbs asked Clinton, "Senator, a number of people pointed out to us, e-mailing us and calling us, saying, ask the senator about her helping Tata Consulting, a well-known outsourcer, open jobs -- and office in Buffalo, New York. I'm asking you, did you really understand the degree to which they were involved in outsourcing jobs when you were there?" Clinton replied, "Well, of course I know that they outsource jobs, that they've actually brought jobs to Buffalo. They've created 10 jobs in Buffalo and have told me and the Buffalo community that they intend to be a source of new jobs in the area, because, you know, outsourcing does work both ways." [CNN, 3/3/04] Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Is Famous For Pioneering The Business Practice Of Off-shoring. The San Jose Mercury News wrote, "TCS, however, will go down in the annals of offshoring as the original high-tech body shop. Starting in the early 1990s, TCS blanketed the American landscape with legions of itinerant software programmers from India. […] Tata pioneered an industry that eventually evolved into the dynamo of offshoring, or sending work to cheap labor markets overseas. […] Tata's methods have not been popular among U.S. technology workers, however, who complain guest workers suppress local wages and offshoring takes good jobs overseas." [San Jose Mercury News, 12/6/04]
Tata's Buffalo, N.Y. Training Center Caters To The Needs Of The Company's 8,000 Employees In The United States, 80 Percent Of Whom Are Workers From India. India Abroad wrote, "At the Chrysalis Center TCS will host new employees in month-long training sessions to make them aware of the company's history and culture and to hone their core IT skills that will bridge existing knowledge with advanced skills necessary to work on innovative projects for customers." The center will also cater to the training needs of the more than 8,000 TCS employees across the US, 80 percent of whom are from India, according to Buffalo News. [India Abroad, 7/30/04; Buffalo News, 7/20/04] Gupta Said Democrats' Stand On Outsourcing Was Poll-Year Rhetoric. The Economic Times wrote, "Vinod ‘Vin' Gupta […] also believes that the Democratic Party's stand on outsourcing is more poll year rhetoric than any serious economic policy statement. ‘We have to compete globally and US has to find the best product and services at the best cost. Tapping global resources will obviously make the US economy stronger,' says Gupta whose own company InfoUSA outsources both technology support and database work to vendors in India. Gupta, who has helped Hillary Clinton and Al Gore in fund-raising efforts for their campaigns, is now involved in fund raising efforts for Senator Kerry." [The Economic Times, 3/29/04]
Also:
http://heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/Archive/Hillary5.txt
February 9, 2008 8:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
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