Obama Punjabbing Clinton
Obama Punjabbing Clinton
Date: Thursday, June 28, 2007 3:48 AM
<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER No. 1720 -- 6/28/2007 >>>>>
By now all of you have heard about Obama's remark that Hillary Clinton is a
(D-Punjab). Tonight I was researching old newsletters and came across
these quotes by Hillary that makes me wonder why she is making such a big
deal about Obama's remarks:
"I am delighted to be the Senator from Punjab as well as
from New York."
"I can certainly run for the Senate seat in Punjab and win
easily," she is quoted as saying.
The Clinton ties with India are no secret - except perhaps to the
mainstream American public. They are so cozy that Bill and Hillary gave
Vinod Gupta a sleepover in 2000. To find out more about Gupta, go here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinod_Gupta
Hillary Clinton's feigned outrage has sure paid off -- to the tune of $2
million. That's the amount of money Indian special interest groups paid her
to soothe her anger. She vowed to pay them back -- look for her favors when
time comes to vote on the Comprehensive Immigration Bill. This is what she
said to her generous donors:
"I will work very hard to be a good steward of
those contributions,"
The ties between the Clintons and the money brokers of India is almost like
true love:
"We love the Clintons," said Trupti Banker, publisher
of the Web site Indian Era. "I have so many clients
who have their pictures or who have had lunches or
dinners with them. This pair has really reached out."
Articles Included
Article 1:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/sweet/433518,CST-NWS-sweet19.article
Obama calls memo about India 'stupid'
Article 2:
http://www.latestpolitics.com/blog/2007/06/obama-oppo-targets-hillarys-india.html
Obama Oppo Targets Hillary's India Ties
Article 3:
http://www.nysun.com/article/56332
Clinton Taps Newly Active Indian Donors
Article 4:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/18/AR2007061801752.html?referrer=emailarticle
Obama Apologizes For Punjab-gate
Article 5:
http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/
Obama too fast to retreat from `Punjab' jab
Article 6:
http://www.indiaprwire.com/businessnews/20070607/22847.htm
India Inc briefs Hillary Clinton
Article 7:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/wn_report/2007/06/25/2007-06-25_2m_for_hil_after_bam_indian_dis.html
2M for Hil after Bam Indian dis
Article 8:
http://www.huntingtonnews.net/columns/070625-watson-columnswages.html
COMMENTARY: East Indians Steal American Jobs, Drive Down Wages
Article 9:
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/mostread/s_514091.html
Clintons' India ties could imperil jobs
1. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.suntimes.com/news/sweet/433518,CST-NWS-sweet19.article
Obama calls memo about India 'stupid'
(http://www.suntimes.com/news/sweet/433518,CST-NWS-sweet19.article)
June 19, 2007
BY LYNN SWEET Sun-Times Columnist
WASHINGTON -- Seeking to limit damage within the Indian-American Democratic
community, White House hopeful Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) said Monday it
was a "screw-up" and "stupid" and a "mistake" for his campaign to issue a
memo slamming ties rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and her
husband, Bill, have to India and Indian-Americans.
"In sum, our campaign made a mistake," Obama said in a statement released
through a group of Indian-American supporters called South Asians for Obama
'08.
"Although I was not aware of the contents of the memo prior to its
distribution, I consider the entire campaign -- and in particular myself --
responsible for the mistake."
In Iowa campaigning, Obama told the Des Moines Register on Monday, "It was
a screw-up on the part of our research team." He added, "I thought it was
stupid and caustic."
Obama's campaign, staffed with veteran Washington operatives, seeks to
portray Obama as above the fray and an outsider candidate of change.
They got caught pushing a negative research memo aimed at the Clintons. It
was headlined "Hillary Clinton (D-Punjab)'s personal financial and
political ties to India," with the release pegged to the Clintons' latest
financial disclosure, made public last week.
The Obama campaign had offered the Punjab memo to reporters writing about
the Clinton finances on an off-the-record basis, meaning the reporter
agreed to consider using the information but was not supposed to reveal
that it came from the Obama camp.
However, a copy was obtained by the Clinton campaign and circulated to
bloggers and reporters. (I was doing something else and did not deal with
either campaign on this.)
The political problem for Obama -- besides insulting Indian-American
Democrats, a growing source of votes and political money -- is that he has
pledged to run a different type of campaign.
After his chief spokesman, Robert Gibbs, engaged in sniping with Clinton
campaign spokesman Howard Wolfson over disparaging remarks Hollywood mogul
David Geffen made about Clinton, Obama told the New York Times in February
he was not aware of the statement beforehand and "my preference going
forward is that we have to be careful not to slip into playing the game as
it customarily is played."
Obama was forced to backpedal under pressure. On Friday, the non-partisan
United States India Political Action Committee wrote Obama asking "if
indeed your staff is promoting these hurtful stereotypes." A statement by
campaign manager David Plouffe was not deemed sufficient. On Sunday, the
South Asians for Obama -- his own supporters -- said in a statement they
were disturbed "by the clear anti-Indian sentiment" in the memo.
This is the third time Obama has blamed staff for mistakes. In May, Obama
told leaders of the International Association of Fire Fighters he skipped
their New Hampshire meeting because of his scheduling staff.
SAFO co-founder Hrishi Karthikeyan said Plouffe and Obama political staffer
Rudi Shenks were on a conference call Monday with other Indian-Americans,
where Plouffe "personally apologized to us." Obama spokesman Bill Burton
said materials will now be reviewed by a "higher level" -- Plouffe and
strategist David Axelrod -- before release.
It's too soon to tell if there is long-term damage. Said Karthikeyan, "It
would be naive of me to say there aren't some people in the community whose
support he lost."
2. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.latestpolitics.com/blog/2007/06/obama-oppo-targets-hillarys-india.html
Obama Oppo Targets Hillary's India Ties
Posted by Russell Berman
Thu, 14 Jun 2007 at 10:07 PM
Senator Obama has been calling for "a new kind of politics," but his
presidential campaign appears not to be above the time-honored tradition of
sending out an anonymous, negative attack on a top rival.
Mr. Obama's campaign is circulating a document critical of President and
Senator Clinton's links to India in an effort to portray Mrs. Clinton as
having a poor record on outsourcing and protecting American jobs. The
three-page piece of opposition research, titled "Hillary Clinton
(D-Punjab)'s Personal Financial and Political Ties," was obtained from a
source unaffiliated with the Obama campaign. Details and the full document
after the jump...
Such "oppo" pieces are usually sent by campaigns with the disclaimer of
"off the record" or "not for attribution," so Mr. Obama would not be linked
to it. At least some copies of this document contained no such disclaimer.
The "Punjab" reference is an apparent riff on a joke that Mrs. Clinton
herself made last year at a fund-raiser hosted by a top Indian-American
supporter. "I can certainly run for the Senate seat in Punjab and win
easily," she is quoted as saying.
While the document does not spread any particularly insidious claims, its
focus on India and take on the Punjab joke is clearly not something the
Obama campaign would want to be associated with, particularly when it is
promoting "South Asians for Obama" chapters across the country.
Citing the newly released financial disclosure forms, it cites Bill
Clinton's holdings in an Indian bill payment company and that he collected
$300,000 for paid speeches from Cisco Systems, a company that has shifted
hundreds of jobs from America to India, the document notes.
The most direct criticism of the Clintons is at the top: "Hillary Clinton,
who is the co-chair of the Senate India Caucus, has drawn criticism from
anti-offshoring groups for her vocal support of Indian business and
unwillingness to protect American jobs. Bill Clinton has invested tens of
thousands of dollars in an Indian bill payment company, while Hillary
Clinton has taken tens of thousands from companies that outsource jobs to
India. Workers who have been laid off in upstate New York might not think
that her recent joke that she could be elected to the Senate seat in Punjab
is that funny."
An Obama spokesman, Bill Burton, brushed off the suggestion that
circulating the document runs counter to Mr. Obama's message. He said the
campaign had sent a series of quotes and other statements "on the public
record" to reporters. "I don't know why anyone would take umbrage with
that?"
The Clinton campaign declined to comment. Mrs. Clinton has aggressively
been courting Indian-American donors to her campaign, as the Sun's Josh
Gerstein recently reported. The full text of the document appears below:
HILLARY CLINTON (D-PUNJAB)'S PERSONAL FINANCIAL AND POLITICAL TIES TO INDIA
The Clintons have reaped significant financial rewards from their
relationship with the Indian community, both in their personal finances and
Hillary's campaign fundraising. Hillary Clinton, who is the co-chair of the
Senate India Caucus, has drawn criticism from anti-offshoring groups for
her vocal support of Indian business and unwillingness to protect American
jobs. Bill Clinton has invested tens of thousands of dollars in an Indian
bill payment company, while Hillary Clinton has taken tens of thousands
from companies that outsource jobs to India. Workers who have been laid off
in upstate New York might not think that her recent joke that she could be
elected to the Senate seat in Punjab is that funny.
IT'S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY PERSONAL HOLDINGS 2006: Bill Clinton Invested Tens
of Thousands In An Indian Bill Payment Company. According to Hillary
Clinton's personal financial disclosure form, as part his ownership of WJC
Investments, LP LLC, Bill Clinton held between $15,001 and $50,000 worth of
stock in Easy Bill Limited, an Indian company. According to the company's
website, "Functioning as a one-stop bill payment shop, Easy Bill
facilitates payment of utility bills as well as recharging of pre-paid
mobile connections at a place the consumer is already familiar and
comfortable with the neighbourhood store." In addition to providing
terminals throughout India where customers may pay their bills, the company
also maintains a call center described as "a dedicated response centre for
efficient customer service." [Hillary Clinton 2006 Financial Disclosure
Report, http://www.easybillindia.com/]
2006: Bill Clinton Collected $300,000 From Cisco In 2006. Hillary's
personal financial disclosure forms indicate that Bill Clinton gave two
speeches to Cisco Systems, each for $150,000 on 5/18/06 and 8/17/06.
[Hillary Clinton 2006 Financial Disclosure Report; 3,4]
CAMPAIGN FUNDRAISING Hillary Clinton Accepted Almost $60,000 In
Contributions From Employees Of Cisco Systems, Which Laid Off American
Workers to Hire Indian "Techies." Clinton's Presidential Exploratory
Committee took $39,450 from Cisco employees during the first quarter of
2007. Cisco employees have also donated $18,900 to Clinton's Senate
committee between 1999 and 2006. Forbes reported, in a feature called "A
Tale of Two Cities" that Cisco was laying off $60,000-a-year "techies,"
while hiring new employees in Bangalore, India. "Cisco used only a few
Infosys workers in Bangalore six years ago [in 1998]; [by 2004, it used]
almost 300 contract staff, plus 550 full-fledged employees in its own
Bangalore office." In 2006, Newsweek reported that "for Cisco, India is the
new frontier, where it's investing $1.2 billion to build a gleaming R&D
campus that will employ 3,000 people." [FEC filings; Forbes, 4/12/04;
Newsweek, 3/6/06]
Clinton Donor, Sant Singh Chatwal, Cited Clinton's India Caucus Work Vowed
To Raise $5 Million. In March 2007, the Economic Times wrote, "[Clinton]
has roped in New York-based hotelier Sant Chatwal as co-chair of her
recently formed presidential exploratory committee to run for the 2008
White House race. [...] He is also creating an organization called Indian
Americans for Hillary 2008." In April 2007, Mangalorean reported that
Indian Americans for Hillary 2008 (IAFH) had already raised $1 million and
"aimed to raise at least five million dollars." A major fund raiser on June
24 hosted by Chatwal, the founder of IAFH; steel baron, Lakshmi Mittal, and
businessman SP Hindujas, was expected to pull more than 1,000 guests. In
June 2007, The New York Times reported that "two Indo-American receptions
have a total of $450,000 in commitments." In the picture (right), Sen.
Clinton speaks at a reception hosted to push forward the US-India nuclear
deal while Sant Singh Chatwal listens carefully. [New York Times, 6/7/07;
Economic Times of India, 3/18/07; mangalorean.com, 4/14/07, accessed
4/18/07; picture, Tribune India, 9/14/06]
Chatwal Owed The City Of New York More Than $2 Million In Back Taxes, Fled
Prosecution For Fraud But Was Arrested During Visit to India With Bill
Clinton. Sant Singh Chatwal, who raised more $200,000 for Sen. Clinton in
2000, owed New York City $2.4 million in back property taxes. In addition,
during a visit to India with Bill Clinton, in May 2001, Chatwal was
arrested by authorities there and charged with defrauding the New York City
branch of the Bank of India out of $9 million he borrowed in 1994. He
posted bail, then fled India, boarding a flight to Vienna despite an
attempt by authorities to detain him. . [New York Daily News, 11/24/02; New
York Daily News, 11/7/00]
FDIC Charged Chatwal With Obtaining Improper Loans. In a separate 1996
case, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. charged Chatwal with obtaining
improper loans from the First New York Bank for Business, causing the bank
to lose more than $25 million. Chatwal, who was a director of the bank,
arranged more than $14 million in loans to himself and his businesses,
often with no collateral, said the FDIC. He didn't repay the loans and the
bank failed. [New York Daily News, 11/24/02; New York Daily News, 11/7/00]
CLINTON AND THE SENATE INDIA CAUCUS Clinton Co-Founded The Senate India
Caucus, A Project Of The U.S. India Political Action Committee. In 2004,
Clinton co-founded and became the co-chair of the Senate India Caucus which
was coordinated by the U.S. India Political Action Committee (USINPAC).
Roll Call reported, "The goals of the caucus, which already has 31 members,
include increasing trade with India and improving security against global
terrorism." Sen. Clinton said, "It is imperative that the Unites States do
everything possible to reach out to India. This Caucus is dedicated to
expanding areas of agreement with India and engaging in a candid dialogue
of differences." [link to photo at USINPAC website, accessed 4/17/07; Roll
Call, 4/28/04; PR Newswire, 4/29/04]
CLINTON WINS "WEASEL AWARD" FOR COMMENTS ON INDIA 2005: Anti-Offshoring
Advocacy Group Gave Sen. Clinton A "Weasel Award," Citing Pro-Outsourcing
Comments Clinton Made In India. The Press Trust of India wrote, "An
American anti-offshoring advocacy group has awarded its first Weasel
Award of 2005' to Democrat Senator Hillary Clinton for her recent remarks
supporting outsourcing. The Delaware-based IT Professionals Association of
America (ITPAA) representing over 1,200 IT professionals nationwide, said
on its Web site that it presented this award to business and political
leaders that it believes betray the trust of the American people.' Scott
Kirwin, founder of the organization claimed that people were tired of
Democrats pretending they care about the problems facing average Americans.
Senator Clinton's actions prove they clearly do not.' The ITPAA based its
award on press reports of Hilary Clinton supporting outsourcing and
assuring political and business leaders in India that the US would not
attempt to save the jobs lost. Outsourcing will continue. There is no
way to legislate against reality. We are not in favor of putting up
fences.' Hillary had said on Feb 28 in India, according to a report by the
Asia Times. Kirwin also cited her position as co-chair of the Friends of
India Caucus' in the Senate, a group of senators that supports issues
important to India, including outsourcing and H-1B and L-1 visas, as
another reason behind the ITPAA's decision to give the award to the
prospective Democrat presidential nominee." [Press Trust Of India, 3/5/05;
Link To Weasel Award]
2/05: On India Trip, Clinton Allayed India's Fears That Outsourcing Would
End. The India Review wrote, "Senator Clinton allayed apprehensions in
India that there would be a bar on outsourcing. There is no way to
legislate against reality. Outsourcing will continue," she said. [India
Review, 4/05, accessed, 6/7/07]
Sen. Clinton (D-Punjab) Joked That She Was Senator From The Punjab Region
In India. "At the fundraiser hosted by Dr Rajwant Singh at his Potomac,
Maryland, home, and which raised nearly $50,000 for her re-election
campaign, Clinton began by joking that, 'I can certainly run for the
Senate seat in Punjab and win easily,' after being introduced by Singh as
the Senator not only from New York but also Punjab." [India Abroad,
3/17/06]
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]
3. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.nysun.com/article/56332
Clinton Taps Newly Active Indian Donors
BY JOSH GERSTEIN - Staff Reporter of the Sun
June 12, 2007
Senator Clinton plans to take time out of her tightly packed presidential
campaign schedule next month to deliver a speech to a large and influential
alumni group. The well-connected crowd, expected to number about 4,000,
hails not from the Ivy League or one of America's renowned state
universities, but from a school half a world away, the Indian Institute of
Technology.
The unusual speaking engagement is just one sign of the growing clout of
the Indian-American community and how Mrs. Clinton is harnessing it to a
degree previously unknown in presidential politics.
In April, a prominent New York hotelier and restaurant owner, Sant Chatwal,
announced that Indian-Americans plan to raise at least $5 million for the
former first lady's presidential campaign, an impressive sum even at the
overheated pace of this year's fund raising. Later this month, almost 1,000
people are expected to attend an Indian-themed $1,000-a-plate dinner for
Mrs. Clinton in Manhattan. There are also plans to bring in stars from
India's film industry, known as Bollywood, for another Clinton campaign
event later this year.
"Indians have never raised so much money, to the best of my knowledge, and
I've been living here 24 years," Mr. Chatwal told The New York Sun.
"We're all maxing out," a Manhattan philanthropist and socialite, Meera
Gandhi, said.
The intense activity reflects a long-standing affinity for Mrs. Clinton on
the part of many Indian-Americans, dating back to the state visit she and
her husband, President Clinton, made to India in 2000.
However, the new fund-raising prowess also demonstrates how, after a
generation or two of toil, another immigrant community has achieved the
financial security and social confidence to venture into the American
political arena.
"This Indian community has come of age, where they now understand they have
to be involved in the political process," Ms. Gandhi said. "We are the new
wealthy kids on the block, so to speak. We feel we should have a stake in
our country's politics."
"The stars are aligned, in a way," an Indian-American political organizer
in New York City, Udai Tambar, said. "The importance of money in politics
is increasing over time, and at the same time you have a community, the
Indian and South Asian community, that has amassed a fair amount of
financial wealth."
Indian-Americans have the highest income, on average, of any racial or
national origin group tracked by the Census Bureau. In 2005, median
household income for "Asian Indians" in America was $73, 575, which is 59%
above the national average. More than a third of Indian-American adults
have an advanced degree compared with 10% of the general populace.
Overall, Indian-Americans account for less than 1% of the population, but
they aspire to political influence beyond their numbers. In that respect,
one often hears politically active Indians suggest that they could be the
new Jews on the American political scene. Ms. Gandhi describes her
well-heeled cohort as "sort of like the Jewish community was 20 or 25 years
ago."
Some Indians are taking things a step further, actually seeking political
advice and common cause with Jewish groups. They have sought organizing
advice from the American Jewish Committee and traveled to Israel with the
American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
"The Jewish community and the Indian community have been working very
closely together," a former Agriculture Department official named last
month as a national co-chairman of South Asians for Hillary, Rajen Anand,
said. "A lot of Jewish congressmen and senators are friends of India.
Steven Solarz was the first congressman to raise $1 million by mail from
Indian-Americans."
Both groups share a concern about Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism.
While Jews fear attacks on Israel, Indian-Americans, most of whom are
Hindu, worry about attacks on India perpetrated by Islamists and about the
threat of fundamentalism in Pakistan.
When Indian-Americans in Silicon Valley hosted a $200,000 fund-raiser for
Mrs. Clinton last month, she was pressed about why America counts Saudi
Arabia as an ally, despite its record of fomenting extreme, "Wahhabi" Islam
through religious schools in its country and elsewhere.
Among Indian-Americans, Mrs. Clinton has a clear edge in the early
maneuvering for the White House in 2008, but she is not competing
unchallenged. Senator Obama of Illinois has also made significant inroads,
particularly with the younger set, which finds appeal in his multiracial
background. "His consciousness resonates more with the second and third
generation," a Washington attorney backing Mr. Obama, Dave Kumar, 35, said.
"When he talks about the skinny kid with the funny name, he's sort of
describing every Indian-American kid who grew up in this country."
Playing off a term Indians and others use for the number 100,000, South
Asians for Obama has launched "One Lakh for Barack." It aims to line up a
large number of small donations for Mr. Obama and gather the e-mail
addresses of supporters. "It's more of a grassroots effort," Mr. Tambar
said.
So far, Republican presidential candidates have not made an aggressive
effort to tap into Indian-American money or support, community members
said.
"A lot of people are just waiting on the sidelines," an Indian-American
cardiologist who was a major fund-raiser for President Bush, Zachariah
Zachariah of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said.
The head of the Indian American Republican Council, Dr. Raghavendra
Vijayanagar, said the Republican Party has had "difficulty associating"
with the high-achieving doctors, scientists, and business owners of the
Indian community. "They're signing up with the Democratic Party, when
actually they belong to the Republican Party," he said.
Modest efforts are under way among Republican-leaning Indian-Americans to
raise funds for Senator McCain of Arizona and Governor Thompson of
Wisconsin.
A Washington lobbyist and international trade lawyer, Sue Ghosh Stricklett,
said she is trying to drum up support for Mr. McCain in part because of his
leadership on immigration. "I feel legal immigrants contribute in a big way
to economic expansion. As an Indian-American, I don't want to see racist
outpourings on the airwaves. Without immigrants, the American economy would
be crippled," she said.
Ms. Stricklett said Republicans would be foolish to dismiss the claims by
Indian-Americans that they will raise $5 million for Mrs. Clinton's
campaign. "I don't think it's hyperbole," the Indian-American activist
said. "It could happen on the Republican side because you have more people
who could write big checks. I just think they need to take the Indian
community very seriously."
Another factor giving Mrs. Clinton a leg up is the presence of two
Indian-American staffers at the top echelon of her campaign. Mrs. Clinton's
policy director, Neera Tanden, worked as a policy adviser in the Clinton
White House and later as an aide to the then chancellor of the New York
City schools, Harold Levy. The traveling aide who shadows Mrs. Clinton at
nearly all of her public appearances, Huma Abedin, is of Indian and
Pakistani descent.
"They themselves have engaged the community and been an internal resource,"
an Indian-American foundation director, Nishith Acharya of Boston, said.
"That's been a huge difference for Mrs. Clinton."
Mrs. Clinton's gambit to tap into the coffers of the Indian-American
community is not without political risk or potential pitfalls. Immigrants
and other political novices often are less attuned to campaign finance laws
than longtime operatives. The scramble to tap new sources of campaign funds
can also attract rogue fund-raisers and donors.
In 1996, Democratic Party officials backing Mr. Clinton's re-election
aggressively sought donations from donors with Asian backgrounds. Millions
were raised, but some of the money turned out to have come illegally from
overseas, including companies closely connected with the Chinese
government.
About two dozen people were convicted in ensuing prosecutions. Critics said
some of the fund-raising events, such as one Vice President Gore attended
at a Buddhist temple in Los Angeles, should have raised alarm bells. One of
those prosecuted was an Indian national living in California, Yogesh
Gandhi. He was sentenced to a year in prison after admitting to donating
$325,000 from money wired by a Japanese businessman.
In the wake of the scandal, most major campaigns and party committees
adopted rules requiring that donors be American citizens. When the flap
subsided, candidates began taking contributions again from green card
holders, a practice permitted by federal law.
Mr. Tambar said that given the amount of money being raised this cycle,
some donors are certain not to follow the rules. "That's going to happen in
every community. I just hope that's more the exception than the rule," he
said.
At the fund-raiser near San Jose last month, two men emerged in a hurry,
explaining that they needed to catch a flight home to India. They said they
had not donated but were friends of some of the hosts. "We, as Indians, are
great supporters of the Clintons," the director of a Mumbai-based
technology firm, Vijay Choudhary, said. "If Bill Clinton ran for president
or prime minister in India, he'd win."
When Mr. Chatwal announced plans for the Indian-American dinner for Mrs.
Clinton later this month, he advertised the presence of two prominent
Indian business titans who do not live in America, Lakshmi Mittal and
Srichand Hinduja. "They can't give money," Mr. Chatwal acknowledged in an
interview last week. "It's to bring a little attraction."
Mr. Chatwal said he went too far when he told Indian reporters recently
that he was putting his new $40 million Falcon business jet at the
senator's disposal. "We got to stay away from that," he said.
Mr. Chatwal has a checkered business history that includes founding the
Bombay Place restaurant chain and filing for personal bankruptcy in 1995.
After traveling with Mr. Clinton in India, Mr. Chatwal was briefly detained
there over an unpaid bank debt.
He has maintained close ties with the Clintons, who attended the wedding of
one Chatwal son at Tavern on the Green in 2002. Mr. Clinton was a guest at
the epic nuptials of another son in India last year. Mr. Chatwal is one of
at least four Indian-Americans on a list of major funding "bundlers"
released by Mrs. Clinton's campaign.
While some issues important to Indian-Americans, such as a nuclear
cooperation pact with India, carry little downside for American
politicians, others are more volatile. Many Indian-American technology
firms are actively involved in the shifting of work from America to India,
where costs are lower. In 2004, the Democratic presidential nominee,
Senator Kerry of Massachusetts, got a lackluster reception from
Indian-Americans in part because he regularly railed against outsourcing in
campaign speeches.
Mr. Obama has referred to this practice as a form of "violence," but Mrs.
Clinton has been more sanguine. "We are not against all outsourcing. We are
not in favor of putting up fences," she said in 2004 when an Indian-run
firm with offices in Buffalo came under fire for shipping jobs abroad.
Speaking to executives in California last month, she called for more
training for American workers. However, the real applause came when she
expressed her support for an increase in the number of foreigners allowed
to work at high-tech firms in this country. "Let's just face the fact that
foreign skilled workers contribute greatly to what we have to do and being
innovators," she said.
While waiting for the outcome of the presidential race, Indian-Americans
are savoring smaller political victories, such as the addition in 2005 of
an Indian festival, Diwali, to the list of holidays recognized by New York
City. "People listening to 1010 WINS hear, Today, alternate side of the
street parking is suspended because of Diwali,'" Mr. Tambar said. "It's not
a major policy issue, but it makes the community more visible in the
landscape of the city."
4. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/18/AR2007061801752.html?referrer=emailarticle
Obama Apologizes For Punjab-gate
By Politics
Tuesday, June 19, 2007; A07
Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) issued a round of apologies yesterday for a memo
generated by his campaign staff that referred to Sen. Hillary Rodham
Clinton (D-N.Y.) as a senator from the Indian region of Punjab and
criticized her record on outsourcing.
Pointing the finger at his campaign staff, Obama told the editorial board
of the Des Moines Register that he "thought it was stupid and caustic."
Obama said that the memo "not only didn't reflect the complicated issue of
outsourcing . . . it also didn't reflect the fact that I have long-standing
support and friendships within the Indian American community," according to
a story on the paper's Web site.
Obama also wrote a letter of apology that was posted on the Web site of the
South Asians for Obama group yesterday afternoon. The memo, compiled by
Obama campaign staff members and initially sent to reporters on the
condition that they could not attribute it to the campaign, was later
circulated by Clinton advisers as evidence the Obama campaign is not as
elevated as it has promised.
"The memo's caustic tone, and its focus on contributions by
Indian-Americans to the Clinton campaign, was potentially hurtful, and as
such, unacceptable," Obama wrote.
"In sum, our campaign made a mistake. Although I was not aware of the
contents of the memo prior to its distribution, I consider the entire
campaign -- and in particular myself -- responsible for the mistake. We
have taken appropriate action to prevent errors like this from happening in
the future."
-- Anne E. Kornblut
Speaking of Apologies . . .
Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) yesterday called and apologized to former
Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney for an e-mail one of his supporters sent
out criticizing Mormonism, Romney's religion.
In an e-mail last month, former state representative Emma Nemecek, the
southeastern Iowa field director for Brownback's presidential campaign,
asked a group of Iowa Republican leaders to help her fact-check a series of
statements about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including
one that says, "Theologically, the only thing Christianity and the LDS
church has in common is the name of Jesus Christ, and the LDS Jesus is not
the same Jesus of the Christian faith."
Brownback has frequently attacked his 2008 Republican primary opponent for
his recently taken position opposing abortion, but John Hart, a spokesman
for Brownback, said the e-mail was inappropriate.
Brownback, on a four-day, 27-city tour of Iowa this week, called Romney
between stops in Winterset and Adel to apologize for Nemecek's e-mail.
-- Perry Bacon Jr.
Clintons Will Hit Iowa Over Fourth of July
Former president Bill Clinton is joining his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham
Clinton, in Iowa next month. The Clintons will campaign together from July
2 through July 4.
"Just as he did in her Senate races, President Clinton will join Senator
Clinton on the campaign trial and support her as she makes her case to the
voters," said Phil Singer, a spokesman for the senator.
Hillary Clinton has trailed in the polls in Iowa, but her husband is
popular with Democrats in the state. When he was announced as the keynote
speaker for the Iowa Democratic Party's biggest annual fundraiser last
year, it sold out in hours, according to the Associated Press.
-- Zachary A. Goldfarb
5. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/
Obama too fast to retreat from `Punjab' jab
I, too, am disappointed in Barack Obama over his handling of the "Punjab"
memo.
Obama, our junior U.S. senator and a strong candidate for the 2008
Democratic presidential nomination, has drawn fire from the political right
and left for a sharp-elbowed piece of opposition research released by his
campaign last week.
Under the provocative headline, "Hillary Clinton (D-Punjab)'s personal
financial and political ties to India," the three-page document attacks his
leading opponent point-by-point for her allegedly too-cozy ties with
businesses and business leaders who are profiting from the outsourcing of
U.S. jobs to the Asian nation.
Critics called it "nativist" and "a racist, xenophobic hit," and the
chairman of the United States India Political Action Committee sent a
letter to Obama's headquarters in Chicago decrying the dissemination of
"hurtful stereotypes."
What disappointed me, though, was not the memo, but Obama's retreat.
The Des Moines Register reported that Obama branded the memo "stupid" and
"caustic" during a meeting Monday with that newspaper's editors and
reporters.
Though he didn't see the memo before it was released, he told the Register,
"I take responsibility for it, as does our campaign. And we quickly
apologized and are communicating that in various circles around the
country."
Oh, humbug.
6. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.indiaprwire.com/businessnews/20070607/22847.htm
India Inc briefs Hillary Clinton
An Indian business delegation has briefed Senator Hillary Clinton, a US
presidential hopeful, on outsourcing by Indian firms and the jobs they have
created in the US.
New Delhi, Delhi, India, 2007-06-07 20:45:01 (IndiaPRwire.com)
An Indian business delegation has briefed Senator Hillary Clinton, a US
presidential hopeful, on outsourcing by Indian firms and the jobs they have
created in the US.
The delegation led by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) president
Sunil Bharti Mittal, is in the US to explore trade and investment
opportunities.
It called on Clinton Wednesday and also discussed Indian firms' increasing
investments in the US.
The Indian corporate leaders made a brief presentation to Clinton, a
Democratic frontrunner for the US presidential election next year, showing
how fresh investments from India were creating jobs in the US, said a CII
statement Thursday.
Outsourcing has emerged as an occasional issue of debate in the US, with
some politicians raising fears of jobs going to Indian firms.
Mittal also informed the senator about India's thriving democracy and its
strength as the world's fastest growing market which boasts of a
billion-plus consumers.
CII will organise a four-day business event, India@60, in New York in
September this year to promote Brand India, focussing on India's corporate
community, political community, media, diaspora and American public.
The event will include business conferences, meetings of CEOs and
one-on-ones between the Who's Who of US and Indian companies.
7. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/wn_report/2007/06/25/2007-06-25_2m_for_hil_after_bam_indian_dis.html
2M for Hil after Bam Indian dis
BY MICHAEL McAULIFF in Washington and HELEN KENNEDY in New York
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Posted Monday, June 25th 2007, 4:00 AM
Sen. Hillary Clinton at the Indian-American fundraiser at the New York
Sheraton yesterday.
After being dissed by Barack Obama, Indian-Americans gathered in what
organizers called the biggest event their community ever held to hand
Hillary Clinton about $2 million yesterday.
"I will work very hard to be a good steward of those contributions,"
Clinton told 1,200 of the nation's most prominent Indian-Americans, who
flew in from all over the country and paid $1,000 to $4,600 to dine with
her at the New York Sheraton.
"It is important that the relationship and partnership between India and
the U.S. deepen and strengthen."
Obama's campaign irked the Indian-American community last week by
circulating a memo that described Clinton as a Democrat representing Punjab
and detailing her ties to Indian firms that specialize in outsourcing.
"It's done Obama a lot more harm than good. He had something good going for
him and he screwed it up," said Riyaz Akhtar, who attended a private VIP
reception with Clinton before the dinner.
The memo couldn't have been more ill-timed. Obama angered the richest and
best-educated of America's immigrant communities just as they are starting
to flex their considerable political muscle for the first time in a
presidential election.
It's a constituency that Bill and Hillary Clinton have been courting for
more than a decade.
"We love the Clintons," said Trupti Banker, publisher of the Web site
Indian Era. "I have so many clients who have their pictures or who have had
lunches or dinners with them. This pair has really reached out."
8. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.huntingtonnews.net/columns/070625-watson-columnswages.html
June 25, 2007
COMMENTARY: East Indians Steal American Jobs, Drive Down Wages
By Brian Watson
Special to Huntington News Network
Barack Obama recently caused a stir when he called Hillary Clinton the
"Senator from Punjab." Not that Barack Obama himself is innocent; he
supports the third-world (i.e. cheap labor) invasion of the U.S., and thus
is no friend to middle-class Americans. But what he said does raise a
point.
It is no secret that big business is importing Indian workers to drive down
American wages. It is a well-documented fact, and has become so widespread
that many high-tech insiders have started to use the politically incorrect
pejorative "the macaca effect" to describe the situation.
Tom Stern recently had his company flooded with H1Bs from India. "Indians
are generally nice people. But when your company starts hiring them. You
know the end is near. It's like the early stages of cancer. Within one
year, all of our wages were driven down by 45%."
Americans in high tech, engineering, nursing, medicine, hotel management,
gas-station management have recently experienced their wages being pushed
down - largely because of Indian immigration.
"Big business is bringing over Indians for the sole purpose of pushing down
American salaries," says Mr. Stern.
And it's not just via immigration, but also outsourcing. Jason Howard, a
computer programmer, recently had his job outsourced to India. "Yep," he
said, "one day they just told us to clean out our desks and go home. They
were moving our entire company to India."
Cheryl Smith experienced something similar: "My accounting firm recently
fired most of American employees and relocated in India. As a result,
almost all my friends are out of jobs. Many had their homes foreclosed.
Some have had to move in with relatives. And the few jobs that remained in
the U.S. had the wages severely lowered because of the imported cheap labor
from India."
And it's not just all economics. Many Indians are bringing weird strains of
HIV to the U.S. And there are also matters of national security. Some of
terrorists who recently accused of plotting to blow up the JFK
International Airport were East Indian, as one half of Guyana is East
Indian and extremely anti-American. And it's the same situation in India.
"We have seen a rise in both Muslim and Hindu terrorism in India, and it
will be exported to the U.S. Believe me. Anti-Americanism is at an all-time
high in India," commented an anonymous source.
It is no coincidence that Jean Raspail, author of the conservative classic
"Camp of the Saints," selected East Indians to lead the invasion of the
West. Indians are best equipped to infiltrate and bring down Western
countries -- and they can do it with an obsequious smile.
Meanwhile, until the grand finale, we shall continue to witness big
business using Indians to drive down American wages via legal immigration
and outsourcing. We can either stop it, or watch the U.S. become a Third
World country.
Brian Watson is a computer consultant and resident of Richmond, Virginia.
Contact him at: hightechplacement88@yahoo.com
9. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/mostread/s_514091.html
Clintons' India ties could imperil jobs
By James P. Pinkerton
Sunday, June 24, 2007
If a leading American presidential candidate -- and her husband, a former
president -- seem to have unnaturally close connections to foreign
companies interested in draining American jobs, should that be of interest
to Americans?
Some, including campaign rival Barack Obama, say yes, this should be a big
story. But the mainstream media seem to say no. Why this media lack of
interest?
For the past six years -- since Bill Clinton left the White House, since
Hillary Rodham Clinton entered the Senate -- both Clintons have cultivated
close ties with Indian companies. Bill has invested as much as $50,000 in
an India-based electronic-transactions company while accepting $300,000 in
speaking fees from Cisco Systems, which, among other enterprises, helps
American companies outsource jobs to India.
In addition, Bill has established a close relationship with InfoUSA, an
Omaha, Neb., corporation controlled by one Vinod Gupta. A lawsuit by
InfoUSA shareholders, irate at Gupta's free-spending ways, alleges the
company has transferred about $3 million to the former president during the
past four years.
For her part, Hillary has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from
Indian-American campaign contributors. Sant Singh Chatwal, co-chairman of
Indian Americans for Hillary 2008, has pledged to raise $5 million. But
Chatwal reportedly has a checkered past.
In 2001, the New York Daily News said, he was charged in India with
defrauding a bank of $9 million. The case eventually was settled with
Chatwal repaying the loans in question. In a 1996 case, also reported by
the Daily News, Chatwal was involved in bad loans that reportedly cost The
First New York Bank for Business about $25 million.
Indeed, so tight are the Clintons with the Indian community worldwide that
last year she joked -- as she accepted $50,000 at a senatorial fundraiser
held in the Maryland home of prominent dentist Rajwant Singh -- "I can
certainly run for the Senate seat in Punjab and win easily."
It would seem that the Clintons' financial dealings -- and the policies
that flow from those dealings -- should be of great interest to Americans,
confronted as they are by the accelerating phenomenon of job outsourcing.
Dogmatic free-traders think such outsourcing is great but others aren't so
convinced. Alan Blinder, a free-trade proponent while serving as an
economic adviser in the Clinton White House, has since reconsidered his
stance on outsourcing. Last year Blinder wrote that he projected that as
many as 40 million American jobs could be lost to outsourcing in coming
decades.
What does Hillary think of this threat to American well-being? According to
the Obama campaign, citing a 2005 Asia Times article, she said,
"Outsourcing will continue. ... We are not in favor of putting up fences."
Surely middle-class Americans should know about these matters: In the most
literal sense, their jobs might depend on it. But the mainstream media
don't seem to agree -- maybe because reporters want Hillary to win, no
matter what, or maybe because they just can't imagine being against "free
trade," no matter what.
So, instead of covering the India campaign-finance-outsourcing issue,
reporters have chosen instead to attack Obama for some sort of dirty trick
-- the "dirty trick" of assembling a fact-laden dossier on the Clintons.
The New York Times sniped that Obama's "political purity is becoming more
difficult for him to maintain." And The Washington Post fretted about his
"rough and tough tactics."
No doubt Obama will back off now, knowing as he does that his career, in
2008 and beyond, depends on media goodwill.
And so Hillary can cruise to the Democrats' nomination and perhaps the
presidency. In which case, American jobs will continue to cruise to India,
sped along by campaign and corporate cash.
James P. Pinkerton is a columnist for Newsday.
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