Posted on 07/07/2007 7:09:07 PM PDT by BornInASmallTown
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton is wooing wealthy entrepreneurs with ties to India, seeking to tap the growing political clout of Indian-Americans in California's Silicon Valley.
Clinton spoke by live video feed from New Orleans to nearly 4,000 businessmen attending the annual alumni conference of the Indian Institute of Technology.
Clinton, the only Republican or Democratic presidential candidate to accept an invitation from the IIT, reiterated her call for more H-1B work visas for highly educated immigrants.
It is an issue of deep concern to the Indian and Indian-American executives and engineers in the audience.
But she did not shy from characterisation of the pain of offshore outsourcing, the exporting of technology jobs to low-cost workers in countries such as India, China and Russia.
The United States has sent tens of thousands of high-paying computer programming and engineering jobs to developing countries in recent years.
''Workers in the United States are concerned about outsourcing, and I think they're right to be, but so should all of us who value the bilateral relationship between the US and India,'' Clinton said.
''If the US continues to outsource jobs to India large numbers, people will increasingly feel insecure and increasingly seek protection.''
Her appearance comes less than a month after rival Barack Obama's campaign sent a sarcastic memo to reporters criticizing Clinton's ties to India.
The memo characterised the New York senator as the ''Democrat from Punjab'' - a reference to a joking introduction of Clinton by Rajwant Singh, national chairman of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education.
Prominent Indian-Americans immediately demanded an apology from Obama. Within days, the Illinois senator conceded that their concerns over the campaign memo were ''entirely justified.''
Clinton's courting of Indian-American voters comes as the 2.3 million-member community in the US exerts more influence in the 2008 presidential election.
In May, Indian-Americans in Silicon Valley raised $200,000. In April, New York hotelier and restaurateur Sant Chatwal claimed that Indian-Americans could raise at least $5 million for Clinton's campaign.
According to the US Census Bureau, although they make up for less than one per cent of the US population, Indians living in the United States have the highest average income of any racial group.
wonder if she is boning up on a fake Hindi accent?
Immigrants from India are already largely socialist. Her Thighness likely reminds them of the Royal Highness Indira Gandhi, a tyrant in the same mold as Jezebel, aka Hillary.
The Clintons have been hooked up with Vin Gupta for years. I’m sure he’s behind this in some way.
If Hillary thought it would get her elected she would put a red dot on her forehead.
I find Indian women very attractive
Never forget Hillary’s “joke” about mathama GHANDI running a gas staation!! Those Indians are stupid to support her.
boy that may get you a visit
Is Vin Gupta ANY relation to DR> Gupta on CNN? Probably.....he doesn’st seem like the BRIGHTEST buld in the chandelier.
BS! There are what, close to 20 people running and only 1 person accepted? I don't think so.
And if I'd been born a boy, my parents were going to name me Mahatma Gandhi.
let me guess,
hillary will be speaking hindi
with a mumbai accent!
Hillary figures, “Why not?”...”Bill sold alot of ‘things’ and that dang Chi-Com money spent like water”......”What do my newest constituents want most?”
I think this’ll last right up until she realizes that she’s met about a hundred Patels and each and every one has checked Bill and a young woman into his motel.
Well, some are. Many are fed up with socialism as well. Problem lies in the way our democracy works. Illiterate idiots always end up ruling the roost.
...and with a dash of a Worli twang!
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