If some Democrats had believed that the drumbeat over outsourcing would pay off at polling stations across America, they appeared to have been mistaken as results came in for the midterm elections and two of the strongest proponents of opposing offshoring of services, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland and Arkansas Senator Blanche Lincoln, were defeated by their Republican opponents.
If some Democrats had believed that the drumbeat over outsourcing would pay off at polling stations across America, they appeared to have been mistaken as results came in for the midterm elections and two of the strongest proponents of opposing offshoring of services, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland and Arkansas Senator Blanche Lincoln, were defeated by their Republican opponents.
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Earlier this year, Strickland had banned outsourcing of the State Government’s projects to India. In fact, even during his concession speech, Strickland mentioned the issue of outsourcing, as he said that his Administration had “fought against outsourcing and bad trade deals.”
Many Indian Americans had seen the heated words over outsourcing as a sign of xenophobia directed against India being fostered by the Democratic Party for political gains.
Members of Indian-American lobbying groups donated to candidates who stood against the anti-outsourcers, like Congressman Kasich, who will be the next Ohio Governor.
So, while the Democratic Party often used Bangalored to attack outsourcing, it did not appear to have had much of an impact on the races.
Anirudh Bhattacharya is a Toronto-based commentator on North American issues, and an author. He has also worked as a journalist in New Delhi and New York spanning print, television and digital media. He tweets as @anirudhb.Read More
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