We’re about a year, 500 attack ads, millions of dollars, and dozens of celebrity voicemails away from next year’s election. Yet, it feels like the right time to begin covering each candidate’s position on ‘outsourcing’ (r.i.p.).

It’s only appropriate to start with the current frontrunner.

Recently, Hillary’s stance adapts like time. IST, she’s pro; EST, totally against. PST, and we’re back to pro again.

Roll some context: the 90s The Clintons have a long history of support for free trade. NAFTA and increases to the H1B program are probably the strongest examples.

“Clinton’s positioning on outsourcing dates to the 1990s, when her husband’s administration aggressively pursued free trade agreements such as NAFTA that union workers today consider the start of a huge exodus of U.S. jobs to cheaper overseas competition.

During the rise of the Internet, the Clinton administration also distributed temporary-worker visas to hundreds of thousands of Indians who came to the United States for jobs at high-tech companies.”

source 1999 Clinton realizes a new-found love of the Indian community to begin the millenium:

“As Clinton pursued a Senate seat in 1999, the Indian American community stepped up its giving. Indian businessman Sant Singh Chatwal raised $500,000 for her in his Upper East Side penthouse, including $210,000 from 14 entities connected to him.”

Chatwal and the Indian community have continued to support Clinton’s presidential run:

“Chatwal is now a finance co-chairman for Clinton’s presidential campaign, and Clinton aides said they have counted more than $2 million in contributions raised at Indian American events.”

source 2002 Clinton spearheads a misguided attempt to bring Tata to Buffalo…misguided (imho) in the belief that the best way to justify the existence of offshore IT is to show that the “outsourcers also outsource.” But, the attempt exemplifies her continued openness to free trade.

“Four years ago, Clinton brought Tata Consultancy Services to Buffalo amid great fanfare and promises that its local operation might eventually employ up to 100 people. But the India-based company, one of the world’s largest outsourcing consultants, currently employs only about 10 people locally.”

source 2004 After Treasury Secretary John Snow argues that outsourcing may actually lead to a long term increase in jobs (opinions supported by economists Lawrence Klein and Greg Mankiw), Hillary decides she is against it:

“I don’t know what reality the Bush administration is living in, but it’s certainly not the reality I represent, from one end of New York to the other.”

(I guess she didn’t actually say anything in that quote, but the intent is clear.) source 2005 While in India, Clinton puts her sari back on:

“There is no way to legislate against reality. Outsourcing will continue. . . . We are not against all outsourcing; we are not in favor of putting up fences.”

source 2007 To one day become an enemy of Lou Dobbs…one can only dream. Clinton makes a speech in Silicon Valley, getting applause for a comment about increasing H1B allocation. Lou Dobbs thinks this is very bad. Lou Dobbs also thinks that immigration causes leprosy (look it up):

Invest in the US Here’s Clinton urging Indian companies to invest in the US…good advice:

“If the United States continues to outsource jobs to India in increasingly large numbers, people will begin to feel insecure and may very well seek more protection against what they view as unfair competition,” Clinton told Indian technologists during a July speech in Santa Clara, Calif. “America is not just a marketplace to get a foothold in. It’s a place to make lasting investments that will create jobs and economic growth for everyone.”

source Debate at Howard University in June, 2007 And finally, Clinton speaking at a debate at Howard University. Clinton starts with 4:30 remaining, expressing what seems to be the synthesis of her overall opinion - elimination of tax breaks, better training, etc., without explicitly speaking out against free trade. Of course, it’s a cop-out. But, so is almost everything during a presidential campaign: