Paul Revere did not sell out his friends
Richmond, Virginia -- April 25, 2006
Yesterday, Harris Miller was questioned about his role in outsourcing millions of American (and Virginia) jobs during his tenure at ITAA. Joe Stanley, Chairman of the Franklin County Democratic Committee related the exchange in the comments to a post at Not Larry Sabato:
Miller stood in front of a room of Head Start teachers and purposefully misled them. He talked about job development, job training, and job displacment.
Miller asked if anyone had questions and he went one by one throught 15 or so folks in the room. I was the last one he came to and he greeted me, "Hello Mr. Chairman."
That is not a slur as I am the Chair of the Franklin County Democratic Committee.
I said "My name is Joe Stanley and I do have a question."
Mr. Miller nodded and I asked, "How do you reconcile standing before these people talking about job creation and job placement when you testiied before Congress that outsourcing was actually good for the U.S. economy?"
He responded "Do you blame Paul Revere for the British invasion?"
He then went on to say that he testified in South Dakota eight years ago and warned folks that outsourcing was coming and we had better improve our education system.
He didn't specify that it was a self fulfilling prophecy.
Afterward he completed his answer, I responded, "You did not answer my question, didn't you testify that outsourcing was good?"
Miller then said, "Do you have a question? I answered your first one, do you have another question?"
I said, "If you'll just answer my first one please."
Miller turned and ignored my question.
The implication is that Harris Miller is "
Paul Revere," he tried to warn Americans and if only we had listened, we would be better off. The comparison is a slur to Paul Revere.
While he was head of ITAA, Harris Miller manufactured a "study" that "proved" that the Unbited States was short of high-tech workers. He, and the big corporations he worked for, used this study to convince Tom DeLay's Congress to do two things: 1) make it easier to outsource American high-tech jobs, sending key technology infrastructure overseas; and 2) using H1-B visas to "in-source" high-tech jobs--allowing corporations to import cheap "indentured" labor to perform high-tech jobs for far less than an American living wage. In exchange for his betrayal of working Americans, Harris Miller was paid tens of millions of dollars by big business.
Consider what this means--because of Harris Miller's ability to manipulate Congress, millions of taxpaying Americans saw their tax money used to create and administer a program of visas designed to take away their jobs. Who in their right minds would support such a program? Who, in their right mind, would support Harris Miller?
Paul Revere was an early American patriot and businessman. The trust that our founding fathers placed in Revere was absolute, they literally put their lives in his hands:
Revere's greatest contribution to the American Revolution was the alarm and messenger system that Revere designed and implemented before the battles of Lexington and Concord. Revere used his numerous contacts in eastern Massachusetts to devise a system for the rapid call up of the militias to oppose the British. Although several messengers rode longer and alerted more soldiers than Revere that night, they were part of the organization that Revere created and implemented in eastern New England. Some claim that Paul Revere became famous while Dawes and Prescott did not because Revere was better known and trusted by those who knew him. Therefore people acted on his words instead of ignoring the strangers waking them up after midnight. The army that assembled during the night of his famous ride would become the nucleus of the Continental Army. Read more at Wikipedia.
Consider that description: "Revere was better known and trusted by those who knew him." Can there be any greater contrast between Revere and Harris Miller? Everywhere Miller campaigns he spreads in infamous falsehood: he calls himself a "high-tech businessman." Nothing could be further from the truth.
Harris Miller is an immigration lobbyist. He was hired by ITAA to attack American jobs and undermine American workers' ability to earn a living wage. He succeeded brilliantly, and academics are still trying to quantify the damage Miller has done to the American economy. The full depth of his perfidy is breathtaking.If Harris Miller wants to compare himself to Revolutionary War figures, let me suggest an alternative to Paul Revere.
Once upon a time there was a brilliant young man who was an energetic leader in the Patriot cause. This young man was aggressive and ambitious, and for a time he served the Patriot cause well. George Washington trusted him and considered him a friend. He fought in many desparate battles and this man was considered a hero by many of our founding fathers. All might have been well if it were not for this man's all-consuming ambition. He had been honored, but he considered that he deserved more in the way of financial reward for his services. Frustrated in his desire to be advanced in the Patriot cause, this man turned to our nation's enemy and tried to sell out his friends. He even offered to capture George Washington and turn him over to the British in exchange for money. I am speaking here of Benedict Arnold, a man whose name has become synonymous with treason.
The British attack on Lexington and Concord might have been inevitable, but Paul Revere did not sell out his friends or try to profit from it. Out-sourcing may or may not have been inevitable without Harris Miller's help--what is certain is that Harris Miller positioned himself to make certain that outsourcing did succeed and that he received the maximum financial benefit from that fact.
Harris Miller may not be a traitor--that comparison may be hyperbolic--but it is certain that he is no patriot either.