President Obama is in full campaign mode, and the topic of the day was call centers. His campaign today began with an ad campaign around a one-minute commercial that accuses Mitt Romney, Governor of Massachusetts, of having a very poor record of keeping jobs in his state.
“Instead of hiring workers from his own State, Romney outsourced call center jobs to India,” says the voice-over of the commercial, which shows contact center facilities in India as a backdrop. “When running for Governor, Romney promised more jobs, less debt and smaller government. Once in office, he fell short on those promises and more,” it said.
The commercial, called “Heard It Before,” is now showing in nine battleground states, including Ohio, Virginia, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania.
The ad says that when Romney took office, Massachusetts was ranked #27 for jobs. During Governor Romney's tenure in the state house, the state fell to #47 on the list for jobs, and the citizens of Massachusetts were left with more debt than in any other state in the union.
“Now that he's running for President, we're hearing the same empty promises. And America can't afford the same results. The bottom line is simple, Romney Economics didn't work then, and it won't work now,” says the ad.
As Governor of Massachusetts, Romney vetoed legislation that would have outlawed sending Massachusetts state jobs overseas. The Obama campaign also says that Romney's administration itself outsourced call center jobs to India, according to Bangalore, India's Deccan Herald.“In a surprise move, Romney also vetoed a provision barring overseas outsourcing by vendors doing business with the state, even though in March he proposed a $29 million package of incentives designed to discourage Massachusetts companies from moving jobs out of state, according to the Boston Globe,” the ad says.