Padgett Campaign Manager Finds Eaton Press Release “Interesting”

By Kleinheider Posted on July 25, 2008 at 3:32 pm

Jed Brewer, campaign manager for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mike Padgett, grants a request for comment by Post Politics on a press release issued by candidate Ken Eaton referencing Bob Tuke’s attorney client list which allegedly includes companies who outsource jobs overseas:

“After taking a quick look at Mr. Eaton’s release, I find it interesting.

“Throughout this campaign, I thought that Mike and Bob were standing side by side on the issue of protecting American jobs and fighting the practice of outsourcing.

“But if Bob has clients who send jobs overseas – while he’s promising voters that he’ll do something about Tennessee losing jobs to cheap overseas labor* – then he’s talking out of both sides of his mouth.

“If this is true, I am really disappointed in Bob. I’d really be interested in what he has to say.

“As a partner in a law firm that profits handsomely from clients who outsource jobs, how can he credibly say he’ll take a stand against outsourcing?

“Mike remains committed to protecting and creating decent-paying jobs for Tennesseans and all Americans and punishing companies that outsource jobs overseas. If the information you have is correct, I don’t see how Bob can credibly make that same promise.”

Tuke for Tennessee had not responded to a request for comment on the release at the time of this posting.

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Tags: Bob Tuke, Ken Eaton, Lou Dobbs, Mike Padgett, outsourcing, overseas  

Eaton Accuses Tuke Of Representing Outsourcers

By Kleinheider Posted on at 2:04 pm

In a press release, Kenneth Eaton expands on the vague reference to his opponent Bob Tuke’s legal work costing Tennesseans their jobs contained in his blog post of yesterday. Eaton accuses Tuke of representing several companies on the “Lou Dobbs list” of companies who export American jobs:

Standex International Corporation, Experian Information Solutions, Inc., Fidelity Service Company and Wachovia Securities, LLC. Several of the companies Mr. Tuke represents can be found on Lou Dobbs list of companies that export American jobs. Experian recently cut 200 IT jobs by outsourcing software development to India, why? To reduce production time and marketing of new products. 200 American jobs Bob Tuke willingly defends the export of.

The worst offender of the group has to be Standex International, whose President and CEO is Roger Fix. Standex is a very diverse company with five different manufacturing subsidaries: Food Service Equipment Group, Air Distribution Products Group, Engineered Products Group, Engraving Group and Hydraluics Products Group. Mr. Fix has to audacity to brag about the moving of their production plants to China and Mexico.

Here is a brief quote from this SEC filing (dated 4th Quarter 2005)

Quoting Roger Fix:
“We are making progress in our initiative to creat a Standex sourcing capability in China as a way for all of our divisions to reduce cost for components and materials used in higer level assemblies in the U.S.”

Further down Mr. Fix continues, ” The Mexican Facility will Achieve three strategic initiatives. First, we will be able to lower the cost of high volume labor intensive products and thereby improve profit margins on these types of products.

Secondly, by locating the operations in Nogales (Mexico), we will be able to reach new customers and markets in California and the southwest portion of the United States. Finally, the lower cost structure we expect to achieve in this operation should allow us to expand and enhance our businesses in certain target markets.”

This is the type of company that Mr. Tuke represents. How can he assure Tennesseans he won’t be working for these companies from Capitol Hill? He cannot. This is one of many reasons why Mr. Tuke will not be elected to the Senate.

Interestingly, Mr. Tuke also represents MDHA. For those of you outside of Nashville; Metro Development and Housing Authority or MDHA is an organization that is supposed to focus on cleaning up blighted communities, and helping those within these communities by removing abandoned or dilapidated housing. They are also in charge of Nashville’s public housing.

Instead of focusing on the needs of the worst off in Nashville, MDHA weilds their power to sieze the property of businesses and citizens alike, paying bottom dollar value, and selling the property for profit to large corporations and out-of-state developers. This was done to one of my businesses in 2001, and the property was used to build $200,000 a piece urban condos. Today Joy Ford is facing the same issue of Eminent Domain. MDHA wants to take her property, which is her business, and give it to Texas Developer “Lionstone Development Group” to build a new office building. These offices will not be used for government purposes, which means that this is another unethical seizure utilizing the un-American operation of “Eminent Domain”. Another corrupt organization Bob Tuke represents.

SEE ALSO: You knew this would happen.

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Tags: Bob Tuke, Ken Eaton, Lou Dobbs