No that is not the reason.
The truth is and I learned this last night on Lawrence OâDonnellâs show that all trade deals are negotiated this way - and the reasons you mentioned. If they were open to members of congress they would be adding 100s of amendments to favor their states and nothing would get accomplished.
Small Businesses in this country by and large are in favor of this deal That says something a lot to me. The unfortunate truth about what SRfromGR says is true, blue collar jobs are hurt the most but this trade deal is going to allow small businesses a lot more opportunity to hire more people, We definitely need to get blue collar workers trained to do the jobs of the future.
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How could you or âsmall businessesâ possibly know what this secret trade deal will do for any of us?
So focusing on other races in swing states when Warren, the candidate that President Obama moved onto the national stage, was on track to win is sign of a betrayal.
Got it.
(rolls eyes)
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You are so right on this â Iâve been aware we were negotiating a new pact with EU but the only real topic I remember reading about is the GMOs and how the Europeans are fighting to keep their right to proper labeling, etc. Not much else. That said, I say to the good citizens of the EU, stand tall and do not give in to the likes of Monsanto, etc. I have never understood the reasoningâexcept dollarsâwhy we Americans donât have proper labeling of our foods, their origins and whether or not they are GMO. We also way over âfertilizeâ and spray our crops ⌠but that is another storyâs topic.
It would be very interesting if Josh and his good people here at TPM would investigate where we and the EU are with regards to that pact â and any official details as well as unofficial ones.
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âSenate Democrats have dealt President Barack Obama a stinging setback on
trade by blocking efforts to begin full-blown debate on his initiativesâ
Well deserved I might add. Obama seems to have lost his way regards who he needs to represent, namely those who sent him to Washington. He is more Republican than Democrat on many issues. Guess that makes him a Blue Dog.
I actually see this a a way to give the administration leverage in those areas in the ongoing deal negotiations. The administration can point to the need for possible inclusion of those protections for any chance at passage if T.P.A. (aka âFast trackâ) is not passed. It also makes sense when Senators like Wyden (my Sr. Senator) balked at this vote on T.A.P. when they are behind T.P.P. itself.
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(rolls eyes)
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I wouldnât call Obamaâs handling of this disappointing. I would call it totally in character. This makes crystal clear to anyone who hadnât yet noticed what really is important to him: toadying to the corporate elite. Politicians have to kiss rear ends. Itâs an occupational hazard. The difference is that Obama actually seems to enjoy it.
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Not clear how meaningful this vote really was: According to this NPR article âŚ
Democrats â even some who support the trade agreement, like Ron Wyden of Oregon â voted to block the Senate from taking up the bill, because they want Republicans to agree to take up other trade-related measures.
⌠so it sounds like a number of the Dems who voted against are basically just using it as leverage to get Republicans to make concessions on other trade-related bills, and are prepared to vote for the fast-tracking of the TPP if they get enough of what they want on those other bills.
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@ chammy
I think this is wrong. Fast track made its appearance with NAFTA. The old GATT agreements were considered under regular order. Only when trade agreements became unbridled corporate giveaways did they have to hide them behind fast track.
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Well here in Portland Oregon (well Tigard, Oregon technically, and I have often driven past their building just down the street from Bridgeport Village) exports accounted for 20% of Stash Tea Companyâs annual sales in 2014 .
President of Stash Tea Company, Tom Lisicki, says the TPP would make exporting and trade a lot easier for his company. There are nearly 6,000 Oregon companies alone that export overseas. Now factor in most of those companies are small businesses, and small businesses employ most people in the country, you can see that the T.P.P. can have a real and positive impact on jobs here in the United States.
I would also add that most businesses that can outsource jobs have long ago done that. So by and large that is a red herring.
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The trade promotion authority (TPA) was in effect from 1975 to 1994, pursuant to the Trade Act of 1974, and from 2002 to 2007 by the Trade Act of 2002. Although it expired for new agreements on July 1, 2007, it continued to apply to agreements already under negotiation until they were eventually passed into law in 2011.
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You havenât been keeping up. The Presidentâs message to Democrats, trust me and all my Republican friends and all of the big time corporation lawyers working on the deal for me. The Dems are saying âtrust who. We have been here, done that before.â
You are right only in that the Democrats are now so compromised that Obama being a Democrat doesnât mean much anymore. And I suspect, as has been mentioned, that this is Kabuki theater, a show put on for the base, but that everyone knows the script and the Democrats will cave in the end, just like they always do. One thing you can take to the bank is that you canât count on the Democrats. Thatâs why they lost in 2014. The brand is shot.
The above comment is one reason I am at times embarrassed to call myself a progressive.
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I hope so. We shall see.
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More emo-prog blather.
(scroll)
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Well I stand corrected then. But Congress approved trade agreements starting in 1947 without TPA.
You mean the Dems on the Hill who run from the POTUS at nearly every chance they can, then cry along with the emo-progs that he is not FDR re-encranate?
Spare me.
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