“She’s absolutely wrong,” Barack Obama said, before I could even get the question out of my mouth.
He was talking about Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts senator and populist crusader whom Obama helped elevate to national prominence. Warren generally reserves her more acid critiques for Republicans and Wall Street, but in recent weeks she’s been leading a vocal coalition of leftist groups and lawmakers who oppose the president’s free-trade pact with 12 Asian countries.
Earlier this week Warren made this dire prediction about giving the President the ability to "fast track" trade negotiations:
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren warned that granting President Barack Obama trade-negotiating authority will help Wall Street in its long campaign to roll back rules imposed on banks after the 2008 financial crisis.
“This is hardly a hypothetical possibility: We are already deep into negotiations with the European Union on a trade agreement and big banks on both sides of the Atlantic are gearing up to use that agreement to water down financial regulations,” Warren, a staunch opponent of granting the president “fast-track” trade powers, said in a speech in Washington Tuesday.
That is what Obama is responding to in the above quote. And he had even more to say:
“Think about the logic of that, right?” he went on. “The notion that I had this massive fight with Wall Street to make sure that we don’t repeat what happened in 2007, 2008. And then I sign a provision that would unravel it?
“I’d have to be pretty stupid,” Obama said, laughing. “This is pure speculation. She and I both taught law school, and you know, one of the things you do as a law professor is you spin out hypotheticals. And this is all hypothetical, speculative.”
“The truth of the matter is that Elizabeth is, you know, a politician like everybody else,” he said. “And you know, she’s got a voice that she wants to get out there. And I understand that. And on most issues, she and I deeply agree. On this one, though, her arguments don’t stand the test of fact and scrutiny.”
Okay well I certainly don't think the President is "pretty stupid" in fact I have often been amazed at how he has outmaneuvered this critics on issue after issue, sometimes purposefully leaving bread crumbs for them to follow in seemingly one direction, before doubling back and surprising them in another.
However my respect for Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders knows no bounds, so how is it that they can be so diametrically opposed on this deal?
From what I have read about the deal, and what has been explained by Robert Reich, it seems abundantly clear that this is a bad idea for the American people.
So I am left, like many people I imagine, to either believe that perhaps the best President in my lifetime is trying to screw the American worker, or that some of the smartest people I know are dead wrong on this issue.
They should rename this trade deal "Liberal Migraine" because that is what it is giving me.
I put my money on warren, brown and sanders ... Trust, but verify kind of thing.
ReplyDeleteThe only way to judge this is:
ReplyDeleteAre the Republicans for it?
They're against EVERYTHING Obama does...
...why would this be any different?
Unless they getting exactly what they want...to screw US!
Yes that is a valid point, and one I have used often.
DeleteBut it does not really explain why Obama is digging his heels in so aggressively and outright stating that liberal intellectuals are wrong.
Gryphen, this isn't the first time Obama has tried to screw his base. Remember the Simpson Bowles Commission.
DeleteBarack is to the right of me. He is a conservative. This trade deal is not safe for the United States.
ReplyDeleteThere have been plenty of arguments against the TPP (here in the GWN too), but I'm still searching for info on the downside of not signing the deal. Anyone?
ReplyDeletehttp://globalresearch.ca/search?q=TPP
DeleteRead all about it here.
I'm with Lizzie on this one. I trust her on any financial policy that she is looking out for ME - middle class.
ReplyDeleteObama is doing many things that would horrify liberals if they knew the truth. Why? We'd all like the truthful answer to that one. It's deeply obscured, but it does not change the facts that Obama is not all he publicly pretends to be, same as many other politicians, public figures and power brokers. There are people who are not elected, not out in public who have tremendous power and control what elected officials actually do, despite what they may say. These people have been working on pushing TPP down our throats for a long time. For some reason, Obama has either chosen to side with them or is being compelled to.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is maddening to not be able to reveal the truth here, but as Anonymous 12:23 says, we know the Republicans are for it and this tells you that it is a bad deal for the anyone who is not an oligarch or a plutocrat. Sometimes, you have to go with the facts you have and grapple with the sad and painful reality that someone you thought was good and great and trustworthy isn't, and the reasons why are still a mind battering mystery.
Barack Obama is in favour of an agreement that would gut Australia's subsidised medicine scheme, so that we will pay (and Big Pharma will profit, naturally) as much as the US does, without the benefit of going to Mexico or Canada and stealing from their taxpayers.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth Warren is not in favour of that or of anything that harms ordinary people.
Obama just recently signed a bill that undid the most important provisions of Dodd-Frank, allowing Wall Street to reopen their casino and put the taxpayers right back on the hook where we were in 2008. Both Obama and the CEO of Citi lobbied hard to get it passed while Warren railed against it. Not only am I going to trust Warren, et al, over him, I'm going to rate his response Pants On Fire. As for his "massive fight" with Wall Street, he's been their lapdog since he first began putting his administration together - and that's a tough position from which to put up a convincing fight.
ReplyDeleteYah that tough fight where he laid down and continued Bush's bailout where the taxpayers got bent over a stump again. Obama is a company man, not a man of the people.
DeleteI find there are very few things that I can agree on with Republicans, but to say that just because they support something I should be against it is stooping to their level. An objective, factual analysis of both sides of the issue would be helpful.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't disagree more. You can't really get the 'facts' to analyze, so you can only go with what you KNOW. How many times has BO tried to get bipartisan support, only to be screwed for even trying? What we can be certain of...If the Republicons are for something, good money says it's bad for the majority of the country.
DeleteFrom Anon 140 link:
Republican Billionaires Love Obama's Trade Deal
"Democrats in Congress largely oppose the TPP, and Republican leaders have said they don't have the votes needed to pass it without Democratic support."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/05/billionaires-trade-deal_n_7216344.html
When one of these oligarchs proves they are for something other than securing enough wealth to keep their descendants in diamonds and furs for perpetuity, then I'll stop stereotyping them.
Bingo, 2:37.
DeleteAs secretive as the Obama administration has been and still is, I would trust Elizabeth Warren to have the interests of the 99% in her focus. I would definitely believe her instead of the administration with the most FOIA requests denied.
ReplyDeleteStephanie Miller gets Alan Grayson to splain it....
ReplyDeletehttps://youtu.be/48y--4pvh_s
I think the people (e.g. EW) who are opposed, are concerned about protecting workers in an economy that no longer exists. People are going to lose jobs with or without the TPP - not necessarily precisely the same people, or same lobby groups, but still job losses. We generally have lower tariffs than other countries. IF everyone gets rid of tariffs, we overall gain. Some groups will in, and others will lose, but US comes out ahead. We will be better able to export stuff we're good at, like software and finance. I imagine those against it have as their constituents, the groups that lose. If we don't cut this trade deal, the countries will make a deal with someone else (e.g. China). Saying we don't want the tide to come in isn't realistic.
ReplyDeleteThere's a whooooooooooooole lot more to the TPP than merely screwing workers. The TPP essentially gives corporations a special legal system that lets them sue governments for passing laws that may hurt their profits. In a system that already massively favors them, this would pull the rug completely and irrevocably out from under even local governments' rights to protect their citizens with regulatory laws if it conflicts with the almighty corporate profit.
DeleteWe want the upcoming Chinese, or Japanese, or whatever country Bill Gates to be working over here. There's no way Obama is in the pocket of the Koch brothers et al. - it's not realistic that he could buy their favor.
ReplyDeletePeople said the same thing about NAFTA. And what was predicted DIDN'T happen. We had NET job gains, although there are sectors of society that did lose under NAFTA : ( . Most notably, the strong unions, UAW didn't come out ahead. But you can protect jobs, or you can protect economy. They aren't going in the same direction.
ReplyDeleteThe people don't understand how the president change a rule to benefit the average working class Americans.
ReplyDeleteI love President Obama, but I got to go with Elizabeth Warren on this one, I tried and tried to see the President's point and the only thing I can agree with is about the cars, it's true we have many Foreign cars here, Nissan, Toyota, VW, and others, but in Japan, China? American cars are not sold in their Country which is not fair, that's the only thing I can agree with the President on, Chinese workers for Nike make what, 50 cents an hour? If Nike brings jobs here what kind of wages can the American worker expect? This trade deal is tricky.
ReplyDeleteNever forget -- and I mean never, ever, EVER forget -- that the same President Obama who now calls Senators Warren and Sanders "wrong" on the TPP established the Simpson Bowles Commission, AKA the Catfood Commission for its recommendation to screw over the most vulnerable Social Security recipients via the chained CPI. The president himself was in favor of chained CPI until last year. This was Obama's offer to Repugs to get them to raise taxes on the wealthy -- screwing poor people.
ReplyDeleteWarren and Sanders didn't go for chained CPI either. And if they're not going for the TPP now doesn't say it ALL, I don't know what does! We can trust them to protect our best interests. We cannot -- as he has demonstrated in numerous instances we can't -- really trust the president.
I'm amazed at how little faith and short-sightedness the Democratic/Liberal voter has. Everything has to be done quickly and exactly as they want it without taking any consideration into the processes that have to go into developing a plan of action. It's like when plus size women complain that a company is discriminating against them because they didn't make a sexy outfit "in their size". The outrage is unwarranted because they simply did not take into account that the business might have been a startup, on a limited budget, or just couldn't source the materials to satisfy every size before their production deadline. This whining every single time President Obama tries to do anything is so overwhelmingly disappointing!
ReplyDeleteIf everyone just stop to think for one second that, as negotiations go, the only people that know all of the details are the people at the table. Last I checked, the President was at the negotiating table, not the Senators. I will continue to following the lead of the President and his long game strategy since he has all of the details to ponder and work with. Everyone keeps forgetting, he plays chess -- not checkers. He has not been wrong yet in all of the many accomplishments he has made in spite of the opposition and weak support he has received since he stepped foot through the door.
Keep piling on democrats and liberals.....proceed. I'll be waiting by the door until the final details pan out. Then, I'll make my judgement.
Take your smug, ignorant, Obama ass-kissing condescension and shove it. And include along with it Obama's gold-plated chess set -- the set that is loaded in favor of Wall Street.
DeleteHe may be an expert on constitutional law but she is an expert on economics.
ReplyDeleteSorry, but on this one Warren is the expert and Obama should be listening to her.
I don't remember Obama doing much to Wall Street to stop another meltdown and I don't believe him about this trade agreement. Remember that NAFTA came from Clinton and it was one of the worst things for American labor ever.
ReplyDeleteSorry but I'll believe Senator Warren and Senator Sanders on this one. All Obama is doing with this is making sure he's well taken care of by Wall Street once his 2nd term is over.