President Obama suffered a major defeat to his Pacific Rim free trade initiative Friday as House Democrats helped derail a key presidential priority despite his last-minute, personal plea on Capitol Hill.
The House voted 302 to 126 to sink a measure to grant financial aid to displaced workers, fracturing hopes at the White House that Congress would grant Obama fast-track trade authority to complete an accord with 11 other Pacific Rim nations.
“I will be voting to slow down fast-track,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on the floor moments before the vote, after keeping her intentions private for months. “Today we have an opportunity to slow down. Whatever the deal is with other countries, we want a better deal for American workers.”
The dramatic defeat could sink the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a sweeping free trade and regulatory pact that Obama has called central to his economic agenda at home and his foreign policy strategy in Asia. Obama’s loss came after a months-long lobbying blitz in which the president invested significant personal credibility and political capital.
Republican leaders, who had backed the president’s trade initiative, pleaded with their colleagues to support the deal or risk watching the United States lose economic ground in Asia.
Bernie Sanders was against it, Elizabeth Warren was against it, and with Pelosi jumping to their side this thing was dead in the water.
It is also worth noting that Hillary never really took a firm position on this deal.
I think that can hurt her as many people in the country are clearly tired of politicians who do not seem to have the strength of their convictions. Or any convictions at all even.
I think that is why so many were clamoring for Elizabeth Warren, and now for Bernie Sanders.
Agree with them or not, they are forceful advocates for their agendas.
Woohoo!
ReplyDeleteFor years, as Bill Clinton pushed these awful things through, the opposition was cast as fringe lements. Now that we've seen what these things do to the American worker, the opposition has gone mainstream.
In this case, Obama had to admit that the trade deal would cost American jobs, and to pay for retraining the workers, he was going to cut $700 million from Medicare.
When Obama does things so obviously wrong, he deserves to lose.
Hallelujah! Love you, my President, but what little we "were" told about it, sucked.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. I almost always support President Obama, but not on this. Thank you, Nancy Pelosi!
ReplyDeleteThe TPP is part of Obama's strategy of going after China.
ReplyDeleteJust like Bush & Cheney planned to do.
"Going after" China? Too bad he didn't go after Bush and Cheney for war crimes!
DeleteAn appropriate vote... Not sure what the PREZ was thinking... fear he has been influenced by the ugly political machine in DC. DISAPPOINTING. I honestly thought he was above this kind of crap. Just goes to show that DC and our Gvt is beyond corrupt. Please pass the barf bag.
ReplyDeleteI love our POTUS, but TPP needed to go down. As for Bill Clinton yeah he approved NAFTA but a lot more Repubs supported it too.
ReplyDeleteWhy don't you hold Bill Clinton accountable for NAFTA regardless of what Republicans did? Don't you hold Democrats to a higher standard than Republicans? I sure do. I EXPECT to get screwed by Republicans. When I get screwed by so-called Democrats, I don't make excuses or go the "Republicans are worse" route. That's how turncoat Dems get away with their shit! We need to call them on it and call them on it long and loudly! I don't think it's advisable to "love" ANY politician. But Obama has shown more than anyone I've ever voted for how lightly he takes his responsibility to the people who voted for him.
DeleteSomebody has an agenda...
DeleteThis fast track stuff was as TriG would put it "BULLSHIT".
ReplyDeleteFor some dark reason Obama wanted to get his deal done without the American people even knowing what is in it. More 'secret' "BULLSHIT" from the least transparent administration in history.
If the TPP would help Americans, then there was NO DAMNED REASON to keep it secret.
Clinton may not have had the chance to review it, and therefore has no comment pro or con.
I don't know how the Congress men and women could even vote on this issue because most of them didn't even read the information that was provided them. It's been shown that the paperwork was provided them to view, but that they couldn't take notes, etc.
ReplyDeleteI cannot believe that President Obama would do something that would be detrimental to the American people. I think there is much more to this issue than we know. The Republicans supported it? And, the Democrats didn't? Makes no sense to me!
I can. He's been full of shit since the day he was elected in 2009. He turned his back on the liberals who helped vote him into the White House, immediately turned around and started denigrating them, including through his vile mouthpiece Rahm Emanuel, and sucking up to Republicans. Never have I been so disappointed in a candidate. He showed where his true loyalties lie -- with the 1%. Sure he's done some socially liberal things -- but NOT at the expense of the 1%. He's always looking out for them.
DeleteAnd you have a better candidate, 5:07?
DeleteI still respect President Obama very much.
DeleteYeah: we could have found out what Herman Cain had in mind, with his "Plan 999 from Outer Space."
DeleteOr find out all of us had been drafted to swab the decks of Mitt Romney's fleet of yachts.
@Anonymous5:07 PM - Guess what, butthurt boy, he isn't the President of LIBERALS. He is the President of the U.S. That means he has to compromise in any way he can to make sure and do the best thing for ALL of us in any given situation, even if the results don't turn out the way we wanted. Just like the fucking teabaggers, you hard lefties think you're the only people that matter, have no idea how your government actually WORKS, and you spew your hateful talking points everywhere on the internet because you're mad that you didn't get the left-wing Bush you fantasized about, who cares about his party more than his country and shows favoritism to those of his own political stripe. That's what you all so desperately wanted, but it didn't happen so now you're taking your ball and going home! WWAAAHHHH Nobody cares.
DeleteSo tired of hearing this lie that Pelosi pulled her support. No, she didn't. She backed down after her entire caucus reamed her out for working both sides of the street on TPP and TAA.
ReplyDeleteNaked Capitalism followed this fight closely this week, and up until LAST NIGHT Pelosi was whipping the hell out of this vote trying to round up Democrats for Obama. SHE FAILED.
But now she's magically one of the good guys again. What bullshit.
If the Repugs weren't fighting everything proposed by the Dems, there would be no issue. What have the Republicans done for the past 6 years?
DeleteGlad to see somebody post this. Nancy "Chained CPI" Pelosi has gotten WAY too much credit for being like an Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders, i.e., somebody willing to fight for workers and the middle class.
DeleteInstead, she is like Obama. Talks a good game, but that's all it is, talk. She's filthy rich and she doesn't care. She stands up for congresspeople being able to continue inside trading. THAT'S the real Nancy Pelosi.
If the rethugs were for it, it had to be very bad for the American workers.
ReplyDeleteWhen the economy tanked in 2008, most of the American people felt screwed by the government. Big banks, big corporations and investment firms were bailed out on the taxpayers dime. Obama has been in the ivory tower too long. The secret negotiations by Obama's administration over TPP & TAA is wrong. Not only should Congress have the right to look it over, so should the American people. The fact that American workers would have to be retrained means there will be a loss of jobs. I love Obama but on this issue he is dead wrong. We elected a President, not a king.
ReplyDelete