Obama under pressure to beef up Democratic support for trade

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By JIM KUHNHENN

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican leaders say GOP votes alone won't pass trade legislation sought by President Barack Obama and are urging the White House to put more pressure on reluctant Democrats to lend their support.

Obama on Thursday met with members of the New Democrat Coalition, a group of moderate lawmakers who tend to back trade policies.

Obama is seeking negotiating authority to complete a 12-nation Trans-Pacific partnership trade deal. The legislation would give Obama congressional direction on what to include in the agreement. Once completed, Congress could only approve or reject the deal, not amend it.

Liberals and labor unions are vigorously opposed to giving Obama such fast-track authority because they fear that the trade deal would cost American jobs and lower environmental standards.

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20150430/apfn-us--obama-trade-db7c91ce81.html

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Republicans love it. D's hate it. Some DUers think it is great even after what has been said by D's.

[Kelvin Mace]

1. Yep!

And some DUers will accuse you of all sorts of horrible intentions if you don't shut up and clap.

[arcane1]

2. How is right-wing media covering this? Are they just ignoring it?

I can't imagine them openly stating their support for granting fast-track to Obama!

[rpannier]

4. Of course they will

In this instance they want the deal to go through
Check their investments
Be willing to bet most have stocks in companies that move their businesses

[Vincardog]

3. I do not " fear that the trade deal would cost American jobs and lower environmental standards." I

KNOW it would.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

5. If the GOP are for it that means it's a wish list of their crap....

This is a bait and switch.

Tell Obama this is a "Legacy" thing and then when the EPA is abolished the GOP will say Obama did it.

[arcane1]

6. Notice the "pressure" is coming from the republicans.

It's mind-boggling.

[bayareaboy]

13. Notice as well, that a lot of Demos...

Last edited Fri May 1, 2015, 05:17 PM - Edit history (1)

and don't understand what a what a union is for. How industry should govern laws instead of the citizens in each country.

I am beginning to wonder about some of my fellow Demo's.

[Scuba]

17. If English is your first language, please decipher that.

[UCmeNdc]

7. The GOP wants this trade deal but want the Democratic Politicians to take the blame.

President Obama is too desperate to see the folly here.

[marym625]

10. He knows

He'll be out of office and will have accomplished his goal.

[FiveGoodMen]

11. That's been the story -- and I suspect, the plan -- for his whole term in office

Get the GOP whatever they want; let the Dems (or 'fucking retarded' liberals) take the blame.

It's been too consistent to be a coincidence.

That's undoubtedly the plan for Hillary, too.

[candelista]

15. Something like that.

I think that Obama made the same decision as Bill Clinton did years ago, to abandon leftist ideas in order to get the money he needed to get elected. He probably started out telling himself that once he reached high enough office, he could do the progressive things he wanted. But once he got to the highest office, he was so tied up in strings to his rich donors that he couldn't do those things. The end was destroyed by the means.

[AdHocSolver]

8. The TPP is NOT a trade deal. It is a screw-the-people deal

The TPP will take all control of trade away from national, state, and local governments and give control of each signatory country's trade to private corporate entities whose only concern is maximizing their own power and profit.

The people in all countries party to this treaty will suffer.

Jobs will flow to the lowest level of wages and worker safety.

The environment is already considered inimical to corporate profits, and the TPP will allow corporations to ignore environmental laws with no consequences.

There is NO such thing as "free trade". Whoever controls trade controls a country.

The concerns of opponents to the TPP are real and accurate. Whoever supports the TPP is either ignorant or corrupt.

[Jack Rabbit]

12. That's why Republuicans are all in for it

[marym625]

9. yep.

I don't get support for this. Just people supporting the party line, the sound bites, etc. Now, who else does that? Don't we normally think that's a bad thing?

[murielm99]

14. We received a call this evening from

the AFL-CIO. They want us to call our Reps and Senators to encourage them to vote against this. Our rep is a lost cause. Our Senator is Durbin. The other one, Kirk, will probably vote for it.

I am happy that there is some organizing against this by the unions.

[candelista]

16. Good on the AFL.

It's a pity the unions have become so marginalized. Fifty years ago, they could have stopped the TPP.