Fast-Track Retaliation: Back the 2016 Democratic Candidates Who Oppose the TPP

[marmar]

Fast-Track Retaliation: Back the 2016 Democratic Candidates Who Oppose the TPP

Wednesday, 24 June 2015 00:00
By Robert Naiman, Truthout | Op-Ed


With the minimum required 60 votes - including 13 Democratic votes - the US Senate has passed fast-track authority to negotiate the Trans-Pacific Partnership and other secretive, anti-democratic, pro-corporate, anti-worker, climate-chaos-exacerbating, medicine-price-raising trade agreements.

Naturally, many progressive Democrats will be asking each other, "How can we retaliate against this?"

Many of those conversations will revolve around the 13 Senate Democrats who voted yes, as well as around the House Democrats who voted yes.

But that cannot be the whole story: It leaves out the crucial role of presidential politics. Sooner or later, people will have to acknowledge openly that this isn't just about individual members of Congress. It's about Democratic presidential politics. Holding only individual members of Congress accountable for fast track would be like only holding some CIA employee you've never heard of accountable for CIA torture. Responsibility justly flows to the top.

This happened, in large measure, because President Obama made it his top priority. ..................(more)

http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/31550-fast-track-retaliation-back-the-2016-democratic-candidates-who-oppose-the-tpp

[HFRN]

1. TPP bans retaliation against TPP

page 623, paragraph c

[Scuba]

2. I sure hope Jennifer Shilling will run against Ron Kind in the Democratic primary.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-hopes-to-enlist-gop-in-push-for-trade-pact-despite-democratic-resistance/2014/12/26/81236a34-8600-11e4-b9b7-b8632ae73d25_story.html

“This is an all-hands-on-deck moment for the administration,” said Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wis.), a pro-trade Democrat
viewed by the administration as a key ally.

http://legis.wisconsin.gov/senate/shilling/Pages/default.aspx