Bill Clinton: "I am in favor of the (Colombian) free trade agreement "

[Zueda]

Not very good news for the Clinton campaign...

"A reader in Latin America turned up a June 23, 2005 article from the news portal Terra (reprinted (.doc) by the Bogota government) that quotes Bill Clinton offering unambiguous support for the free trade agreement with Colombia.

"We need your help to expedite the signing of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the EU is very important to give a clear signal of what the relations between the two countries should be," President Alvaro Uribe said yesterday to the former president of the EU Bill Clinton, during Expogestion 2005.

"I will raise your point when you return to the United States," Clinton replied. "I am in favor of the free trade agreement and it is my hope that we will find the right formula to reach the agreement."

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0408/Bill_Clinton_backed_Colombia_trade_deal_Estoy_a_favor.html

[GarbagemanLB]

1. Between this and Penn, Obama needs to hammer this in PA and in the debates. This will hurt her.

[Zueda]

2. Not to mention that Bill took hundreds of thousand of dollars to work on the deal...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/08/bill-clintons-ties-to-col_n_95651.html

[FrenchieCat]

40. Ooh, shit!

[Major Hogwash]

36. The unions will eat Bubba for lunch in Pennsylvania. $800,000 speaking fees, I guess.

I don't know why they even stay together anymore.
If I were her, I'd run to a divorce lawyer tomorrow.

[Zachstar]

3. TradeGate strikes again!

Wow can Clinton go even a week without another scandal coming out? This will harm her campaign in the polls. And likely in PA.

[Zodiak]

4. For those that were as confused as me

EU = Estados Unidos (United States)

I was reading this and thinking European Union at first.

[Zueda]

6. Thanks ZI! I didn't get that either until you just mentioned it.

[karynnj]

7. Thank you - that helps it make sense

[krkaufman]

11. ha! Thank you. I knew it couldn't mean Eur. Union, but was wondering. n/t

[ekwhite]

17. Confusing, isn't it?

In Europe, I believe they use the term EE. UU. for Estados Unidos

[DLnyc]

30. EE. UU. is a Spanish abreviation for the United States.

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/EE._UU.

[quantass]

5. Trade-Gate!!!!

[Life Long Dem]

8. Wow! This strengthens any argument one would have in saying

the Clinton's are part of the "war on the middle class" now wouldn't it?

[Catherina]

9. I posted this in BligLeaf's thread but it was still on my clipboard. LIARS!

The Uribe regime, after all, continues a chummy friendship with Bill Clinton, granting him the government’s “Colombia Is Passion” Award last June. That, during the same 2007 spring when former vice president Al Gore cancelled his appearance at a Miami environmental conference because he did not want to share a podium with Uribe, the hemisphere’s poster boy for state-sponsored terrorism, narco-trafficking, and assassinations of opposition political, labor and social movement leaders. Angela Montoya, representing the awards committee, told AP that former president “Clinton is Colombia’s best tourism minister because every time he opens his mouth to talk about the country he’s helping to improve our country’s image without even realizing it.”

Colombia to honor Bill Clinton amid growing Democrat scrutiny
The Associated PressPublished: May 24, 2007


BOGOTA, Colombia: Colombia will honor former U.S. President Bill Clinton for his efforts to reverse the country's image for violence and drugs at a gala event next month in New York City.

The June 8 event may become a political lightning rod for Democrats who are increasingly scrutinizing the human rights record of Washington's closest ally in Latin America.

That's because President Alvaro Uribe is expected to hand Clinton the "Colombia is Passion" award "for believing in our country and encouraging others to do the same," according to the event's organizer in Bogota.

Last month, Clinton's vice president, Al Gore, backed out of an environmental conference in Miami to avoid appearing alongside Uribe, who has struggled to defend himself against charges that members of his family and government supporters collaborated with murderous right-wing militias.

A spokesman for Sen. Hillary Clinton said in an e-mail the presidential candidate will not attend the event, which is being held at a Manhattan hotel. Philippe Reines, Clinton's senate office spokesman, did not say why the New York Democrat had declined the invitation. Clinton's campaign hasn't released her June schedule, although candidates in the Senate often leave for Iowa or New Hampshire on Fridays.

...

Prominent Democrats on the guest list include former Clinton strategists Dick Morris and Vernon Jordan, former Clinton Cabinet members Lawrence Summers and Madeleine Albright, and several Democratic congressmen, Montoya said.

The Colombian government is trying to counter its negative image among Washington Democrats and secure congressional passage of a free trade agreement signed by Uribe and the Bush administration last year, a deal Uribe considers his biggest foreign policy achievement.

Colombia agreed this month to pay US$300,000 (€223,000) to public relations firm Burson-Marsteller to help "educate members of the U.S. Congress and other audiences" about the trade deal and secure continued funding for Plan Colombia, the U.S.-backed counter-narcotics program that has cost American taxpayers more than US$5 billion (€3.72 billion) since 2000.

And last month, Uribe's government put The Glover Park Group, a lobbying firm that includes former Clinton spokesman Joe Lockhart, on a US$40,000 (€29,744) a month retainer.

Montoya said the idea to honor Bill Clinton came last year, "before President Uribe was re-elected and all of Colombia thought the free trade agreement was a fact, not an issue."

"Clinton is Colombia's best tourism minister because everytime he opens his mouth to talk about the country he's helping to improve our country's image without even realizing it," she said.

...

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/05/25/america/LA-GEN-Colombia-Clinton.php

Bill Clinton returned the favor by hosting Uribe as a “featured attendee” at the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting in New York last September.

...

http://www.narconews.com/Issue52/article3055.html

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe with former US president Bill Clinton at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York, September 2007.
D.R. 2007 Reuters

Gives you the warm fuzzies about having BillyBoy in the White House again except this time he'll be a Shadow President who's not accountable to anyone.

”I will oppose the Colombia Free Trade Agreement if President Bush insists on sending it to Congress because the violence against unions in Colombia would make a mockery of the very labor protections that we have insisted be included in these kinds of agreements.” Barack Obama

Colombia's President Criticizes Obama

[sudopod]

10. PWN3D nt

[Ichingcarpenter]

13. Thanks for a well documented truth

I like Bill less than I do Hillary for a long time.

Been yelling it for years here on DU, and now people are seeing
what he really is.


I was really naive with the clintons for a long time, but then I woke up
after the 2000 election, I worked for his campaign in 96,
so don't give me any crap on that.

He has come out and proved all those pictures he posed with
THE BUSH CRIME FAMILY.

[SunsetDreams]

15. Thank you Catherina...

that just nails it down even further.

[stillcool]

18. this is just looking so yucky...

I'm still dumbstruck over this...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5432749

[Major Hogwash]

37. Wow!

That is a devastating post.

[Barack_America]

12. Oh dear. That doesn't look very good..n/t

[SunsetDreams]

14. Way too many connections for my taste. nt

[redstate_democrat]

16. What the hell is going on?

Why are people even still defending Bill and Hill? Can't they see these people for who they are? Now Hillary wants me to believe that Bill's $800,000 profit from peddling this free trade agreement doesn't sway her at all? How much of that %5 million she donated to her campaign came from Columbian businessmen interested in CFTA? This makes me want to FUCKING PUKE.

[Ichingcarpenter]

20. Bill has really pulled down his pants to show us

his sorry ass in this campaign. His finger pointing started with this one




That is when I went, Damn Man, don't point that finger at me and tell me you didn't have sex
I knew right then I had been taken in by an charming fake that would do anything for
his ego.

[redstate_democrat]

25. Whenever he starts

wagging that finger, you can bet he is lying his ass off. Remember when he did that at Coretta Scott King's funeral, and then said something to the effect of, "that is a dead woman" lying in that coffin? How freaking disrespectful. I knew then, more than ever before, that he is no good.

[beachmom]

19. Photos here:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/4/8/155951/7982/918/492329

[FrenchieCat]

21. That doesn't look too good! $800,000 for 4 speeches hey? Just words?

[bhikkhu]

22. Stinks, any way you slice it.

The trade agreement would cost us a few jobs, which is bad. It would help exports a tiny bit, not enough to offset the loss. But the big big effect would be the enrichment of the Columbian trading partners, who are government and narco-traffic connected. Which is to say, domestic terrorists.

The only potential bright side is that this will further enmiserate Latin America, and encourage the perpetual low-level off-the-record wars there that keep the people frightened enough to submit to whatever wretched government we approve of, and with the customary result that our domestic arms industry has sufficient orders, directly and indirectly, to show a good profit. Thanks, Bill.

[Ichingcarpenter]

23. Colombia has almost no friends in South America

None! Except Bill Clinton and George Bush but they are not South Americans
are they?

[FrenchieCat]

34. That must be due to that small matter called "Death Squads"!

[quantass]

24. k&r

[tritsofme]

26. Do you agree with your spouse on every single issue?

Neither do the Clintons apparently.

[Ichingcarpenter]

27. When my wife cheated on me three times

I left and took the kids

[AZ Criminal JD]

32. Nobody cares about your personal issues. She probably had her reasons.

[Ichingcarpenter]

35. "She probably had her reasons"

yes she did, now you want to discuss those?

[AZ Criminal JD]

45. Sure, you brought it up

[FrenchieCat]

29. Convenient, hey?

[jackson_dem]

28. What is Michelle Obama's view on the Columbia trade?

Who cares what Bill thinks. Hill disagrees.

[Ichingcarpenter]

31. Michelle is against it ........ I care what Bill thinks he is part of her legacy

she is trying to promote.

"Who cares what Bill thinks" now you are really reaching

[dreamnightwind]

41. Does she really?

How do we know she disagrees, because she says so? It is common practice with many pols to say one thing to get elected, and to be doing just the opposite behind the scenes. And no, I don't take the Penn "demotion" as proof of her opposition to the Columbian trade agreement, it may have been necessary because of the public becoming aware of his ties to the Columbians, or it may have just been a convenient excuse to rearrange the deck chairs of the Titanic.

I'm not saying she's lying, I don't know, but I'm very surprised to see people here posting how she and Bill disagree on this, as though they know this for a fact. I'll gladly look at any evidence anyone has to offer regarding her true belief and policy on this, I'm certainly no expert, but I smell something rotten in this whole thing and don't think it's just Bill.

[eilen]

42. I tend to not believe her

mostly because of her comments and support of Tata (and their $$ support of her) and outsourcing. What else prior to presidential electioneering?


Sen. Clinton is a cosponsor of S. 2109, the National Innovation Act of 2005:
S. 2109 would continue the H-1B program that every year imports additional high-tech workers as part of "comprehensive immigration reform." The H-1B program has been shown to harm American workers by depressing wages and displacing workers. As well, S. 2109 suggests that comprehensive reform must include provisions to "eliminate delays in processing immigration proceedings, including employment-based visa applications." This provision would do nothing but encourage the rubber stamping of applications, which is already happening because of the existing "backlog elimination" program and would promote and encourage fraud and corruption.
She has also supported a number of amnesty programs that include basically treating illegal immigrants from Mexico basically contracting as indentured servants.

She voted for the Peru FTA (so did Obama)

In Her Defense
She has, however opposed CAFTA, bilateral trade agreements with Saudi Arabia, as well as the Korean trade deal and spoke out against the Dubai Ports deal.

Follow the money:

She is the recipient of large amounts of money from many industries that directly benefit from favorable trade agreements -- and also receives quite bit of PAC funds which loom against any grassroots public (the people) support.

Her husband is complicit as a very influential figure in a great number of FTAs and sovereign investment deals i/r/t key industries and public infrastructure in the US, receiving unknown amounts of money in donations to his foundation and/or library as well as "speaking engagements". This is not a complete list of his involvement in what I would consider questionable activities of a person very close to an American senator and potential president.

At issue is that as Bill is generously reimbursed for his valuable consultation, championing and contacts for various international causes of countries like Dubai, Columbia, Saudi Arabia, etc., Hillary, while her stated positions are opposed to many of these ... causes -- still benefits financially. How hard in the end will she be willing to bite the hand that feeds her? The hand that paid her family tens of millions of dollars after emerging from the White House in 2000 in major debt unable to finance their own home without guarantees from their wealthy friends?

The problem with laying with dogs is that you get up with fleas.

[democracy1st]

33. K & R Zueda

thanks

[intaglio]

38. Warning Bad Joke

Bill Clinton: "I am in favor of the (Colombian) free trade agreement - but I still will not inhale

[FrenchieCat]

39. $ 800,000 of "Just words"!

[workinclasszero]

43. Take it and run with it Obama

Hammer it home to all the blue collar workers in Pennsylvania and the other remaining primary states.

Let them know that Hillary's campaign manager and even her on husband are sold out free traders, shipping the middle class overseas to countries like Columbia that murder union organizers by the hundreds!

Oh but Hillary is against it...LOL! What a f'n joke!

[ORDem]

44. K&R

:kick: