Teamsters Prez to Obama: 'End the Mystery' on NAFTA Meeting

[bridgit]

ABC News' David Wright and Sunlen Miller Report: On an Obama campaign conference call today, the president of the powerful Teamsters union disputed Sen. Hillary Clinton's, D-N.Y., assertion that both Democratic presidential campaigns had rogue advisers on the issue of free trade but that her campaign dealt with the issue more effectively than Sen. Barack Obama's did.

Teamsters General President James Hoffa Jr., an Obama supporter, was asked to respond to Clinton's attempt today to draw a connection between her former chief strategist Mark Penn's recent meeting with Columbian diplomats where he discussed lobbying efforts to secure a free trade deal that Clinton opposes and a disputed meeting earlier this year between Obama's senior economic adviser Austan Goolsbee and Canadian diplomats over NAFTA.

In that meeting, which the Obama campaign initially denied ever took place, Goolsbee reportedly told the Canadians that Obama's tough rhetoric on NAFTA was mere political posturing. After Canadian officials leaked a key memo that called into question the Obama campaign's repeated denials, the campaign acknowledged the meeting but denied Goolsbee ever said any such thing.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/04/teamsters-prez.html

[democrattotheend]

1. They immediately retracted the statement

And said that he had addressed it. I think Hoffa was caught off guard by the question in the press conference.

[bridgit]

2. As a supporter, I wouldn't think Hoffa cares much about being caught off guard, nope

[rinsd]

4. They lied about the meeting taking place.

Poor Hoffa, they made him look like a fool

UPDATE: Following the conference call, the Obama campaign distributed a statement from Hoffa.

"To clear up any misunderstanding about my statements, the Obama campaign and Austan Goolsbee have already clarified Professor Goolsbee's meeting with representatives from the Canadian government, and as confirmed by the Canadian government, Sen. Obama's position on NAFTA has not changed. As I said on a conference call with reporters earlier today, Sen. Clinton has a credibility problem with the working men and women across this country on the issue of trade. This problem is only underscored by Mark Penn's continued role in her campaign."

[stillcool]

3. very confusing...

Harper meddling in U.S. primaries, Democrats say
Brian Laghi
Globe and Mail
March 3, 2008
Two years after U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins was accused of meddling in Canada's
federal election, the same is being said of Stephen Harper's Conservatives with respect to
the current U.S. contest.
Democrats appearing on a nationwide U.S. political program accused the Harper
government yesterday of interfering in the primary campaigns to help the Republican
Party candidate in the coming campaign.
"You've got a right-wing government in Canada that is trying to help the Republicans and
is out there actively interfering in this campaign," Bob Shrum told the popular program,
Meet the Press. Mr. Shrum is a top-level Democrat adviser who has had key roles in the
presidential campaigns of Al Gore and John Kerry.
At issue are reports that members of Mr. Harper's prime ministerial office leaked word
last week that a member of Barack Obama's campaign told a Canadian diplomat that Mr.
Obama was not serious when he raised the possibility of renegotiating the free-trade
agreement.
That statement has become fodder for Mr. Obama's opponents, who have accused the
Illinois senator of saying one thing to win votes in hard-pressed states such as Ohio, and
another to keep the peace with the Canadian government.
ABC News says the leaker was Mr. Harper's chief of staff, Ian Brodie. Mr. Brodie
reportedly learned of the conversation -which took place between Mr. Obama's economic
adviser and a Canadian diplomat in Chicago - from Michael Wilson, Canada's
ambassador to the United States.
One of the talk show's Republican participants, Mary Matalin, used the apparent flip-flop
to attack the Democratic candidates - Mr. Obama and Hillary Clinton - who have said
they would reopen NAFTA.
"Then he had that Canadian thing where "I'm saying this, but I mean that,' " Ms. Matalin
said.
Ms. Matalin is a well-known Republican strategist, having worked for both George Bush
Jr. and Sr. and for Vice-President Dick Cheney.
Mr. Obama's team has repeatedly denied that such a conversation took place.
2 of 2
Opposition MPs said it appears obvious to them that the Harper Tories want the
Republicans to win and that they have taken steps to help them to do so.
The Harper government may find itself in hot water should the presidential winner be a
Democrat, they said.
"This is serious," said Navdeep Baines, the Liberal Party's trade critic.
"If there's a perception there of interference, I think it will definitely put a strain on our
relationship in the future."
The brouhaha is somewhat reminiscent of the 2006 election, when Mr. Wilkins lashed
back at then-prime-minister Paul Martin for his criticisms of the United States and was
criticized for interfering.
For its part, the federal government is saying that there were no calls between itself and
any staff members of a campaign team.
The Canadian embassy says on its website that "at no time has any member of a
Presidential campaign called the Canadian Ambassador or any official at the Embassy to
discuss NAFTA."
Mr. Harper's communications director, Sandra Buckler, said Mr. Brodie also doesn't
remember such a conversation.
"Ian Brodie does not recall discussing this matter and at the end of the day Ambassador
Wilson issued a statement and we stand by that statement," Ms. Buckler said.
Last week, Mr. Harper said that reopening the NAFTA deal would be a mistake.
As well, Canadian officials have warned that a renegotiation could put the supply of
Canadian oil to the United States at stake.
Ms. Matalin used Mr. Harper's remarks yesterday to argue against the idea of reopening
the pact.
"Those sands up there have as much oil as Saudi Arabia," she said.
"And Harper and the Trade Minister came out and said, 'You want to opt out? You want
to threaten to opt out? Guess what. We'll open up the clause, and we'll renegotiate so you
don't get favour - favourability relative to energy trade and I - we'll sell our energy to
China.' "
http://www.citizenstrade.org/pdf/gandm_demssayharpermeddling_03032008.pdf

[bridgit]

5. That would seem the basis for Hoffa's call for clarity

[stillcool]

12. Who's he calling? Canada?

[bridgit]

13. No dear, he is *calling upon* BHO to clarify...

that seems, at least in Hoffa's opinion (an Obama supporter), where the clarification needs to come from :eyes:

[stillcool]

17. thanks sweety...

UPDATE: Following the conference call, the Obama campaign distributed a statement from Hoffa.

"To clear up any misunderstanding about my statements, the Obama campaign and Austan Goolsbee have already clarified Professor Goolsbee's meeting with representatives from the Canadian government, and as confirmed by the Canadian government, Sen. Obama's position on NAFTA has not changed. As I said on a conference call with reporters earlier today, Sen. Clinton has a credibility problem with the working men and women across this country on the issue of trade. This problem is only underscored by Mark Penn's continued role in her campaign."

[bridgit]

18. not a problem

:loveya:

[stillcool]

19. oops...I edited my post..

to add the update:hi:

[AtomicKitten]

6. An interesting twist on this story is that it was Clinton that did the wink-wink on NAFTA.

This isn't reported widely as is the case with the truth after the fact often in the MSM, but it is nontheless true.

CLINTON was first on NAFTA ‘wink, wink’ to Canada

That’s what Canada’s top paper, the Globe and Mail, says:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/Page/document/v5/content/subscribe?user_URL=http://www.theglobeandmail.com%2Fservlet%2Fstory%2FRTGAM.20080305.wharpleak0305%2FBNStory%2FNational%2Fhome&ord=42096303&brand=theglobeandmail&force_login=true

Ian Brodie, chief of staff to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, supposedly talked about Clinton staff back-dooring on NAFTA to a CTV informal press backgrounder:

”He said someone from (Hillary) Clinton’s campaign is telling the embassy to take it with a grain of salt. . . That someone called us and told us not to worry.”

And, CTV was looking at the Clinton angle first:

CTV News President Robert Hurst said he would not discuss his journalists’ sources.

But others said the content of Mr. Brodie’s remarks was passed on to CTV’s Washington bureau and their White House correspondent set out the next day to pursue the story on Ms. Clinton's apparent hypocrisy on the North American Free Trade Agreement.

However, CTV coverage focused on Obama, for whatever reason.

http://socraticgadfly.blogspot.com/2008/03/clinton-was-first-on-nafta-wink-wink-to.html

[bridgit]

7. In the debate, HRC didn't say she would dump NAFTA as O-B-A-M-A did...

he was going for the brass ring and just couldn't reach it from where he was sitting...but it sounded good and maybe that's all that matters wink-wink ;)

[anamandujano]

10. She was confident that they would renegotiate and said so when asked

several times.

[bridgit]

14. Correct.

[AtomicKitten]

11. He said he would renegotiate for labor, environmental, and safety standards.

Pretty much her position as it turns out.

Speaking of which, she has a whole lotta explaining to do regarding the fact she and Bill have a long, distinguished, and on video tape history of having been cozy with NAFTA from its conception to today. In fact, Bill Clinton has been schmoozing with the Colombians on the free-trade bill, and the three lobbying firms servicing Colombia are all Clintonites.

Oops. :hi:

[bridgit]

15. He also said he agreed with her position, but not until after he played the 'opt out' card...

that was when you could see the light come on in his head as he realized he was about to say too much. Oh honey it is par for the Obama course to interject all manner of other issues other than, of course, BHO's foibles as a guy who's mind few really know for sure = not "Oops"...but Oy! :)

In debate he actually said he agreed with her on many of her positions but who's counting :shrug:

[AtomicKitten]

20. No worries. Obama's prescience on the war is second to none and that is the #1 issue in my book.

This back and forth on NAFTA will be decided on the truth, and the truth is the Clintons ARE NAFTA just like they ARE the DLC. That's the kind of stank that doesn't wash off no matter how much it is denied, although I wish you best of luck in continuing to try to muddy the waters.

:hi:

[bridgit]

21. Hmmm, now just where do you suppose that vaunted "prescience" was when he voted for...

Cheney's secret closed door energy scam that has lead America into the nightmare of her dreams, hmmmmm http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=1&vote=00213

[zulchzulu]

9. ...and Hillary's support of NAFTA goes back to her years in the Clinton White House

Now that we know from official records of her time as First Lady that Clinton was the featured speaker at a closed-door session where 120 women opinion leaders were hectored to pressure their congressional representatives to approve NAFTA; now that we know from ABC News reporting on the session that "her remarks were totally pro-NAFTA" and that "there was no equivocation for her support for NAFTA at the time;" now that we have these details confirmed, what should we make of Clinton's campaign claim that she was never comfortable with the militant free-trade agenda that has cost the United States hundreds of thousands of union jobs, that has idled entire industries, that has saddled this country with record trade deficits, undermined the security of working families in the US and abroad, and has forced Mexican farmers off their land into an economic refugee status that ultimately forces them to cross the Rio Grande River in search of work?

As she campaigns now, Clinton says, "I have been a critic of NAFTA from the very beginning."

But the White House records confirm that this is not true.

Her statement is, to be precise, a lie.

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat?pid=300860

[bridgit]

16. NAFTA was a Bush 41 piece...and I do mean piece...

NAFTA isn't sending jobs elsewhere; that is bad old fashioned American Corporate Greed, and the investor class that supports them by trying to make money with their ass sitting on a sofa

[anamandujano]

8. There was no parallel in the two situations. Goolsbee was working

for Obama's campaign. Penn was working his other job. Both dumb@sses to be sure but totally different circumstances.