Obama Reverses Campaign Pledge to Renegotiate NAFTA

[CHIMO]

President Obama has wrapped up a two-day visit to Mexico for talks with Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The three leaders met in Guadalajara to discuss issues including immigration reform, trade, Mexico’s drug war, the crisis in Honduras, and the swine flu outbreak. It was Obama’s first official summit under the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA. On the campaign trail, Obama had promised to open up NAFTA to renegotiations. But he’s backed off that pledge since taking office, blaming the global economic meltdown.

http://www.democracynow.org/2009/8/11/obama_reverses_campaign_pledge_to_renegotiate

[MannyGoldstein]

1. He Changed His Thinking On That Months Ago

But NAFTA's not actually nearly as bad as almost-free trade with China, which has wiped out our manufacturing.

[defendandprotect]

13. It all needs to be overturned . . .

[endless october]

15. NAFTA and outsourcing are a big part of what brought us to this point.

[MannyGoldstein]

16. Oh, No Question - We're Irretrievably Fucked

When Summers, Geithner, Clinton, and the rest of that crew were making it simple to outsource jobs, only a fool would think this wouldn't lead to the end of American manufacturing - there's no way on God's green Earth that American's can compete with $2-a-day workers. But we let them do it. At that time I was yelling and waving my arms around, but everyone told me to STFU and stop saying negative things about people who call themselves Democrats.

So here we are. And I'm still being told to STFU and stop saying negative things about people who call themselves Democrats.

[endless october]

23. it was obvious what would happen nationwide.

it happened in the midwest manufacturing belt years ago when the economy was still "good." only idiots thought it wouldn't go nationwide.

cut incomes / slash jobs, and people stop being able to purchase goods and services. goodbye, economy.

[flyarm]

17. From my files..and i have lots more in my files..or i should say ,..from the rabbit hole

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/article671468.ece

[MannyGoldstein]

18. Holy $%^&. I'd forgotten about that. n/t

[Vincardog]

2. NAFTA and other faux flat earth free trade deals are the cause of global economic meltdown.

[BlooInBloo]

3. Fascinating transcript of a lot of people who aren't Obama....

Quote of Obama saying he won't please?

[CHIMO]

8. You Had Best

Ask Amy Goodman that question. It is directly from the Democracy Now headline!

Since you asked:

Leaders meet as recession bites deep in Mexico

"In terms of refining some of our agreements, that is not where everyone's focus is right now because we are in the middle of a very difficult economic situation," Mr Obama said. Mexico is beset by its deepest recession of modern times.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3436439c-8546-11de-9a64-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1

Maybe your understanding of the statement is different from Democracy Now.

I prefer to follow Democracy Now.

[tritsofme]

4. Many of us called it campaign trail politics at the time.

I thought he had even backed away from this in the GE.

[liberalmuse]

5. Well, fuck Obama for not overturning the last century's many fuckeries by now.

I've no patience for this shit. What are YOU ('YOU' as in everyone who has been incessantly criticizing one man for not waving his hand and fixing everything in less than a year) doing? Sitting on your ass and posting derogatory shit about your President on the internet? Or are you doing something constructive, like physically getting out there and helping him fix this mess? To expect one man to cater to your every progressive whim practically overnight is not very realistic. Wait in line, or get off your ass and fucking DO something to bring about the changes you want.

[Arkana]

7. People think that because he's not going to do it now

that he's backing off on it--when in fact he's fighting a war on every imaginable front and really cannot afford to kick over this rock right now.

[rudy23]

10. When W was in office, one man catered to every neoconservative whim.

I'm getting really sick of this argument. It's not that Obama's taking too long, it's that on many issues, he's moving in the back assward direction.

I'm all for getting involved, but believe it or not, most of us don't have the same kind of power as the president does on some of these issues. And many of us DID get up and do something---we volunteered and contributed to Obama's election. Then he turned right around and let his chief of staff call us "fucking stupid", as he's negotiating deals with drug companies to take the teeth out of healthcare reform.

Your kneejerk use of ad hominems makes you sound very trollish.

[CHIMO]

11. He Is Not My President

The post comes from Democracy Now.

If in your opinion Democracy Now is not a progressive site then...

[roody]

20. Mr. President insulted me today with his lame comments about

"intervening" in Honduras. You can tell when he is lying---he stammers and puts together weird sentences. When he is being real, he is eloquent. He was lame in Mexico.

[natrat]

22. he's a puppet-my god, evey piece of major legislation is a giveawy to industry

[grantcart]

6. No he didn't . This is the fourth time this has been posted here.

Next time why don't you include the President's remarks rather than simply post the mischarachterization of them?



“At a time when the economy has been shrinking drastically and trade has been shrinking around the world…we probably want to make the economy more stabilized in the coming months before we have a long discussion around further trade negotiations,” he said.


At no point has the President said that he doesn't want to have those conversations. With the world financial situation near implosion to an unprecedented liquidity melt down (please see Krugman and Soros) it would be highly reckless to have those negotiations before getting the economy back in place.

You have quoted a source that has purposely misrepresented the President's position. He never promised that he would address NAFTA problems before everyother more critical economic crises.

[sharp_stick]

9. How dare you actually post a quote

of what the man said rather than listen to what a bunch of people say he said.

With some of the shit I read around here I think critical thinking is a skill that has been genetically diluted out of our gene pool.

[defendandprotect]

14. k i c k

[MannyGoldstein]

19. Obama's Said That He Won't Unilaterally Re-Open NAFTA

e.g., http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/18/magazines/fortune/easton_obama.fortune/

He said it's been good for the US.

[Boku-Wa]

21. Yes, but .... when campaigning in Ohio In March 2008 he attacked

NAFTA and said it was responsible for thousands of lost jobs.

Which Obama are we to believe? The liberal or the panderer to the neo-liberals?

[defendandprotect]

12. k i c k