Sirotablog
David Sirota is a political journalist and nationally syndicated newspaper columnist at Creators Syndicate. David writes about political corruption, globalization and working-class economic issues often ignored by both of America's political parties.
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June 29, 2007 12:15 PM
SECRET TRADE DEAL: Big Victory - Deal Delay Delivers Major Blow to Bush, K Street
A major victory today for the progressive movement and millions of people represented by consumer protection, environmental, agricultural, small business, labor organizations and the courageous Members of Congress fighting the good fight: The Secret Trade Deal of 2007 has been officially delayed. Though the dealmakers are publicly claiming the deal was put off because of Peru and Panama's domestic laws, it's clear (not just from the late Friday press release) that K Street and their cronies in Congress are too afraid to bring the deals to the floor, for fear they will be defeated by a growing populist backlash in Congress. Here's the scoop, fresh off the wire from Bloomberg News:"Democratic leaders in Congress put off a vote on trade agreements with Peru and Panama until those countries revamp their laws to comply with new labor and environment standards in the accords. The demand is a blow to the Bush administration, which pressed the Democratic majority in Congress to have the Peru agreement approved next month...Two other agreements, with South Korea and Colombia, face further hurdles before Congress will consider them, the Democrats said. Even though Pelosi and Rangel worked out an agreement with the administration last month to revamp the four pending free-trade agreements, they aren't assured passage in Congress. Many Democrats say they won't support those or any other agreements reached by the Bush administration. 'We need to play defense against all these agreements,' Senator Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat, said yesterday."
In the same story, though, we see exactly why we have to keep the pressure on - namely because they still intend to ultimately try to ram the deal through, even though it delegates all power to enforce the much-touted new labor and environmental provisions to the Bush White House. This delay represents fear - a fear by the handful of Democrats who agreed to this deal, by the Bush White House and by corporate lobbyists that if they try to pass this deal into law right now, it will be defeated. That we've created that fear is an incredible step forward - but you can bet the forces pushing this deal will be spending the next few months doing whatever they can to steamroll the opposition:
"Representative Charles Rangel, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, will lead a delegation oflawmakers to those countries in August to help them work through those changes, Democrats said in a statement. 'We are hopeful that this trip will lead to the swift passage this fall in Peru and Panama of the necessary legislation to change laws and implement fully the respective agreements,'' House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Rangel and other Democratic leaders said in a joint statement today."
During a press conference today, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi - who originally endorsed the deal - reiterated that "on every issue, be it trade, taxes, the war energy we will always build consensus in our caucus" and that "none of these issues will cause a fissure in our caucus." If Pelosi's move to delay the Secret Trade Deal of 2007 today is any indication, the consensus within the Democratic caucus is to oppose the Bush administration's NAFTA-style trade policies and demand a new trade policy entirely.
Public Citizen's Lori Wallach is going to be on Bill Moyers PBS show tonight to update us on the Secret Trade Deal of 2007. Check local listings - and tune in!
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About David Sirota
David Sirota is a political journalist and nationally syndicated newspaper columnist at Creators Syndicate. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Hostile Takeover. He lives in Denver, Colorado. His daily blog can be found at CREDO Action. He contributes regularly to the Denver Post's Web site, is a senior editor at In These Times magazine and is working on his second book. He has been profiled in Newsweek and the Rocky Mountain News and is widely known for his reporting on political corruption, globalization and working-class economic issues often ignored by both of America's political parties. Sirota serves as co-chair of the Progressive States Network, a 501(c)3 organization that supports state legislators and that is a partner of CREDO.
You can subscribe to Sirota's e-mail newsletter by going to davidsirota.com and signing up in the lefthand corner. To find out more about Sirota, download his official biography or see his recent media appearances. You can e-mail him at sirota@credoaction.com.
The views expressed on this blog are his own, and do not necessarily represent the views of Working Assets (publisher of CREDO Action) or the institutions Sirota works for.
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Discussion
And don't you think this fear is a direct result of the complete defeat of comprehensive immigration reform ?
I'd say so. It seemed the corporate wings of both parties were on one side and the old reds (labor) and new reds (right wing) on the other.
I'd agree the shitstorm created by the corporate immigration package scared the crap out of that old bag Pelosi and her corporate lackies. Had they pushed it they would have opened a can of whoop-ass from independents and pro-labor democrats they couldn't contrain or spin.
Kill the false "free" trade deals and of course, stop supporting regimes that dump their citizens into America thereby making illegals out of them and the immigration mess is hugely solved. With real solutions like these, you don't have to settle for "fast food" bullshit such as border fences which do nothing to solve this immigration mess.
Speaking of trade here's a article from MSNBC on how hard it is to actually buy stuff that is not made in China.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19508453/
This is what "Free" trade has done to our country - hollowed it out. We can't even feed ourselves let alone manufacture anything anymore. And those fuckers in D.C. including those assinine "fair" traders want to promote even more trade. Like our country hasn't been eviscerated enough for them?
Because all this trade is doing is setting the country up for blackmail and extortion. Its already so weakened our monetary system, that we're basically China's lackey. Our manufacturing is almost non-existant and the only thing left driving our economy is bullshit speculation and the housing market.
We better pray to G-d that the Chinese don't stop buying our debt because if they do, our country will tank and all the social programs will be DOA.
And whats worse, we no longer have the manufacturing infrastructure left to stand on our own again. We'll enter into a Depression and stay there.
This is what "free" or "fair" trade has gotten us - a hollowed out country at the mercy of foreign importers.
"Free Traders" are in fact, "Free Traitors!"
Simple as that..!
Free trade, foul trade and fair trade. Free trade is foul trade. Fair trade is possible. It just doesn't exist. The way to have fair trade is a reverse tariff. See Parity Democracy available on the 4th for the revolution, at amazon.com or BN.com for an explanation of how Parity Economics can make this possible.
Boy, talk about "Good news, Bad news".
The good news is, resistance is building.
The bad news is, these people never stop. These guys are heading off to Peru and Panama, Powerpoint presentations in hand, to teach our southern friends how to write toothless legislation as artfully as we do. Then they'll return home, victorious, claiming that they've helped environmental and labor efforts, instead of creating a smoke-and-mirrors apparatus allowing them to continue gutting such efforts.
I can't wait to see their homecoming press conference. They'll strut and preen, hoping they've pulled the wool over our eyes.
We'll need to break out Photoshop, check the FEC's records, and paste in some "price tag" bubbles like Michael Moore did in his movie:
"Here's how much corporations and their lobbyists paid to buy these legislators. Do you really think they've done anything to help the environment or workers that might cost their corporate owners even one red cent?"
There's a new political search web site that carries the campaign bribe information called maplight.org. It has the special interest money and a correlated voting record for California assembly legislators. It currently shows the money collected by the national legislators to be expanded to include their correlated voting record.
The thing about "fair" trade is that it only can be accomplished between equals. It doesn't work in instances where the nations you wish to trade with suffer from oligarchic ruling classes, general impoverishment(also meaning little in the way of gov't protections and oversight), a society where corruption is endemic and a way of life, etc.
All of these situations lend themselves for exploitation by powerful multinationals who can bribe a country's entire ruling class to get their way or hire lawyers by the busload to bend laws to their will.
Folks need to realize these trade deals are nothing but a disguised version of colonial exploitation. But instead of sending in the marines to control some bananaland republic, the multinationals just bribe the local strongman and then proceed to rape the country.
I hope one day the 3rd world types rise up and start using the multinationals for target practice and take back their countries from a cabal of bankers and international businessmen.
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