Robert Reich: Republicans want to give President Obama a new power he shouldn't have

[Faryn Balyncd]

email today from Robert Reich:

Republicans in Congress are trying to give President Obama new powers to fast track the negotiation of the worst trade deal you've never heard of.

Why would they want to do that? I'll tell you. The Trans-Pacific Partnership is not just the worst trade deal you've never heard of -- it's also the biggest. With lobbyists for big business crafting the deal behind closed doors, it has been infamously called "NAFTA on steroids." And, if Congress gives the president fast track authority, that means Congress will not have the ability to amend this undemocratic deal before voting on it.

That's why I'm collaborating with my friends at Democracy for America and MoveOn to spread the word about why the TPP is such a bad idea. Check out this email that I made with MoveOn -- and then sign DFA's petition to Congress:

Will you help fight back? Share this video and sign DFA's petition to Congress urging them to reject fast track authority for the TPP! Thank you for helping stop the erosion of the middle class -- and standing up for democracy.

Robert Reich
Former Secretary of Labor

Reich's email could not be more timely given Paul Ryan's speech Thursday urging Republicans to enact Fast Track, as reported in the Wall Street Journal

[Faryn Balyncd]

1. Here's a great video Thom Hartman just posted on the media silence regarding the threat to

...access to generic drugs for 1/2 a billion people:



http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1017&pid=243195



Thank you, Thom Hartmann!

[Dont call me Shirley]

2. Thom Hartmann: Why The Mainstream Media Is Silent On SHAFTA

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017243195

[pampango]

3. Republicans IN CONGRESS want to give it to him, not republicans in general.

Poll: conservative and moderate republicans oppose fast track (for the TPP) by a ratio of 85 percent or higher.

On the question of fast-track authority, 62 percent of respondent opposed the idea, with 43 percent “strongly” opposing it. Broken down by political affiliation, only Democrats that identify as “liberal” strongly favor the idea. Predictably, a strong Republican majority oppose giving the president such authority, with both conservative and moderates oppose it by a ratio of 85 percent or higher.

http://www.ibtimes.com/trans-pacific-partnership-tpp-poll-only-strongest-obama-supporters-want-him-have-fast-track-1552039

[msongs]

4. "republicans in general" are not the corporate toadies in congress and the white house nt

[pampango]

5. I'm not a big fan of 'republicans in general'. On most issues we have little in common. n/t

[Kermitt Gribble]

7. Irrelevant.

I don't why you keep spamming DU with that link.

[pampango]

8. If you think the opinion of the republican base is irrelevant, you are welcome to your opinion.

Do you always feel that way their opinion is irrelevant (voting rights, civil rights, war, taxes, safety net, etc.) or just when it is uncomfortable?

Or are you uncomfortable that liberal Democrats support the president on this while conservative republicans oppose him?

[Kermitt Gribble]

9. And Paul Ryan supports him.

Your poll is irrelevant. The republican base has been trained to oppose everything this president proposes or supports. The voting public is largely uniformed or misinformed. Most people in your poll probably have no idea what the TPP is.

[Faryn Balyncd]

10. Progressives overwhelmingly opposes the TPP & Fast Track

Including Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Robert Reich, Joseph Stiglitz, Jim Hightower, the Progressive Caucus, even Paul Krugman (a free trader who states that the TPP is not about free trade, but about extending monopoly rents through extended intellectual property terms, and he will be relieved if it fails).


The Democrats that support the President on this issue are the Third Way corporate Democrats, not liberals.


The Republicans who support the President on this issue are right wing, corporate, elected Republicans (whereas many Republican voters don't have the slightest idea what's in it, they just oppose the President on everything.)

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

6. K&R nt

[RiverLover]

11. K & R! nt

[woo me with science]

12. kick