Folks, the fight over the TPA (fast track) and the TPP is just beginning.

[cali]

<snip>

Even with those concessions, the fight to get the trade promotion bill to the president’s desk will be difficult and emotional, badly dividing the Democratic Party’s labor base and putting Hillary Rodham Clinton in a quandary. Many prominent Democrats have come out against one of the biggest priorities of their president. Representative Sander M. Levin of Michigan, the ranking Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, was notably absent from trade negotiations.

The A.F.L.-C.I.O. and virtually every major union have vowed a fierce fight, including a six-figure advertising campaign to pressure 16 selected senators and 36 House members to oppose trade promotion authority, the A.F.L.-C.I.O. announced on Thursday.

<snip>

Republican leadership is firmly behind the trade authority bill, an exception to the otherwise divisive relationship between Mr. Obama and congressional Republicans. But a sizable minority of Republicans — especially in the House — are reluctant to cede almost any type of authority to the president. Whether Republican leaders can get their troops in line, and how Mr. Obama can round up enough Democratic votes, is emerging as one of the larger legislative questions of the year.

Mr. Reichert said that only 15 to 20 Democrats so far are supportive in the House. Last year, House Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio said he would need 50.a

<snip>

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/17/business/obama-trade-legislation-fast-track-authority-trans-pacific-partnership.html?_r=0

[arcane1]

1. "Republican leadership is firmly behind the trade authority bill" n/t

[cali]

2. Leadership, not rank and file.

[arcane1]

3. I'd feel better about the whole thing if they all hated it, and not just the fast-track.

[cali]

4. well, sure, but it's a good start.

[cali]

5. kick