De Blasio says he will not endorse Hillary Clinton until she clearly opposes Trans-Pacific Partnersh

[brooklynite]

Source: New York Daily News

He's really playing hard to get.

Mayor de Blasio, who has said he won’t endorse Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton until he’s convinced she’s got a plan to battle income inequality, is now calling on his old boss to speak out against a controversial trade deal.

Hizzoner said Thursday he’s looking for a “very clear statement” from Clinton opposing the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which is loathed by the left but being pushed by President Obama.

“I think it’s very important she speak up, make clear . . . that this trade deal is unacceptable,” de Blasio said on a phone call he held with reporters blasting the deal.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/de-blasio-not-back-hillary-opposes-trade-deal-article-1.2255489

[MannyGoldstein]

1. That is awesome.

Well played, Bill!

[BeyondGeography]

2. This will really depress Hillary's NYC margins if it doesn't work out

Seems DeBlasio is devoting a lot of, um, feeling, to this issue and is intent on a rupture. I don't really see the point, especially when he's getting pounded pretty regularly in the NY press for his performance as mayor.

[Ed Suspicious]

3. Back that bus up! Let's hit him again!

[RufusTFirefly]

4. Besides, TPP is such a frivolous, non-issue

[BeyondGeography]

7. Yeah, meantime, in NYC, he's on his way to becoming a joke

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/panel-packed-de-blasio-appointees-rejects-charter-plan-article-1.2255724

[RufusTFirefly]

8. Keep trashing the mayor and avoiding the subject

So, do you favor the TPP?

Bernie Sanders
Defeat the Trans-Pacific Partnership
http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/video-audio/defeat-the-trans-pacific-partnership

Martin O'Malley
O’Malley Joins Sanders Against TPP Fast Track. Where’s Clinton?
http://ourfuture.org/20150604/omalley-joins-sanders-against-tpp-fast-track-wheres-clinton

Hillary Clinton
{This space for rent}

[BeyondGeography]

11. Krugman doesn't like it, but he doesn't really give a shit either

I'm with Krugman.

[Dawgs]

27. Not the point and you know it. n/t

[starroute]

43. Krugman seems to be well past the not giving a shit stage

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/03/11/tpp-at-the-nabe/?_r=0

I’m thumbs down. I don’t think the proposal is likely to be the terrible, worker-destroying pact some progressives assert, but it doesn’t look like a good thing either for the world or for the United States, and you have to wonder why the Obama administration, in particular, would consider devoting any political capital to getting this through. . . .

So why do some parties want this deal so much? Because as with many “trade” deals in recent years, the intellectual property aspects are more important than the trade aspects. Leaked documents suggest that the US is trying to get radically enhanced protection for patents and copyrights; this is largely about Hollywood and pharma rather than conventional exporters.


http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/22/opinion/paul-krugman-trade-and-trust.html

I don’t know why the president has chosen to make the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership such a policy priority. Still, there is an argument to be made for such a deal, and some reasonable, well-intentioned people are supporting the initiative.

But other reasonable, well-intentioned people have serious questions about what’s going on. And I would have expected a good-faith effort to answer those questions. . . .

Instead of addressing real concerns, however, the Obama administration has been dismissive, trying to portray skeptics as uninformed hacks who don’t understand the virtues of trade. But they’re not: the skeptics have on balance been more right than wrong about issues like dispute settlement, and the only really hackish economics I’ve seen in this debate is coming from supporters of the trade pact.

It’s really disappointing and disheartening to see this kind of thing from a White House that has, as I said, been quite forthright on other issues. And the fact that the administration evidently doesn’t feel that it can make an honest case for the Trans-Pacific Partnership suggests that this isn’t a deal we should support.

[BeyondGeography]

44. "This isn't a deal we should support."

Real End Times stuff, isn't it?

He's basically saying, mention "Trade Deal," and everyone on all sides of the issue is terminally prone to exaggeration. I agree with him.

[Divernan]

46. "This space for rent" - thus was it ever so.

[Renew Deal]

10. Most people don't realize that it could become a problem for us.

It could cost the liberal/progressive movement big if he's the model of "progressive" governance. This is no small problem. He needs to stop touring the nation and pay attention to NYC. Right now most people believe that crime is rising. He made a big decision on the issue and he will take the blame if it goes wrong.

[BeyondGeography]

12. Agreed...Call me paranoid

but this is reminiscent of how Giuliani Time happened. I don't see an exact repeat because the city is still a lot safer than it was, but he is already looking vulnerable. When you start seeing stories about how he can't make a meeting on time and is generally irritating a lot of people (who don't even stand by him with votes after they've been appointed by him), the writing starts to appear on the wall.

[ananda]

20. Get a grip!

DeBlasio should be praised and appreciated for speaking
out against the TPP and challenging Clinton to do the same.

You two are really poisoning the well here with your anti-
DeBlasio red herring.

The people need outspoken voices to represent their interests,
and DeBlasio is one of those.

The TPP is a bad business, harmful on so many levels to so
many people.

Thank the Mayor and get on with your business if you have
any human decency!

[BeyondGeography]

29. I could always use a laugh

Come to NYC and ask the average voter what they think of DeBlasio's noble anti-TPP stand.

[daleanime]

18. Nice source....

[BeyondGeography]

24. Really?

Pathetic deflection attempt noted.

Here's an NYT article on his struggles with the black community. Maybe that works better for you:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/18/nyregion/black-leaders-showing-signs-of-frustration-with-mayor-de-blasio.html?_r=0

He has a very tough job. A public fight with HRC, who, believe it or not, is mostly popular here, over a trade deal that no one on the streets is talking about doesn't speak to his day job issues.

[daleanime]

33. If you thought so....

why not just defend the source?

And you can call it a "pathetic deflection attempt" if you want to, you have my unneeded permission. I would simply say that it's an accurate statement.

And yes he has a very tough job, make worse by the fact that any honest on his part will apparently create enemies out of 'allies'.

[BeyondGeography]

35. It's a straight news story on an educational vote

The source doesn't need defending on it.

Go ahead, debunk it.

[Jim Lane]

37. OMG! He appointed people to an independent panel who thought for themselves!

The article is about the Panel for Educational Policy. De Blasio appoints eight of its thirteen members. The slam here is that the Panel defeated a particular proposal that he favored.

If the idea were to give the Mayor complete control, then the law could simply say that such a proposal needs the Mayor's approval. Instead, there's a panel, to which he and other officials appoint members.

I guess some politicians would pick, as their appointees, a collection of warm bodies who would dutifully do as ordered. Instead, de Blasio appointed people who take their responsibilities seriously, who study the matters they're voting on, and who sometimes come to different conclusions than de Blasio does.

Call me crazy but I don't have a problem with that.

[A Simple Game]

41. Nor do I have a problem with it. It would be nice if more politicians would

appoint qualified people to panels and commissions instead of lackeys.

As for De Blasio, he seems to have a good reputation in Northern New York and unlike what we are led to believe about NYC, Northern New York is very concerned about the TPP and we are indeed talking about it.

[Gloria]

9. Seems very divisive in the eve of a rally in his own city

That reportedly will harken back to FDR...Sounds like a big baby who have the GOP drooling with glee.
Completely turning me off.

[frylock]

45. who gives a shit about policy issues when you have a rock star party to attend?

[Gloria]

50. Stupid comment....at the very basic level

Hillary has no vote on this....She can take her time. This is a long race. Let's see what her "vision" speech is about...

Harkening back to FDR is a different move...reintroducing generations who don't know a thing about FDR. She's going to do things
in her typical pragmatic way. That's a backdrop for a lot of policy that will be forthcoming...

You do realize that we are all fighting Republicans, don't you?? And that no candidate is pure, even Bernie on gun control...Or O'Malley in Baltimore??

We don't have the luxury of being one-issue voters who will slam any candidate on any issue one disagrees with... Discuss, yes, but taking your ball and going home is no way to win an election.

Really, that comment was useless...

[frylock]

51. Obama had no vote on IWR, but a lot of people voted for him based in part because he was against it.

claiming that it's okay for Clinton to remain silent on trade agreements because she has no vote is preposterous.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

5. Will HRC be able to carry NYC without him?/NT

[brooklynite]

15. Without a doubt...

...De Blasio actually isn't that popular in the City these days.

Bill de Blasio’s Approval Ratings Are the Lowest They Have Ever Been

Mayor Bill de Blasio’s approval ratings are the lowest they’ve been since he was elected mayor, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll.

Just 44 percent of voters give Mr. de Blasio’s job performance a thumbs up, down from 49 percent in January. 40 percent disapprove of him.

Voters were also split on whether Mr. de Blasio’s involvement in national affairs, including his trips this week to Washington, D.C. and California, are distracting from his duties at City Hall. 46 percent say they are distracting, while 42 percent disagree–just outside the poll’s margin of error.

Mr. de Blasio has taken some criticism for venturing beyond the five boroughs so frequently.

http://observer.com/2015/05/bill-de-blasios-approval-ratings-are-the-lowest-they-have-ever-been/

[DemocratSinceBirth]

23. I read here he's the most popular mayor since La Guardia./NT

[brooklynite]

31. La Guardia was a Republican...

[DemocratSinceBirth]

34. A progressive one in the mode of Robert La Follete./NT

[m-lekktor]

19. I believe so. nt

[leftofcool]

38. Of course she will. His support is a non-issue.

[Renew Deal]

6. Deblasio is finding out quickly that he's not as relevant as he thinks

If he spent half as much time governing as he does grandstanding around the country he might be a little more popular right now. A dirty secret for those outside of NY is that his poll numbers stink. Hillary will win NYC by margins that Deblasio couldn't dream of.

[ananda]

16. Two debate fallacies here: red herring and poisoning the well

The issue is the TPP and its horrific adverse affect on workers
and the poor, here and across the world.

DeBlasio should be lauded to the skies for speaking out against
it and challenging Clinton to do the same!

Mounting an ad hominem attack on the person who speaks out
against it is really low.

You could play limbo under a snake.

[Renew Deal]

21. Lots of people oppose it and I never posted anything about them.

The story is about Deblasio. This is another example of Deblasio commenting on issues he has no jurisdiction over. It's become a recurring theme in NY. People in NY want to see him comment on crime, education, infrastructure, etc.

The reason he keeps doing this with Hillary is he wants to get his name out there. It's the same reason he's constantly on tour.

[frylock]

47. We ALL have jurisdiction on this issue as voters..

have you forgotten that these people work for US?

[BeanMusical]

48. "You could play limbo under a snake."

Lol, first time I hear that one.

[ananda]

13. Thank you, Mayor!

I wish more people would speak out against this
monstrous TPP!

[raindaddy]

14. The TPP is the little dog that pulled back the curtain on the great Oz...

Refusing to use her influence to kill this POS tells me everything I need to know about HRC...

[ananda]

17. I thought the dog was Wikileaks...

[raindaddy]

26. Point taken...

[geek tragedy]

22. He's pretty clearly speaking as a national Democrat rather than as NYC

mayor in doing this.

TPP is NOT a big issue in NYC other than in the media circles. You don't see people in Astoria or Crown Heights or Harlem taking to the streets over TPP.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

25. They might take to the streets over Matt Harvey's pitching slump first./NT

[geek tragedy]

28. If they cared about the Mets, they would nt

[Enthusiast]

30. She will not oppose the TPP.

She will not oppose the TPP and undermine her corporate support and the support from President Obama in the general election (if she wins).

[Feron]

32. I agree and..

She won't oppose it because she is a kleptocrat like the rest of them.

[Babel_17]

36. Was the article originally different?

Near the end there's this:

"De Blasio declined to say whether Clinton’s support for the deal would be a deal breaker in terms of his endorsement."

[OilemFirchen]

42. One may presume that applies to the GE.

If she's the nominee and he withholds his endorsement, it will only hurt him. He knows that and is hedging.

[onehandle]

39. So basically, he's endorsing her, but with a caveat.

Many here think this is bad for Hillary.

[raouldukelives]

40. Nice. nt

[yurbud]

49. This should be the position of all progressives on all issues

Unfortunately given Hillary's record she is unlikely to say that and even less likely to do it

[Judi Lynn]

52. Good news. Thank you. n/t