Why Is Obama Shoving The TPP Down Our Throats?

[GoLeft TV]

President Obama is off on his TPP sales tour, trying to convince Americans that the corporate trade deal is good for all of us. The only question is why is he so hellbent on passing this disastrous deal before he leaves office? Ring of Fire's Farron Cousins discusses this.

[doc03]

1. The majority of Democrats obviously are against it yet he

wants to ram it down our throats. I don't get it.

[JustinL]

2. not according to the last Pew presidential poll

55% of Clinton supporters say the TPP would be a good thing, 24% say it would be a bad thing, and 21% don't know. In contrast, the numbers for Trump supporters are 17% good, 58% bad, and 25% don't know.

79% of Democrats are Clinton supporters, and 71% of Clinton supporters are Democrats, so I can't imagine the opinion of all Democrats on the issue diverging that starkly from the opinion of all Clinton supporters.

http://www.people-press.org/2016/08/18/clinton-trump-supporters-have-starkly-different-views-of-a-changing-nation/

[hughee99]

6. So the Democratic Party is the pro-TPP party

Despite the fact that neither of our major candidates in this most recent primary were for it?

[cstanleytech]

9. Count me in the 21% area

because I honestly dont know if it would be good or bad, I want to believe it would be good though but then again to often stuff seems to get passed in Washington that ends up fucking over most of us in this country who are in the bottom 40% like myself.

[Fast Walker 52]

10. it sounds bad, but there's always a lot of hyperbole about these sorts of things

And personally, I don't think it will affect my job. But it will still hurt a lot of people. Ultimately, it's really for corporations, and the money can trickle weakly down to us from them. Uggh.

What hasn't been explained is how the TPP will help ordinary Americans. We already have tons of cheap crappy goods. We don't need more. What American industries are really gong to benefit from this enough to hire more people?

It's very distressing to see Obama to push it so much. At this point, he should leave it to he next president.

[freebrew]

7. Because it will be so good...

for the corporations that call themselves 'American' Corporations while having
most or all of their operations outside the US.
Meaning most of the labor.
Not to forget the tax system seems to be different
for those corps that live outside the border.
So, no benefit for the American commoner(citizen)((peon)).

And probably a nice cushy well-paying position for a former Pres.

[Wies Acres]

3. It's interesting to note

That the candidate that might have been in favor of the TPP at some point,has selected a running mate that is very pro TPP.Why in the world would anyone support a trade pact like this?More jobs?Oh yeah?For who exactly?

Not trying to start anything here,just saying.

[forest444]

4. Welcome to DU, Wies Acres.

Excellent question - in no small part because it's so hard to answer in any definite way.

Broadly speaking though, these inconsistencies (otherwise progressive lawmakers feeling the need to get behind despotic proposals like the TPP) are if nothing else a testament for the urgent need for public campaign financing in some form.

It's hard to be a steadfast progressive, after all, if you know that rubbing billionaire donors the wrong way could hand the election to some GOP cretin.

I'm proud of Hillary for opting to stand up to the donor class so publicly on this key issue. Could she backtrack on this? It's possible; but her having come out against it verbally and forcefully would make supporting the TPP later on a broken campaign promise. She would, moreover, lose millions of supporters while gaining none at all.

Again, welcome!

[Fast Walker 52]

11. welcome to DU!

As to your post, I don't think the TPP was a major reason for picking Kaine, though it probably helped. He has expressed some opposition to it recently.

And the thing still hasn't gone through-- we can stop it in congress if we make enough fuss.

[cprise]

5. Because his legislative agenda for environment and labor

was never meant to stick.

FTAs are the secret sauce that lets any politician dapple in measures that placate the public while, without any mention or fanfare, being able to negate them at a stroke.

FTAs are the hallmark of oligarch phonies.

Have a nice day, Third Way.

[Fast Walker 52]

12. what legislative agenda? He's been able to do very little with the GOP in control of congress

[cstanleytech]

8. No, if he was doing that it would have already been passed.

What he is doing is merely what most presidents have done which is working to get something passed that he thinks is a good idea.
Now do I personally have doubts about TPP? Hell yes but then again I am not anywhere near well enough versed on trade agreements to really say for sure if its a good thing or not for the country as a whole though I want to believe it might be since Obama and some other Democrats do support it but