David Sirota: Bad News: NAFTA Expansion Passes; Good News: Majority of Dems Vote No

[marmar]

from OurFuture.org:



Bad News: NAFTA Expansion Passes; Good News: Majority of Dems Vote No
Submitted by David Sirota on November 8, 2007 - 3:51pm.


This morning, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Peru Free Trade Agreement - the first bill designed to expand the NAFTA trade model. The bill was not supported by any major labor, anti-poverty, human rights, religious or consumer protection advocacy group. And yet even though Democrats were given their congressional majority on a campaign promise to reform America's trade policy, the party's leadership rammed the bill through the House. You can see how your representative voted here. The bill now moves to the Senate.

There is, however, some good news. Here's Bloomberg's report:


Pelosi and Rangel weren't able to convince a majority of their fellow Democrats to support the agreement, as they voted 109 to 116 against it. Previous accords with Bahrain, Australia and Morocco all garnered more Democratic votes.

"The powerful opposition within the majority party makes clear that this deal was not a good deal for workers and should never have been put forward," Teamsters President Jim Hoffa said. "I hope that the Democratic leadership tells the Bush administration that Congress will now focus on job-creating trade policies and no more of these job-killing agreements."


I say this is good news because a majority of Democrats stood with American workers, farmers and small businesspeople - but it certainly is bad news that the Democratic leadership sold out to K Street by pushing this NAFTA expansion and ignoring the campaign promises that gave them the majority. As we can see, on economic and corporate power issues, the Congress may be called "Democratic" but it is still very much controlled by Republicans - or better put, controlled by the Money Party.

The vote today is also bad news because America's lobbyist-written trade policies continue to ravage this country, while rewarding the worst kinds of behavior abroad. This week, an auto supply parts manufacturer announced plans to pick up and leave North Carolina and open up shop in Mexico. In New Hampshire, another paper mill is shutting down, throwing workers out on the street. Down in Peru - the country we are supposedly giving this trade deal to as a reward for its labor practices - workers striking for an 8-hour day and against child labor abuses were crushed by an official government edict.

As I report on in my nationally syndicated newspaper column out tomorrow, this entire issue is spilling into the presidential campaign in both the Republican and Democratic primaries. With Hillary Clinton facing pressure over her silence on the NAFTA expansion that is now headed to the Senate for a vote, and with the House now making headlines endorsing the NAFTA expansion, the debate over America's trade policy is going to ratchet up even further. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://commonsense.ourfuture.org/bad_news_nafta_expansion_passes_good_news_majority_dems_vote_no?tx=3

[jgraz]

1. Once again: why did this even get a fucking vote????

This congress has to have set a record for bills passed over the objection of the majority of the ruling party. Does anyone have data on that?

[cali]

2. the leadership pushed it. that's why. n/t

[feminazi]

3. I share your outrage

They should never have brought it to the floor. They (the leadership) willfully chose not to bury it.

Pelosi strikes out again as far as I'm concerned.

[Ganja Ninja]

4. She knows how to kill a bill when she wants to.

Like the impeachment resolution.

[jgraz]

5. Or the Democratic version of the FISA bill

You know, the one where she changed the rules of the House so that a 2/3rds vote was required? :grr: