Major Victory - Fast Track Off the Table

The AP reports that the reauthorization of fast track will not be on the agenda:

President Bush loses his power today to seal fast track trade agreements without intervention from Congress, where Democrats blame recent deals for sending U.S. jobs abroad.

Since 1975, only one other president, Bill Clinton, has been stripped of that trade promotion authority, designed to speed the reduction of trade barriers and open new markets with other countries. Bush won’t get it back again, and the next president might not either.

House Democratic leaders, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and Rep. Charles Rangel of New York, whose Ways and Means Committee handles trade policy, said in a written statement Friday that their legislative priorities “do not include the renewal of fast track authority.”

Make no mistake, this is a MAJOR victory for the middle class in this country and was only possible because of the Democratic takeover of Congress. This is what I wanted to see. This is what the Democratic party is supposed to stand for. When Charles "NAFTA" Rangel starts to come around you know the times are a changin.

I've had a whole series of posts discussing the problems of international trade and specifically renewing the President's trade promotion authority (i.e. fast track):

The current state of our trade deficit and the wage stagnation of the middle class makes Fast Track one of these issues. For those that don't know, Fast Track (aka Trade Promotion Authority) allows the President to negotiate trade agreements that Congress cannot amend or filibuster.

The last two administrations have consistently used this authority to undermine Americans' interest by negotiating "free trade" agreements that can certainly not be labeled as free trade and are patently unfair to American workers and companies. The result has been a trade deficit that has ballooned to $60 Billion/month and is a direct threat to the future prosperity of this country.

Currently, Fast Track is set to expire on June 30 and there is sure to be vigorous debate leading up that deadline. The Democratic party MUST stand with the people and VOTE NO to reauthorizing this disastrous authority to a disastrous President.

Well today is June 30th and I am ecstatic that the Democratic leadership came to their senses. Today is a great day and despite my previous threats I am still an official member of the Democratic party:

Well I've had enough, and if they continue down this path then I will no longer support the Democratic party. It doesn't mean that I won't support certain candidates but I cannot and will not prop up a party that only serves to undermine this country and its citizens.

The DLC and its supporters can go to hell...

I'm back on board, now crank up the populist rhetoric and let's keep the ball rolling. Next up, China...

Surprise, Surprise - More Chinese Food Problems

MichaelK points us to yet another story about the poor quality (that's an understatement) of imported Chinese food.

Formaldehyde, illegal dyes, and industrial wax were found being used to make candy, pickles, crackers and seafood, it said, citing Han Yi, an official with the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, which is responsible for food safety.

“These are not isolated cases,” Han, director of the administration’s quality control and inspection department, was quoted as saying.

Han’s admission was significant because the administration has said in the past that safety violations were the work of a few rogue operators, a claim which is likely part of a strategy to protect China’s billions of dollars (euros) of food exports.

So have you written your congressman about Country of Origin Labeling? How much more are we willing to take? Do people really believe that crap coming from China is fit to eat? The safety of our food supply should be a matter of national security, but heaven forbid we do anything that would hurt the mythical principle of "free trade" - even if it leads to poisoning the American people...

China Begins its Buyout of the United States

Yesterday brought news that should alarm everyone in this country. CNN notes that China is investing $3 Billion in Blackstone - a US private equity firm. Why is this so alarming? Let's start by discussing our trade deficit.

This country has a $60 Billion/month trade deficit. That is just not some imaginary figure that has no consequences. It means that we are taking loans from countries like China for that amount every month. We give them treasury bills that are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government. As the value of the dollar declines, at some point these countries will no longer want to take on more and more of our deficit - like any wise investor they will seek to diversify. These countries will begin to use that money to buy American companies and land - things that have real value.

This presents two problems, the first is quite obvious, namely that we're slowly selling our country's assets to foreign countries - and a Communist one at that. Second, once these countries start calling in our debt the government will be forced to pay off the debt and this could mean large tax increases and/or rapid inflation.

In 2005 China tried to buy the US oil company Unocal for $18.5 Billion but withdrew its offer after stiff political opposition. Now they're getting wiser. They're using these private equity firms to get their feet in the door while still only buying around 10% of the company.

This is only the beginning and the endpoint is quite clear. As I said before, these countries will not continue to take our debt. Since our country doesn't have the money to pay these loans off directly these countries will use our currency to "invest" in the United States. Of course "invest" is a euphemism for "buy" and you can probably guess who will lose in that scenario - the American worker and the middle class...

Flagship Magazine Agrees that Democrats Have Sold Out on Trade

The Democratic movement's flagship periodical (IMO) The Nation has published a scathing editorial about the recent bipartisan secret trade agreement (blogged here and here). Just like they did on Iraq a couple of years ago, The Nation has made their discontent towards Democrats heard in no uncertain terms. Please, READ THE ARTICLE. I've posted a few of the best passages below:

When Democratic and Republican leaders announce they have fashioned a "historic" bipartisan compromise on trade, put your hand over your wallet. It probably means somebody has been sold out.

The objective of Democratic leaders seems clear: to marginalize the fair-trade dissenters, coax the party into approving more trade agreements and, above all, grant renewed fast-track authority to the President. Fast-track effectively stymies Congress's influence on trade issues, denying any chance to make changes in negotiated agreements. That's why the business lobby loves it so. That the US Chamber of Commerce is delighted with Pelosi ought to tell you something.

If House insurgents oppose Pelosi & Co., they may not have the votes to win, but they can force the Speaker into a very uncomfortable bind. She will have to win on Republican votes. That's the same game Bill Clinton played in the 1990s, enacting NAFTA and other job-killing trade agreements over opposition from the rank and file. Working people got the message--and many of them stopped voting Democratic. If the deal prevails, we predict the party will pay the same price again. Disenchanted voters will conclude, correctly, that nothing has changed in Washington.

I do not always agree with The Nation, but you can bet your ass that if The Nation is criticizing Democrats then those Democrats are about to make a huge mistake. As mentioned (and linked) above, in 2005 The Nation rightfully chastised Democrats that continued to support the Iraq War:

Most shameful has been the Democratic Party's failure to oppose the war. Indeed, support for it has been bipartisan: A Republican President and Congress made the policy, and almost all of the leading Democrats--most of the honorable exceptions are members of the House of Representatives--supported it from the outset and continue to do so.

The Nation therefore takes the following stand: We will not support any candidate for national office who does not make a speedy end to the war in Iraq a major issue of his or her campaign. We urge all voters to join us in adopting this position. Many worry that the aftermath of withdrawal will be ugly, but we can now see that the consequences of staying will be uglier still. Fear of facing the consequences of Bush's disaster should not be permitted to excuse the creation of a worse disaster by continuing the occupation.

We firmly believe that antiwar candidates, with the other requisite credentials, can win the 2006 Congressional elections, the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries and the subsequent national election. But this fight, and our stand, must begin now.

They were right then and they are right now - Democrats on the Hill should listen to them if they want keep the party moving in the right direction...

Democratic Party "Leaders" Continue to Sell Out America

It's been nearly a week since the Nancy Pelosi-led press conference where they announced they had come to agreement with the Bush administration on future trade agreements.

Let's not forget that ALL fair traders within the Democratic party were left out of the negotiation. Also, they STILL haven't released the final text of the deal and continue to keep it a secret even from members of their own party - why is that? Why did Rahm Emanuel cancel the debate that was supposed to take place within the Democratic caucus?

I'll tell you why, because Emanuel is a sell out. He's the same clown that helped push NAFTA through Congress with the help of K Street lobbyists for the Clinton administration. He also supported our free trade deal with China and demanded Democrats support it. How did that turn out for us?

Listening to the DLC Democrats on trade policy is like listening to the American Enterprise Institute on Iraq policy. They have both been PROVEN to be wrong SO many times that why would anyone take them seriously? These guys are in it for their own pocketbook and they don't give a damn about the middleclass or the majority of the Democratic party.

EVERY SINGLE trade deal that's been passed has been a disaster for the American worker - every one of them. Idiots like Tom Friedman don't even read the agreements or even understand the acronyms (see CAFTA) before they pen cheerleading editorials supporting them. These people are destroying our country and WE allow them to do it.

Well I've had enough, and if they continue down this path then I will no longer support the Democratic party. It doesn't mean that I won't support certain candidates but I cannot and will not prop up a party that only serves to undermine this country and its citizens.

The DLC and its supporters can go to hell...

The Trade Battle Heats Up

Apparently Nancy Pelosi and Charles Rangel have won concessions from the Bush administration that would build worker's rights (including the elimination of child labor) into future trade agreements.

The Bush administration and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, breaking a partisan impasse that had dragged on for months, reached an agreement this evening on the rights of workers overseas to join labor unions.

Democrats hailed the accord as a major victory in their campaign to ensure that trade deals provide for the rights of workers to organize and that trading partner countries ban child labor and slave labor.

However, as always, the devil is in the details. Evidently many Democrats don't feel the concessions go far enough and this vote is likely to split the caucus:

Despite the endorsement of Mr. Rangel and Speaker Pelosi, many Democrats say that half or more of the Democrats in Congress may vote against the deal.

The deal sounds good on its face but with so many lackeys of the Bush administration championing it, and so many Democrats coming out against it, there MUST be more to the story. I don't trust Rangel AT ALL when it comes to trade - he's part of the old Clinton-led team that helped undermine the middle class by pushing NAFTA in the first place.

Many of the newly elected Democrats ran populist campaigns that promised to only support fair trade policies. This is THE biggest winning issue for the Democratic party - even more so than Iraq. Undercutting policy positions that are supported by an overwhelming majority of the American people while simultaneously supporting another disastrous Bush policy is NOT good politics to say the least.

It sounds like Pelosi could be bordering on a Steve Shine-like gaffe. If this deal turns out to be a sham (I'm betting it is) then the Democratic party should kill it - even if Pelosi stands behind it...

UPDATE: Rangel Supports Fast Track:

But Mr. Rangel said he could imagine a limited extension of such negotiating authority (Fast Track) if the Doha round talks looked as if they were shaping up to be a good deal for the United States.

Translation: Rangel will continue to undermine his party and throw Americans under the bus as long as it continues to pad his campaign coffers

Are Democratic voters watching this? We're the last line of defense...

(H/T: Sirota)

No Wiggle Room on Fast Track

Let me first say that I'm not a big advocate for ideological purity within the Democratic party. I believe there's a place for many different views and that these diverse interests actually help the party. But there are some issues that are so fundamental to the very idea of what it means to be a Democrat that there simply cannot be any compromise.

The current state of our trade deficit and the wage stagnation of the middle class makes Fast Track one of these issues. For those that don't know, Fast Track (aka Trade Promotion Authority) allows the President to negotiate trade agreements that Congress cannot amend or filibuster.

The last two administrations have consistently used this authority to undermine Americans' interest by negotiating "free trade" agreements that can certainly not be labeled as free trade and are patently unfair to American workers and companies. The result has been a trade deficit that has ballooned to $60 Billion/month and is a direct threat to the future prosperity of this country.

In Indiana, we have the second worst job growth of any state and the fact that this decline has happened during the "free trade" era is no coincidence. I do not support Fast Track authority for any President but to give this President the ability to negotiate trade agreements without any influence from Congress or the American people is not only foolish, but also un-Democratic.

Currently, Fast Track is set to expire on June 30 and there is sure to be vigorous debate leading up that deadline. The Democratic party MUST stand with the people and VOTE NO to reauthorizing this disastrous authority to a disastrous President.

This is issue #1 for me and I plan to post more in depth commentary on this and various other international trade topics leading up to the vote. For now, I leave you with a list of how our state's elected officials voted in the last reauthorization in 2002.

Lugar - Y
Bayh - Y

Souder - Y
Buyer - Y
Burton - Y
Pence - Y
Carson - N
Hill - Y
Visclosky - N

Hopefully Bayh and Hill now realize the error in that vote and will no longer undermine the workers of this state. If they don't, then they should not expect the support of the Democratic party...