Sirotablog
David Sirota is a political journalist and nationally syndicated newspaper columnist at Creators Syndicate. David writes about political corruption, globalization and working-class economic issues often ignored by both of America's political parties.
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May 21, 2007 7:01 AM
SECRET TRADE DEAL - DAY 10: White House Says Standards Will Not Be Put in Trade Pacts; Pundits Say “Dems Can’t Afford to Listen to the Labor Movement”
This is another in a series of ongoing posts following the announcement of a secret free trade deal on May 10, 2007 between a handful of senior Democrats and the Bush administration. The negotiations of the deal were held in secret, and the legislative text of the agreement remains concealed.The White House now says the secret trade deal between a handful of Democratic congressional leaders and Bush administration officials will most likely not mean adding labor and environmental standards into the core text of trade agreements, but instead will mean merely unenforceable NAFTA-esque "side agreements" or even weaker "letters" of understanding. A group of House Democrats is responding to the secret deal by demanding a hearing on a resolution that would prevent Democratic leaders from bringing fast track to the floor of the House if a majority of Democrats oppose it. And the pundit attack machine pushing the deal is out in full force. "Journalists" Cokie and Steve Roberts say "Democrats can't afford to listen to the labor movement" and Clinton administration free trade architect Gene Sperling praises Democratic dealmakers for triangulating against their own party. Here's today's update.
WHITE HOUSE SAYS DEAL WILL NOT BE PUT IN TRADE PACTS' CORE TEXT, BUT WILL MOST LIKELY END UP BEING "SIDE AGREEMENTS" OR "LETTERS": Industry newsletter Inside U.S. Trade provides clues as to why so many K Street corporate lobbyists are saying they have been given "assurances" that the much-touted labor and environmental provisions in the secret deal will end up being unenforceable. The newsletter reports that the White House is looking for ways to make sure the trade deal does not force a "reopening [of] the Peru and Colombia free trade agreements." Business sources tell the newsletter that "they have received signals from USTR this week that one possible way to approach the issue would be an exchange of letters" - a potentially weaker route than even the NAFTA side agreements, which proved to be unenforceable because they were not written into the pact's core text. This approach is sure to raise the ire of many of the most powerful fair trade lawmakers in Congress. Just last week, five senators held a press conference to attack the concept of "side agreements" or "letters" with Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) saying, "If the plan is to offer side deals, then nothing new is on the table except a $5.00 Rolex." To date, the draft legislative language of the deal remains secret, and Inside U.S. Trade has previously reported that Democrats are delegating responsibility to the White House to finalize the legislative language.
FAIR TRADE DEMS CRAFTING RESOLUTION AS HOUSE LEADERS STILL PREVENTING OPEN DEBATE: Inside U.S. Trade reports that "House Democrats critical of the process that led to the announcement of last week's free trade agreement template are still waiting for the leadership to allow the detailed discussion on trade they are demanding in the caucus." Said Rep. Betty Sutton (D-OH): "We are still trying to figure out what the deal is." A May 22nd meeting has been tentatively scheduled and "would provide an opportunity for discussion of a resolution proposed by Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA)" stating "that Congress should not consider any extension of trade promotion authority unless it is supported by a majority of Democrats."
COKIE AND STEVE ROBERTS SAY "DEMS CAN'T AFFORD TO LISTEN TO THE LABOR MOVEMENT": Millionaire "journalists" Cokie and Steve Roberts penned a syndicated column this weekend saying "Democratic leaders cannot afford to listen to the labor movement as the country approaches a major debate over trade policy." Like the rest of the country, the Roberts have not seen the legislative text of the secret deal. Nonetheless, they claim as definitive fact that "the agreement says that future trade pacts have to protect workers' rights and promote the environment" while attacking the deal's critics for being having "reactionary, head-in-the-sand views." Cokie Roberts continues to bill herself as an objective "journalist," yet in her column, she acknowledges that she is an "ardent free trader" who has "long been skeptical of including labor and environmental rules in trade deals" because she claims "they smacked too much of protectionism." She does not say whether she believes strict patent, copyright and intellectual property provisions already in trade deals "smack too much of protectionism."
TOP CLINTONITE - DEAL IS "AMAZINGLY BIPARTISAN" THANKS TO RANGEL'S EMULATION OF ROSTENKOWSKI: Former Clinton administration economic adviser Gene Sperling, one of the champions of NAFTA and China PNTR, has a new Bloomberg News column praising Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel (D) for making the deal in a way that emulates the tactics of convicted felon Dan Rostenkowski, the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee in the 1980s. Sperling says nothing about the fact that the legislative language of the deal remains secret, instead applauding the "amazingly bipartisan news conference" to announce the deal. Oddly, he cites the Clinton-era Jordan Free Trade Agreement as a model for a pact that "included enforceable labor standards" even though just last week U.S. Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) took to the Senate floor to show how those standards were unenforceable. "Last year there were findings of sweatshops operating underneath the umbrella of a free-trade agreement with supposedly strong labor standards is in Jordan," Dorgan said. "The Government of Jordan has taken some steps to try to fix some of these problems. Is that because our U.S. trade officials tried to enforce the labor provisions in the trade agreement? No. It's because a labor rights group called the National Labor Committee exposed these problems...So it's not the labor standards in the trade agreement that got the Jordan government to start to do the right thing." Nonetheless, Sperling concluded his piece by urging Rangel to continue triangulating against the majority of his party in Congress as he pushes the deal.
RANGEL TO APPEAR ON DOBBS SHOW TONIGHT: According to CNN's website, Rangel will be appearing on Lou Dobbs Tonight on Monday evening "to discuss the Democrats deal with the Bush Administration to pass two new trade agreements." As a teaser, Dobbs asks, "Is he selling out America's middle class?" The show appears between 6pm-7pm EST. Rangel this weekend attacked his own Democratic congressional colleagues and progressive organizations who are criticizing the secret deal, saying they should be ignored.
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About David Sirota
David Sirota is a political journalist and nationally syndicated newspaper columnist at Creators Syndicate. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Hostile Takeover. He lives in Denver, Colorado. His daily blog can be found at CREDO Action. He contributes regularly to the Denver Post's Web site, is a senior editor at In These Times magazine and is working on his second book. He has been profiled in Newsweek and the Rocky Mountain News and is widely known for his reporting on political corruption, globalization and working-class economic issues often ignored by both of America's political parties. Sirota serves as co-chair of the Progressive States Network, a 501(c)3 organization that supports state legislators and that is a partner of CREDO.
You can subscribe to Sirota's e-mail newsletter by going to davidsirota.com and signing up in the lefthand corner. To find out more about Sirota, download his official biography or see his recent media appearances. You can e-mail him at sirota@credoaction.com.
The views expressed on this blog are his own, and do not necessarily represent the views of Working Assets (publisher of CREDO Action) or the institutions Sirota works for.
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Discussion
I really wanna puke.
Also, where TF is Move-On on this one? They busy are trying to get people excited about the firing of some General by CBS who was one of their commentators.
I hate to say I told you so. Read Parity Democracy by Ed Wode for a solution, Amazon.com or BN.com. Reverse tariffs ala Parity Economics is the only alternative to this corporate fleecing of the world.
Who do these people think they are? Ignore the labor movement? They might as well be saying "ignore the People"!
http://progressivegeek.com
Think where we would be if Sirota wasn't all over this.
It would have slipped under the radar, ignored by the MSM beneath the cover of the un-passable immigration fiasco, Gonzales-gate, and the waffling on Iraq funding. Passed without a whimper.
Talk about having the deck stacked against you, though. The corporate shills are everywhere.
And still, the deafening silence of the "progressive" blogosphere.
I guess if it makes the Republicans look bad, go for it, if it exposes the sellouts amongst the Democrats, hush hush.
Here's a post I made right after the '06 election as a comment to this blog:
"This is the Corruptor vs. Reformer battle that was widely predicted before the election.
The Corruptor R's decimated the sincere Reformer R's in 1994. The Reformers came in with a genuine desire to clean up Congress and push their ideological agenda and they were *crushed* by the Corruptor R's, who had seniority. Read Tom Coburn's book "Breach of Trust: How Washington Turns Outsiders Into Insiders". You might loath his ideology, but he lays it on the line in this book, concerning the infighting that devastated their movement.
This non-ideological, non-partisan, entrenched powerbase of money and Corruption is what the Reformer D's, and the voting public who gave them their mandate, must now face...
Face it. Corruptors lie. They have to, because there will always be enough sincere folks around to keep them in line if they don't. They lie as a calculated process, a fundamental strategy for their success.
Who are the people taking the big bucks from Corporate interests? They'll be the Corruptors, and they must not be believed. They'll say the want the war over, while voting as hawks. They'll say they're for the middle class, while voting for "free" trade agreements. They'll claim patriotism while voting to gut the Bill of Rights.
This isn't about D's vs. R's anymore.
It's about Corruptors vs. Reformers."
I wish this was a dream or bad acid trip. Because it scares the hell out of me.
Because the Democratic party is doing everything possible to prove to the American people that they are out to screw them and turn them into serfs.
And I had high hopes that the '06 election would really be change for the better. Instead Reid and Pelosi are intent on pushing through a corporate agenda that will crush the middle-class and technical professionsals and flood the country with tens of millions of illiterate 3rd worlders who'll break our social services and medical system.
Of course the rich and cheap labor liberals will benefit but for the rest of us....
Prior to this I thought Bush was the greatest threat facing this country, but I was wrong. Pelosi and Reid are, they are quite happy to wage a jihad against the ordinary American in the name of greed and power.
Is there anyone who can stop them?
As a long time union member, I don't need millionaires telling me what's good for me. Fuck both the Roberts. And the same to the rest of the corporate media. I'm a 69 year old veteran of 28 years active duty. Still working - "double dipping." I have had only one bumper sticker on all the cars I've ever owned: the current one - it says "I Don't Trust The Corporate Media."
Perhaps it's time for a wider war against the free trade agreements. We have been pleading for the ethical treatment of workers and our environment, but I am reminded of Upton Sinclair's comment that in his book "The Jungle" he was aiming for people's hearts and hit them in the stomach instead. In Sundays's Washington Post there was an frightening article "Tainted Chinese Imports Common" citing "Dried apples preserved with cancer causing chemical...Frozen catfish laden with banned antibiotics...Scallops and sardines coated with putrefying bacteria...Mushrooms laced with illegal pesticides. "These were among the 107 food imports from China that the Food and Drug Administration detained at U.S. ports just last month, agency documents reveal, along with more than 1000 shipments of tainted Chinese dietary supplements, toxic Chinese cosmetics and counterfeit Chinese medicines. I encourage the readers of this blog to read the Washington Post article. The dignity of the worker and security of the environment appeal to the heart and mind. This news hit right in the gut.
Figuratively speaking, I hope Dobbs shreds him, bags him, and drop kicks him around the studio.
These "representatives" make me sick as well. The current "bi-partisan" trade deal is a freakin' farce. This is just another example of the myriads of examples of corporate power screwing the middle class vis-a-vi our government.
It is all the more reason for us to email, and call these political prostitutes RELENTLESSLY to keep them in line...to at least make them think about us, before acting. WE are their pimps! Bernie Sanders Sen.(VT) always says (on Thom Hartmann's radio show every friday) that if the reps and senators hear from enough of the people, that they will listen. You know, the people and their votes are like the politicians "bread", and the lobbying organizations are the "butter". Nobody eats butter without bread.
The way things are set up the "butter" gets to apply all the influence, but that is largely because the "bread" is stll pathetic when it comes to participation in the process. The turnout for '06 was great for an nonpresidential year but was still what, under 50%? The '04 race was barely over 50%. Fucking pathetic!!
We get what we out into it folks, so if you are not calling/emailing these senators and reps every time you post a bitch on this blog, you are pissing in the fucking wind! I hope we all don't know what warm urine in the face feels like. (866)220-0044 Toll free capitol hill switchboard ph. number. The operator will connect you with whichever senator's or rep's office that you ask for, FREE!!
What is incredible to me is that there is not an alarm being set off by the entire Democratic party and by labor. Really, what the hell is going on? I tell local leaders and they response is essentially "oh yeah, I think I heard something about that." On the domestic side of things, this is going to be a defining moment for the Democratic Party. This will tell the middle class whether or not our party's elected officials have sold out as well.
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