The economic case for free trade has been solid for at least a couple of centuries. A country even comes out ahead if it lowers all trade barriers and no other country does. A true free trade treaty would be less than a page long (it could probably be done in a paragraph), not the three multi-hundred-page monstrosities that Obama and Congressional Republicans insist must remain secret until Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) is passed. TPA would allow for public dissemination of the monstrosities, but no Congressional amendments, “fast track” up or down votes, and only a majority-vote in the Senate, rather than the 67-vote threshold required by the Constitution for treaties. Obama, the Republicans, and the Wall Street Journal are shocked, simply shocked, that this process would make anyone suspicious of the “free trade agreements,” and they have labeled all opponents or potential opponents “anti-free trade.” The label would be a little more appropriate if anyone but a select few had had a chance to see what the treaties actually contain, although parts have been leaked by Wikileaks. Michael Krieger’s article, and the articles he links to, demonstrate once again why the alarm bells should blare every time one sees either bipartisanship or secrecy in Washington, from libertyblitzkrieg.com:
Chief Obamatrade proponent House Ways and Means Committee chairman Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) admitted during Congressional testimony on Wednesday evening that despite tons of claims from him and other Obamatrade supporters to the contrary, the process is highly secretive.
He also made a gaffe in his House Rules Committee testimony on par with former Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)’s push to pass Obamacare, in which she said infamously said: “we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.”
“It’s declassified and made public once it’s agreed to,” Ryan said of Obamatrade in Rules Committee testimony on Wednesday during questioning from Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX).
What Ryan is technically referring to is that TPP will become public if TPA is agreed to—but Congress will lose much of its ability to have oversight over and influence on the process, since TPP is, in many respects, already negotiated. It’s 800 pages long, and on fast-track, Congress will only get an up-or-down vote and won’t be able to offer amendments. The Senate vote threshold also drops down to a simple majority rather than normally having a 60-vote threshold, or in the case of treaties, a 67-vote threshold.
– From the Breitbart article: Paul Ryan’s Pelosi-Esque Obamatrade Moment: ‘It’s Declassified and Made Public Once it’s Agreed To’
If you still think that the establishment Republicans in Congress represent real opposition to President Obama’s policies, you’re either extremely brainwashed or extremely stupid.
Honestly, I don’t know what it will take for some people to wake up. How many times do you need to be used, abused and conned by slimy politicians before you can shake off your political Stockholm Syndrome? Does John Boehner need to drive up to your front door in a motorcade and eat your first born’s liver at the dinner table with your wife’s silverware before you get it? It’s pathetic.
To continue reading: Paul Ryan Channels Pelosi on the TPP
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