Yesterday, the super secret negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership emerged from the shadows and into a Senate Finance Committee hearing room. US Trade Representative Michael Froman (Wall Street-DC revolving door) was just beginning his propaganda push prepared remarks when Dr. Margaret Flowers stood up and began making more sense than anything else I heard during the actual hearing part of the proceedings:
“Mr. Froman, you are not telling the American people the truth. We know that the TPP has been negotiated in secret for five years. You’re trying to rush it through Congress and fast track it because its secret and you know that the things in there are going to hurt the American people. They’re going to off-shore our jobs and lower our wages… ”
And that’s as far as she got before she was dragged from the room. And then Kevin Zeese stood up and took over before he, too, was dragged from the room while being admonished by Finance Committee chairman Orrin Hatch for “cheap political stunts.”
I think Orrin Hatch needs to look in the mirror!
The hearing was truly a look through the rabbit hole into Opposite World. As Huffington Post’s Zach Carter wrote,
Senate Republicans on Tuesday offered to help President Barack Obama pass a sweeping trade package, while pressing for measures to deregulate finance and raise the price of prescription drugs.
Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and others repeatedly praised the top Obama trade official, Amb. Michael Froman, at a Senate Finance Committee hearing that opened with vocal protests from liberal demonstrators.
During the State of the Union address last week, the only time the Republicans stood and applauded and Democrats sat on their hands came during the president’s comments regarding the secretive so-called trade deal.
21st century businesses, including small businesses, need to sell more American products overseas. Today, our businesses export more than ever, and exporters tend to pay their workers higher wages. But as we speak, China wants to write the rules for the world’s fastest-growing region. That would put our workers and businesses at a disadvantage. Why would we let that happen? We should write those rules. We should level the playing field. That’s why I’m asking both parties to give me trade promotion authority to protect American workers, with strong new trade deals from Asia to Europe that aren’t just free, but fair.
Look, I’m the first one to admit that past trade deals haven’t always lived up to the hype, and that’s why we’ve gone after countries that break the rules at our expense. But ninety-five percent of the world’s customers live outside our borders, and we can’t close ourselves off from those opportunities. More than half of manufacturing executives have said they’re actively looking at bringing jobs back from China. Let’s give them one more reason to get it done.
Opposite world, indeed.
Today on the show, Zach Carter joined me from the Huffington Post where he’s been covering the TPP for years now. And Susie Madrak weighed in too…
For more info about the Trans-Pacific Partnership, read this, and visit
Communications Workers of America (CWA)
Progressive Democrats of America TPP Page
Back tomorrow for more… radio or not!
