The populists were out on Capitol Hill yesterday, assuming control of the Democratic Party and refusing to settle for anything less than transparency when it comes to trade deals.
In his Washington Post column headlined “The populists capture the Democratic Party,” Dana Milbank wrote
It was another one of those rallies on Capitol Hill where lawmakers line up to take shots at the Obama administration. But this time the lawmakers were all Democrats.
A quartet of senators and a dozen members of the House took the stage in a park across from the Capitol midday Wednesday to join hundreds of steelworkers, union faithful and environmentalists in denouncing President Obama’s bid for fast-track approval of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.
“I’ve never seen a trade agreement that is more secretive than this one,” Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) told the crowd. “What are they hiding? What they’re hiding is a huge shift from democratically elected governments to corporations all over the world, and that’s why we’re fighting.”
“The administration is engaged in new transparency with this agreement — transparency — so I brought a copy,” Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) said, holding up — nothing. “Oh. It’s transparent. You can’t see it.”
Ouch! The Hill covered yesterday’s rally, roundly ignored by the TV media, noting
Very few Democrats in the House have expressed support for fast-track, and labor unions are trying to wipe out any shot that a bill could get through Congress and boost the chances that a massive Asia-Pacific trade deal can get done.
[Sherrod] Brown urged the boisterous crowd to keep up the pressure on their lawmakers, arguing that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is an agreement that represents “a huge shift from democratically elected governments to huge corporations.”If you haven’t yet done so, now would be a good time to call your senators and congressperson to tell them you are against Fast Track Authority for TPP!
The Florida legislative session today marks day 45 out of 60, and the group gathered in Tallahassee has passed a whopping 22 bills. They can’t seem to agree on a budget, nor can they agree on how to move forward with health coverage for low-income Floridians.
Politico‘s Marc Caputo joined me on the show today to discuss the predicament. The fight over whether or not to expand Medicaid has been garnering national attention, though no solution.
Marc and I discussed the problems with this legislative session, the gerrymandering dilemma, and the Floridians running for president, including Marco Rubio – about whom you should read this and this… and there will be more!
Not too long after wrapping up my conversation with Marc came some breaking news: FL Gov Rick Scott is now suing the Obama administration for withholding federal healthcare funds in lieu of Medicaid expansion.
And that dear reader/listener is why we call it FloriDUH!
One more day until we stick a fork in this week… tomorrow, Antonia Juhasz joins me as we approach the 5th anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon explosion, and a Flashback Friday musical blast from the past to segue into the weekend, radio or not!
