It all comes down to today! As I write this post, the House is still debating TAA (Trade Assistance Adjustment), which would cut over $700 million from Medicare to help pay the $2.9 billion cost of this bill, which provides help to workers displaced by outsourcing, made possible by these so-called free trade agreements, and TPA (Trade Promotion Authority), better known as Fast Track. Despite the best gyrations by the shills speaking in favor of this horrible piece of legislation, it would not give Congress a greater role in negotiating trade deals. In fact, it does the opposite by relieving them of their responsibility to read and understand, debate and amend legislation before voting on it. This takes away their ability to do that.
I’ll check back in later with the results.
On today’s show, I spoke with Jim Dean, chair of Democracy for America, who sent an email out to the members of Congress who’ll be voting on these bills today that said
“Ahead of today’s votes we wanted to be very clear to Democratic members of Congress: If you vote for either Medicare-cutting Trade Adjustment Assistance legislation or Fast Track Authority for the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership, we will not lift a finger or raise a penny to protect you when you’re attacked in 2016, we will encourage our progressive allies to join us in leaving you to rot, and we will actively search for opportunities to primary you with a real Democrat.
“Those primaries could happen next year or they could happen in election cycles to come, but, make no mistake, today’s vote to cut Medicare and fast track the destruction of American jobs will be remembered and will either haunt you or make you a hero.”
Stay tuned…
As today is Friday, we spent some time with John LeBoutillier, our resident Republican (who is anti- Fast Track & TPP, and doesn’t get the attraction of Scott Walker, Lindsey Graham, Jeb Bush or the rest of the GOP clown car occupants).
And for our Flashback Friday segment, I shared by May 3, 1999 interview with Gregg Alexander of the band New Radicals. On Monday I told you that Ashley Biden had reference the New Radicals (though she called them Free Radicals) song “You Get What You Give,” saying her brother Beau used to play it for her, and she considered it his theme song.
It’s a song of hope and doing the right thing.. I thought it fitting for today…
Keeping my fingers crossed about today’s votes, I’ll be back Monday morning, radio or not!
