2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumElizabeth Warren Tells Obama To Put Up Or Shut Up On Trade
On Saturday, Warren and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) responded with a letter essentially telling Obama to put up or shut up. If the deal is so great, Warren and Brown wrote, the administration should make the full negotiation texts public before Congress votes on a "fast track" bill that would strip the legislative branch of its authority to amend it.
"Members of Congress should be able to discuss the agreement with our constituents and to participate in a robust public debate, instead of being muzzled by classification rules," Warren and Brown wrote in the letter obtained by The Huffington Post.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/25/elizabeth-warren-tells-ob_n_7142850.html
whathehell
(29,096 posts)cantbeserious
(13,039 posts)eom
diabeticman
(3,121 posts)Autumn
(45,120 posts)I wonder where on earth our Senators could have gotten that idea? This is the second time I have heard him put forth the notion that his TPP pact is open for all to weigh in on, including his donors and volunteers.
he gives a speech to volunteers and donors from Organizing for Action and actually says. "You need to tell me what's wrong with this trade agreement, not one that was passed 25 years ago," he said, urging his supporters to spread the word.
"We can't just oppose trade on reflex alone."
I think someone is confused. And it ain't Liz.
whathehell
(29,096 posts)truedelphi
(32,324 posts)Something I have noticed over the years: He has given speeches in one month touting one thing and then six months later, gives a second speech saying the reverse. There is not a single indication via body language or facial expressions that he is lying, or even that he has reversed his position.
He is good at giving speeches. But he doesn't demonstrate much if any curiosity about the issues. For instance: How he can appoint pro-GM people to head up entire departments at the FDA, and then not ask Michelle why most of her organic produce-eating friends and her are excited only about organics, and dismissive and angry about Monsanto, I don't know.
It could be that the office of the President is really akin to being the hood ornament on the Cadillac.
The Powers that Be ensure that the hood ornament is classy and respected by the public as a brand, but they also make sure that hood ornament is never going to upset their apple cart.
whathehell
(29,096 posts)know, he may have less power than we think.
It certainly DOES seem that "outside", probably corporate powers
are pulling the strings.
magical thyme
(14,881 posts)ISDS for a Huge one.
Increasing Big Pharma profits at expense of generics (and the poor) for another one.
Now show us all 15,000 pages so we can find out what other disasters are contained in TPP.
I get the feeling Obama has his fingers in his ears and is saying, "LA-LA-LA I can't hear you."
SusanCalvin
(6,592 posts)I don't trust anything that's 15,000 pages. Too much scope to hide stuff.
Cal33
(7,018 posts)magical thyme
(14,881 posts)the question is how much shit can they uncover in the timeframe allowed, and will it be enough for the bought and paid for congress to decide to do what's right for the country instead of what's right for their personal wealth.
My independent senator Angus King has serious reservations about TPP and I suspect will vote it down.
Unfortunately, per a recent email response to my email re: TPP, my gop senator Susan Collins is worried about Maine's shoe manufacturing, but that's as far as she seems to take it. Unfortunately, she failed to recognize that horse left the barn when dexter was sold to berkshire hathaway and then closed in '08. Actually, it just dawned on me that maybe I should respond reminding her that Maine's shoe manufacturing is already done and gone...
arcane1
(38,613 posts)There's that.
Autumn
(45,120 posts)I'm confused there.
arcane1
(38,613 posts)truedelphi
(32,324 posts)You might need to permanently silence us!
arcane1
(38,613 posts)Nothing!
KoKo
(84,711 posts)UCmeNdc
(9,601 posts)Plus the Public should be able to understand and weigh in on the bill to allow their respective congress people know which way they should vote.
It seems they want to take congressional responsibility out of the equation.
truedelphi
(32,324 posts)And not an Agreement?
What's the difference? Well, for starters, an Act requires the approval of a two thirds majority vote of Congress, while an agreement only needs 51% !!!
So even before this got "fast tracked" we in the public saw an important factor removed
from the Congressional approval process.
appalachiablue
(41,182 posts)TJ, Madison and others would be all over this-
MissDeeds
(7,499 posts)jalan48
(13,901 posts)appalachiablue
(41,182 posts)zeemike
(18,998 posts)And now she has Sherrod Brown with her.
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)We are sick and tired of this corporatocracy!
Martin Eden
(12,880 posts)... should bring a tiny spy cam, photograph ever page, and forward it to Wikileaks.
jwirr
(39,215 posts)get to go in alone.
Martin Eden
(12,880 posts)a controlled blink triggers a camera in eyeglasses
Most of the congress critters read all 15,000 pages, right?
jwirr
(39,215 posts)SoapBox
(18,791 posts)SHOW Americans, whose lives will most likely be change, probably for the worse, the documents.
Transparency my ass.
WillyT
(72,631 posts)stillwaiting
(3,795 posts)DrBulldog
(841 posts)... by herself she is making Obama look like a hypocritical lying fool.
Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)Last edited Sat Apr 25, 2015, 10:39 PM - Edit history (1)
Why this may be classified and understand why the details is not available. As an attorney I would think she would understand the negotiating process but maybe she doesn't.
truedelphi
(32,324 posts)Inside The Federalist Papers, that it was considered Totally Unconstitutional and UnDemocratic to have our government's highest elected officials negotiating away our sovereign rights in secret with other officials from foreign nations?
So if you want to talk about "the legal nuts and bolts" and the strengths of this or that negotiating ploy, first and foremost you need to realize what it actually means to have a Democracy.
If the workings of a democracy are not important to you, and your main concern and objective is in giving strength to a Trade Act that is only semi-Constitutional (and probably not even semi!) please indicate that all you care about is the One Percent.
Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)The Congressional members having to be present when their staff is reading the information availBle to them at the present time.
markmyword
(180 posts)We've begged her to run for President and she's refused a million times.
What IF Hillary supports this trade deal, which I bet she does.(Right now she won't say).
Could this TPP, which would be disastrous for America and its workers, be what gets Warren to throw her hat into the ring?
I'm sure Hilary asked Warren NOT to run, and Warren has constantly refused to consider running, probably not wanting to get in Hillary's way for the nomination.
I'm tired, fed-up with the same politicians regardless of the party, that are puppets for Wall Street, the Bankers, the Koch brothers and all those other 1%.
Warren is the ONLY politician, other than Bernie Sanders, Sherrod Brown for(TPP) and wonderful Dennis Kicinich who cares about America and the American people.
Somebody HAS to give me my country back from these horrible, crazy, greedy, power hungry people, who do NOT care about my country.
PLEASE SENATOR WARREN RUN FOR PRESIDENT?
zentrum
(9,865 posts)What is so "classified" about it that the people it effects can't know?
One of the many problems with fast track, is that it gives the same powers to any coming President. Do we really want Jeb able to make deals under such protected secrecy? In its own way it sounds as detrimental to democracy as Citizen's United. Do we r[i]eally need to give corporations more power?
Call the WH.
Call your Senators.
Make noise.
red dog 1
(27,875 posts)RUN LIZ RUN!
UCmeNdc
(9,601 posts)Seems like the GOP is happy with a one world government!
smile