(H/T: @exjon) Ooh, this should be entertaining: “The feud between Obama and the left continued Saturday, when Warren and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) called on the president to immediately declassify the negotiating terms of a pending trade deal with a host of nations known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership.” Not least because you have to sit for a moment and think before you can figure out who is being more petty. Is it Barack Obama, for suggesting that Elizabeth Warren is like one of those people who believe in death panels*? Or is it Elizabeth Warren, because she is apparently physically incapable of understanding that Election Night 2014 has noticeably changed the relative relevance of her opinions?
Moving onto Warren’s demand (Sen. Sherrod Brown is, as usual, merely there to be seen): the President will of course ignore her ultimatum, because Barack Obama would like a trade deal and the progressive wing of the Democratic party does not. More to the point, thanks to the aforementioned Election Night the Senate is now run by the political party that officially likes the idea of increased trade. The most likely scenario, then, is one where the GOP largely forces through fast-track legislation with whatever support Barack Obama scrounges up: which means that the Democrats will be the ones having a bruising internal fight for a change.
What’s not to like?
Moe Lane (crosspost)
PS: Democrats hoping beyond hope that a sufficient number of Republicans may be persuaded to vote no on fast-track simply to spite President Obama should note two things. One, the GOP knows that Barack Obama will not be President in 2017. Two, the GOP pretty much despises all progressive politicians on sight. Particularly all the ones that call us names – and, lo! All the name-callers hate fast-track.
PPS: If Senator Warren does not like the final details of the TPP deal when they become available to her, Senator Warren is perfectly free to vote no. Which she will, of course (I will not assume that she will even bother to read it, first). If Senator Warren does not like being relegated to this position, then I suppose Senator Warren should have done a better job at helping the Democrats keep their Senate majority.
*Yes. I know, I know: the current system for rationing health care will in fact lead to situations where your health care decisions may in fact be subject to a formal bureaucrat’s veto. But it’s like ‘swift-boating:’ the fact that it doesn’t register as an insult to us doesn’t mean that it’s not a fairly vicious one to members of the Left. Or that the person being insulted won’t take major offense, either.
Boy, if THAT isn’t the classic case of rooting for INJURIES. (Metaphorically speaking…I wish them both the best of health, and long lives in which to ponder on and repent of their misdeeds.)
Hmmmmm. Is there any reason the Publicans can’t slow roll this bill – give Sen. Warren ample chance to amend the bill and bloviate about the issue? Per-haps the Prez could be persuaded to incentivize the Publicans for shutting the old bat up.
Here is the problem with the whole bill, as I understand it from my research: It has language built in to it that permenantly cedes to the signatories the ability to immigrate at will among the parties, just as the European Union opened up unlimited immigration among/between the parties. This removes the Constitutional control over immigration that the Founders designated to Congress, in the same way that they have ceded other ennumerated powers away to the Executive Branch, with no functional control or oversight, thenceforth. I am not in favor of giving unelected beaurocrats this kind of power, as we have seen their love of country and competence on display, lo these last 6-7 years especially. Given the cozy relationship between Big Business and Big Government, can you not imagine the abuse of power and exportation of jobs that will occur under this license?
The issue of immigration policy aside, in toto, this doesn’t appear to be a winning issue for the country at all. What say you?