Prequel: During the debate at the Democratic Platform Committee this morning, Ben Jealous warned that weak TPP language-- ironically offered by Lee Saunders of AFSCME-- will empower Trump. "We have from good authority," he said, "that the draft GOP platform opposes the TPP." He was joined by Nina Turner and Cornel West as the main spokespeople for a strong anti-TPP plank. The Hillary and Wasserman Schultz-nominated delegates saw to it that Ben Jealous' anti-TPP amendment failed, 106-74, while Bernie delegates yelled "Shame!" and the Clinton delegates congratulated each other. A Bernie delegate from Wisconsin, Robert Kraig, noted that "We’ve had no speech in favor of TPP, but we can’t bring ourselves to say that we oppose TPP?" Jim Hightower followed that up with an amendment saying that Democrats won't vote for TPP in a lame-duck session. It was voted down 104 to 71 and there were shouts of "sell out" in the room.-by emorej a hong kongThe biggest disrespect to voters ever: lame-duck passage of the TPP, using votes from retiring and defeated legislators, who will never again face the voters, even while their colleagues look forward to at least two years in which to distance themselves from “ancient history.”The political cowardice (and risk), of using lame-duck voter-evasion to secure the simple majority approval enabled by a prior “fast-track” vote, which was itself misleadingly promoted and corruptly arm-twisted, requires the new name “fast-duck,” although the full depth of its harm may be slow to emerge.President Hillary would be delighted if TPP has been removed from her front-burner by lame-duck passage, but she would pay a heavy price if this anti-democratic, provocative and inflammatory action proves to be a final nail in the coffin of the USA’s social contract and basic governability.Even if Obama was correct (which I fundamentally reject), that the nation as a whole would benefit from passing this insider-negotiated version of the TPP, without first doing all the persuading and horse-trading needed to obtain the consent of workers and unemployed (or at least to obtain the consent of a bare majority or of even half the voters), even then: the impending lame-duck passage would undermine the country’s ability to effectively adapt to the new burdens imposed by the TPP-- not only on our economy, but also on the weakened powers of our courts and other branches of our government and civil society.If the Democratic Party platform broadcasts its acceptance of Obama's desire to finalize TPP passage in the waning days of his Presidency, then all of their “legacies” will be dominated by this passage's transcendent stupidity-- as both politics and policy.
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