Fast Track just passed the House (Updated with money facts)
Just want to let everyone know that the Fast Track bill just passed the house. The vote was 218 to 208 with 28 Dem’s voting for it. Imagine that. no provision for workers harmed by this and it passes.
From the article here is Ryan’s take:
“It gives America credibility,” Ryan said of TPA. “And boy, do we need credibility right now.”
Who is he concerned about looking creditable too?
On to the senate. Maybe all the talk about it being unconstitutional lately someone with money that gives more than lip service to being a patriot will step up.
Update:
Via Hullabaloo sending me to a Guardian article comes this bit of info on the flow of dollars. Note the time schedule.
- Out of the total $1,148,971 given, an average of $17,676.48 was donated to each of the 65 “yea” votes.
- The average Republican member received $19,673.28 from corporate TPP supporters.
- The average Democrat received $9,689.23 from those same donors.
- In just 24 hours, Wyden and five of those Democratic holdouts – Michael Bennet of Colorado, Dianne Feinstein of California, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Patty Murray of Washington, and Bill Nelson of Florida – caved and voted for fast-track.
- Bennet, Murray, and Wyden – all running for re-election in 2016 – received $105,900 between the three of them. Bennet, who comes from the more purple state of Colorado, got $53,700 in corporate campaign donations between January and March 2015, according to Channing’s research.
I guess they were the smart ones holding out for more? But, of course we know where the real money goes.
Senator Rob Portman of Ohio, who is the former US trade representative, has been one of the loudest proponents of the TPP. (In a comment to the Guardian Portman’s office said: “Senator Portman is not a vocal proponent of TPP – he has said it’s still being negotiated and if and when an agreement is reached he will review it carefully.”) He received $119,700 from 14 different corporations between January and March, most of which comes from donations from Goldman Sachs ($70,600), Pfizer ($15,700), and Procter & Gamble ($12,900). Portman is expected to run against former Ohio governor Ted Strickland in 2016 in one of the most politically competitive states in the country.
How nice, the prior negotiator getting $119,700 in 3 months time.
I have to agree with Gaius Publius at Hullabaloo, he thinks they are selling themselves well short of the potential earnings of those buying them. It’s no wonder we can’t get decent policy. They don’t even value themselves.
(cue soundtrack: Lip Service, Elvis Costello)
“…But everybody’s just – going through the motions – everybody’s just going through the motions – Are we really only – going through the motions?
Lip Service – is all you’ll ever – get from me…”
Courtesy Dr. Black here’s a fun link: http://www.readthetpp.com/
Finally it can be read!
One might reasonably believe that Mr. Ryan’s struggle for “credibility” extends to the debate over the TPP itself. Inasmuch as both sides need to sell a narrative that this battle is significant and closely fought, a series of predictable positions and tactics is adopted which constitutes a kind of “kabuki theatre” resulting in the eventual (close, for fundraising purposes) adoption of the TPP.
The puppets cast their shadows and provide a dramatic backdrop for a decision made by the sponsors of the election show a long time ago. And so it goes.
If there is political engagement on this question I would suggest that is water under the bridge of the 2014 midterms. An election cycle that was noted both by the general disengagement of the Democratic party and the now-usual irregularities in actual process (e.g. the “Miracle” comeback of Brownback and Kobach in my birth state of KS). Bug or feature?
I would suggest that a more complete picture of the political corruption around the TPP would include the dark money that flowed into those midterm campaigns. A very useful post on AB right after the election featured disclosures on total expenditures which we eventually used to figure out the total spent per vote. In some sparsely populated districts/states this was multiple $10s per vote.
If you’re surprised at how little the corprocrats had to spend to get this vote perhaps you’re not looking at how much they spent to ensure they only needed this many votes.
Every time a pol says the word “credibility”, I want to puke! 50,000 young American men died for “credibility”.
The question I have is, how much do these guys USUALLY get from these corporations, and how has that changed as this legislation has progressed?
In my not very humble opinion, only those who are registered to vote in an election for which a person has announced his candidacy, can contribute to that candidate. No corporations can vote. No PAC’s can vote. No unions can vote.
We need a new Constitutional Amendment for this.