The Wall of Shame: The 13 Senate Dems who voted with GOP to advance trade bill

[KoKo]

13 Senate Dems vote with GOP to advance trade bill

By Seung Min Kim

6/23/15 1:25 PM EDT

Updated 6/23/15 1:40 PM EDT

Thirteen Senate Democrats on Tuesday helped advance fast-track trade powers for President Barack Obama after overcoming their own concerns about whether a related aid bill for workers would pass the Republican-controlled Congress.

The final tally on the procedural vote for granting Obama trade promotion authority was 60-37. Five Republicans — including two running for president — broke with the GOP and voted against advancing the bill.

The 13 Democrats were:

• Michael Bennet, Colorado

• Maria Cantwell, Washington

• Tom Carper, Delaware

• Chris Coons, Delaware

• Dianne Feinstein, California

• Heidi Heitkamp, North Dakota

• Tim Kaine, Virginia

• Claire McCaskill, Missouri

• Patty Murray, Washington

• Bill Nelson, Florida

• Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire

• Mark Warner, Virginia

• Ron Wyden, Oregon

Republicans who voted against advancing the fast-track bill were:

• Susan Collins, Maine

• Ted Cruz, Texas

• Rand Paul, Kentucky

• Jeff Sessions, Alabama

• Richard Shelby, Alabama

Those were the same senators who voted against the measure in late May, with the exception of Cruz, who announced his reversal Tuesday morning. (Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah was also a “no” vote in May, but he did not vote Tuesday.)

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/06/tpa-trade-bill-democrat-vote-tally-119331.html#ixzz3duNjS1Sz

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/06/tpa-trade-bill-democrat-vote-tally-119331.html?hp=l3_4

[still_one]

1. I thought Wyden and Murray were against the TPA. Guess I was wrong

[Lizzie Poppet]

4. I've been a Wyden supporter for years...

I've been a Wyden supporter for years, but he blew this one. So very disappointed...

[Bluenorthwest]

13. Wyden voted for NAFTA and for CAFTA, as did Murray and Cantwell.

His vote, no more surprising than the sun coming up in the morning.

[KamaAina]

11. For some reason, most of the Northwest delegation drank the Kool-Aid

[cascadiance]

16. I guess they think that America will forget that the Battle for Seattle over NAFTA...

... was up here in the Northwest! I think there will be a lot of people taking to the streets up here for primary challenges to Wyden and Murray in Washington, but for many of our house reps that swallowed the koolaid too!

Hopefully California can get a good replacement for Barbara Boxer when she leaves the senate then so you don't have two DiFi's there!

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

37. All I remember from WTO

was a lot of assholes who thought trashing a private business was sticking it to the man.

[Elwood P Dowd]

18. No, they cashed the checks. (nm)

[appalachiablue]

20. Timber fom the NW and CA is shipped to China for cardboard, etc. I've read. Sad.

[former9thward]

47. There is a tremendous amount of trade that goes in and out of the NW ports.

[Robbins]

2. here in MO

I am done with McCaskill.i won't be supporting her in 2018 like i did in 2012.I donated to her campagin.

who would have thought manchin in WV would act more like a dem than some in more reliable dem states.

[aspirant]

3. Oregon has DeFazio

who do we have in Colorado and Washington State to primary these Corporatists?

[Ichingcarpenter]

5. Tim Kaine, Virginia .. Obama's buddy

and former head of the democratic party that lost us the house and the senate during his leadership.

[Betty Karlson]

10. Which was due to constant belittling

of the concerns of the "fucking retarded left wing".

[appalachiablue]

21. Ooh, I don't like that at all. Was Kaine involved in that too?

[FSogol]

27. No, he wasn't. n/t

[Betty Karlson]

34. The quote is from Chicago's "favorite" mayor

who was chief of staff at the white house at that time.

Kaine was nevertheless in charge when the campaigns were laid out that accused the left of "wanting too much" and "wanting a pony" or "a unicorn" and so on. 2010 was campaigned on the idea that Democrats had to apologise for not administrating like Republicans.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

54. NO, HE WAS NOT!!

[Freddie Stubbs]

6. Only four of those Democrats are up for reelection next year, and

none of those have any Democratic opposition yet.

[RiverLover]

8. Not good. But good to know.

Thanks for the info.

[cascadiance]

19. We then can focus our energies on getting those four replaced this year then!

And if we can do so in getting them all replaced, perhaps that will send a strong message to other Democrats that did this (or thought about voting this way) that we're coming after them later too if they continue to PISS OFF the base with this unconstitutional surrender of our democratic process that they have engaged in to reward themselves with money, power, and personal favors from those that don't care about the rest of us.

[CrispyQ]

7. Not surprised to see Michael Bennet's name up there.

When you have crappy senators, six year terms are too long.

[fizzgig]

45. i posted on his fb page today

told him he's lost all my support and i hope he gets primaried from the left.

i keep up on his and gardner's fb and i don't think i've ever seen a single comment in support of this for one reason or another on either page.

[Autumn]

61. Michael Bennet is a fucking ass, rude as hell.

[KoKo]

9. Repub Senator John Cornyn on Senate Floor Praising that this gives a President 6 Years of Authority

to "pass More Trade Bills." He says its an example of "Congress finally Working for The People." He praised President Obama.

He was preceded by Senator Bernie Sanders who gave an impassioned floor speech about what a blow this is for American Workers following the other disastrous Trade Deals which have caused American Workers job losses.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

12. I just emailed my senators

Cantwell and Murray expressing my disappointment. This is extremely frustrating............

[truebrit71]

14. California has the wrong Senator retiring...

Really wish DiFi would stop pretending to be a Democrat...When Rand Paul and Ted Cruz are on the right side of a bill you are OFFICIALLY doing it wrong...

[senseandsensibility]

49. She is horrible.

I knew she would do this.

[doc03]

15. WTF Ted Cruz votes to save our jobs and 13 Democrats vote

sell us out!

[underpants]

32. Cruz's excuse is that he was promised an end to the Import Export bank

At least that is what I heard on RW radio. So consider the source.

[Recursion]

42. Somehow parts of the left have turned on ExIm too

No idea why. It's a great New Deal program to boost US exports. But Grayson et al are running ads against it.

[cascadiance]

17. We shouldn't let Menendez off the hook either when he chose not to vote today!

He should be hung out to dry with these other 13 senators that were traitors. You needed to come and vote this down if you want to be viewed as a real Democrat in my book!

[JustAnotherGen]

53. He's in enough trouble as it is

Our option on the Right was not palatable in 2012. And if he is weak in 2018 - we may end up with a Libertarian Senator. The Republicans have no one - but Ken Kaplan is pro civil rights and liberties (he doesn't have one bigoted or anti woman bone in his body), anti military, and for shrinking the Government.

Buono is a flawless liberal and progressive - but this state doesn't deserve her - and neither does the Democratic Party after they ignored her bid for Governor.

[Octafish]

22. Don't worry! Our President will never sign the Bill.

He's a real Democrat who'd never side with the Greedheads in the GOP. Oh.

[doc03]

35. It's that old chess game, he has them right where he

wants them.

[Octafish]

56. Well, there is money for all the people who'll be ''displaced'' by TPP.

Plus, it came from the leech-filled Medicaid program.

So what if it comes to $42.50 per worker? It's more than they ever did for Goldman Sachs.

[doc03]

60. My job was lost from imports and I was offered the

TAA so called training. It was bullshit training for jobs that either don't pay a living wage or don't exist in this area anyway. I was 61 at the time so I just used up my unemployment then at 62 the company offered to pay our medical insurance until we were 65 if we took our early retirement. About 6 months after that the company filed bankruptcy and dropped the insurance. I was lucky because I received a PBGC pension and was eligible for a 65% tax credit for the insurance premium. Many others weren't eligible for that and had to pay $1800 a month for 2 people. Thanks Bill Clinton. Now Obama does the same sellout with TPP. We may as well elect a gd Republican and get it over with.

[Octafish]

63. I am truly sorry, doc03.

I believe you know that my attempt at humor was not meant to offend.

For me, also, it's personal. I live next door to Detroit, where I've spent most of my near-six decades of existence. Most every one I know who works for a living has seen their jobs, pensions, families, homes, and lives disrupted by the greedheads -- from Washington to Lansing to the board rooms running great industries into the ground. Some background:

Here in Michigan, there aren't as many UAW members as when NAFTA got passed. A lot less. NAFTA went into effect on Jan. 1, 1994.



It's not all bad, though. What were once-bankrupt car makers and car suppliers are doing great, hiring like crazy. The problem for U.S. workers is that most of the hiring is for new plants overseas.

Consider the case of DELPHI Automotive, a parts maker spun-off when General Motors couldn't make it sufficiently profitable:

Talk about a turnaround. Delphi's epic 2005 bankruptcy exacted high costs on communities, unions and the pensions of salaried retirees. Yet the creative destruction of the four-year ordeal, shaped by management, private equity investors and the demands of the Obama auto task force, produced a global supplier that now offers 33 product lines from 141 manufacturing sites in 33 countries and employs 160,000 worldwide — only 5,000 of which work inside the United States.

-- Daniel Howes, Detroit News

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/columnists/daniel-howes/2015/02/18/howes-delphi-surges-quietly-one-regret/23655511/

The above is from a business columnist describing the good work of DELPHI's then-president in turning the company around. "Good work" is, of course, defined in maximizing shareholder value. "Shareholder," seems to me, is defined as "Owner." To "Them," workers are defined as "Peons."

We now are seeing the peons get kicked off the farm and out onto the cold prairie, where we can "fend for ourselves." While these are un-democratic times, as long as two of are left, Democracy has a fighting chance.

[doc03]

64. No problem I took it as sarcasm. Even as bad as Democrats

are I seriously wouldn't vote for any Republican either.

[taught_me_patience]

23. I'm glad Feinstein voted for the TPP

It will be very beneficial to California. I live in a huge port city, Long Beach, and port jobs support a huge portion of the economy. Notice, west coast senators voting for the TPP... they know it'll be beneficial for their constituents.

[Elwood P Dowd]

25. But the majority of the country will suffer because this corporate written fake free trade deal

is mostly about more corporate control and not trade. The USTR that wrote the damn thing is run by Wall Street executives from places like Citigroup and Bank of America.

[Recursion]

40. Nah, it will be like NAFTA

Lots of jobs will disappear and lots more will be created. The country on the whole will do better but coastal cities will get most of the benefits at the expense of the interior.

How DU has managed to convince itself that the 20 years since NAFTA were bad for workers, despite every metric showing otherwise, is an interesting question. Somehow Perot's base seems to have found a home here.

[former9thward]

48. I'm sure you will be posting links on all the jobs NAFTA created.

[senseandsensibility]

51. Links will not be forthcoming.

But you know that.

[Recursion]

52. Here's a good start

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/NAFTA's_effect_on_United_States_employment

Has a pretty good section on job destruction and job creation. Reading it will take accepting the notion that both happened, which seems difficult for DU (again: where the hell were people here between 1995 and 2007?)

[former9thward]

58. NAFTA is just one piece of the problem.

High paid manufacturing jobs are leaving the U.S. and lower paid service industry jobs are increasing. We can argue about the net job gain/loss figure all day long but the overall problem is lower paying jobs. Will the TPP be the end of the world? No. But it is a symptom of a very troubled economy. All over the world nations now do what only the U.S. could do post WW II. This competition is not going away, it will only increase. There is not a politician in either party that has an answer for it and so no one addresses it except in very vague terms.

[Baitball Blogger]

24. Bill Nelson of Florida.

Not much of a Democrat, which makes him perfect for Florida.

[merrily]

26. I don't get Wyden and Murray at all.

[Recursion]

38. Their states will gain exports

On the whole coastal states will probably do better than interior states, except for big sky country which will do well from oil and agriculture.

[merrily]

43. Thanks. I should have put that together. I knew that about coastal states.

I was thinking politics, not geography.

[Le Taz Hot]

28. FUCKING FEINSTEIN!!!!!!

And she is the Democratic Party Establishment favorite. Remember that the next time the DPE tries to shove someone down your throat, especially in 2016. We HAVE to get rid of these DINOs. I will be SO GLAD when she's outta here in 4 more years. At least Boxer remembered her progressive roots.

[djean111]

29. Well, no more votes for Bill Nelson of Florida, or Debbie Wasserman-DINO, either.

And any other Floridian in that New Democrat Coalition.
I figure that personally, in my immediate friends and family, I can affect about 8-10 votes. Primary and general election. No more voting for DINOs.

[abelenkpe]

30. Feinstein!!!!!!!

Gawd, she's such an embarrassment.

[yorgatron]

31. fucking Difi.

[MerryBlooms]

33. Terribly disappointed in Wyden and Murray.

[ibegurpard]

36. Oregon can get rid of Wyden

Make it so.

[Recursion]

39. Oregon exports a lot

And transships even more.

[ibegurpard]

41. Add Blumenauer, Schrader and Bonamici to that list as well.

[davidpdx]

46. Amen to that

I am in Scharder's district. In the last election I did not cast a ballot for or against him in both the primary or GE. I hope he gets a good primary challenger.

Wyden needs to get his ass primaried as well. He has let Oregon down. I wrote him a long note yesterday, but it probably was too late.

I certainly believe in free and fair trade but Fast Track and the TPP are pieces of shit (I know, tell me how you really feel).

I live over in South Korea and buy Oregon products as often as I can to support the economy of my state (cheese, beer, and wine mostly). I even stop and tell people in Costco how good Tillamook Cheese is. Dammit where is my commission check?

[fizzgig]

44. bennet's my senator and i posted on his facebook page today

i told him he has lost my support and i hope he gets primaried from the left. i honestly doubt he can even keep his seat next year, anyway. the fucking mouth-breathers booted udall in favor of that puke bagger cory gardner last year.

my rep supports it, too, and it makes me want to scream. very progressive in a lot of ways, but certainly not here.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

55. Which is weird, don't you think? If a rep/sen has a record of progressivism on most issues...

but on this one issue, he/she votes for TPP, wouldn't that raise a flag that perhaps we should wait and see what happens?

Maybe there's something about this TPP that is not as bad as it is being made out to be.

I'm willing to see what's really going on here.

[sabrina 1]

50. Feinstein is retiring with her war profits, as I understand it.

The rest must be primaried and ousted from those positions because it is clear they do not represent the people or the Constitution they swore to defend and protect.

The Unions threatened to work to oust anyone who supported this abomination. So let's hope they will do so. They have money to spend, which used to go to the Dem Party. I can think of no better use for it than to get these betrayers out of Congress and replace them with people who actually work for the People.

[kentuck]

57. Pro-business Democrats will always betray you on the important economic issues...

But they vote with Democrats on the social issues.

[Omaha Steve]

59. Several on the list Marta and I have donated to before

Good luck with them getting $ next time.

[phylny]

62. BOTH of my Virginia senators. Both.

I sent money, I voted for them, not again.