Elizabeth Warren Tells Obama To Put Up Or Shut Up On Trade

[UCmeNdc]

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]

1. Go on with your bad self, Liz!

[cantbeserious]

2. That Won't Sit Well - The Oligarchs, Corporations And Banks Don't Like Threats

eom

[diabeticman]

3. I think Brown and Warren are asking for something fair and reasonable.

[Autumn]

4. Interesting. What gets on his nerves is the "notion that his TPP pact is "secret,"

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.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/23/obama-tpp-opposition_n_7132208.html
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]

6. Of course, because he knows it's true and doesn't know how to defend it.

[truedelphi]

15. He probably also doesn't even know what is in it.

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.

[KoKo]

19. ....!

[whathehell]

26. I'm not sure about that, but you might be right..Even if he does

know, he may have less power than we think.

It certainly DOES seem that "outside", probably corporate powers

are pulling the strings.

[magical thyme]

7. well thanks to Wikileaks, we already have told him some of what's wrong with it.

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]

30. You know.....

I don't trust anything that's 15,000 pages. Too much scope to hide stuff.

[Cal33]

37. And with 15,000 pages of material, will the debate ever come to an end?

[magical thyme]

38. the deadline for the vote ends the debate

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]

8. Well, they were told they'd be committing a crime if they spoke about it.

There's that.

[Autumn]

9. And yet he asks volunteers and donors from Organizing for Action to tell him whats wrong with it.

I'm confused there.

[arcane1]

11. Indeed, me too!! n/t

[truedelphi]

16. Arcane 1, now that you have mentioned that, I am assuming

You might need to permanently silence us!

[arcane1]

20. Who, me? I said nothing!

Nothing!

[KoKo]

17. For sure......

[UCmeNdc]

5. President Obama should let Congress debate and read every nuance of the bill

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]

18. Are you aware that in the early days of the Republic, such a Trade Act would be an "Act"

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]

35. Righto, big difference between Act and Agreement, intentionally-

TJ, Madison and others would be all over this-

[MissDeeds]

10. Woo hoo!

[jalan48]

12. Great to hear Democrats speaking out.

[appalachiablue]

36. Absolutely! I was beginning to think we'd gone extinct-

[zeemike]

13. That troublesome woman is at it again.

And now she has Sherrod Brown with her.

[Enthusiast]

14. Yay, Elizabeth! Kick ass! Oh, baby!

We are sick and tired of this corporatocracy!

[Martin Eden]

21. A congresscritter with access to the documents ...

... should bring a tiny spy cam, photograph ever page, and forward it to Wikileaks.

[jwirr]

32. There are 15,000 pages. I think anyone trying this would be caught very quickly. Plus they do not

get to go in alone.

[Martin Eden]

33. 007 technology

a controlled blink triggers a camera in eyeglasses

Most of the congress critters read all 15,000 pages, right?

[jwirr]

34. Someone should.

[SoapBox]

22. Yes...

SHOW Americans, whose lives will most likely be change, probably for the worse, the documents.

Transparency my ass.

[WillyT]

23. K & R !!!

[stillwaiting]

24. Too much is at stake. It needs to be this way. K&R. nt

[DrBulldog]

25. This is how great Elizabeth Warren is ...

... by herself she is making Obama look like a hypocritical lying fool.

[Thinkingabout]

27. Warren should spend some time talking to her Congressional members and find out

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]

40. What? Yes, What!?! You are not aware that the Founding Fathers decided, and you can read this

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]

41. I am not referring to negotiating a treaty, my goodness. I was talking about

The Congressional members having to be present when their staff is reading the information availBle to them at the present time.

[markmyword]

28. Could This Be The Deal Breaker For Warren?

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]

29. Hear! Hear!

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.

[nenagh]

31. K&R

[red dog 1]

39. K&R...Thanks for posting

RUN LIZ RUN!

[UCmeNdc]

42. Not one GOP congress person will side and stand with Elizabeth Warren on this

Seems like the GOP is happy with a one world government!

smile