Dem freshmen dig in for battle against party leadership (trade agreements)

[antigop]

http://www.workingassetsblog.com/sirota/

>>
Illinois freshman Rep. Phil Hare (D) has thrown down the gauntlet today, authoring a scathing op-ed in the Politico indicting his party's leadership for joining with President Bush and corporate lobbyists to push a series of NAFTA-style trade deals with Peru, Panama, Colombia and South Korea (known as The Secret Trade Deal of 2007 for being forged behind closed doors and concealed from the public for months). Hare points out that his party won Congress on a promise to reform America's trade policy and that endorsing job-killing, wage-destroying trade pacts just months later is a travesty of the highest order.

Let's be clear: Hare's op-ed is an act of courage, because the fight he is waging faces David-versus-Goliath odds against huge corporate campaign contributors - the Money Party that influences both political parties. As just one example, the drug cartel-connected Colombian government has put an army of former Clinton administration officials on its payroll to help push the Colombian Free Trade Agreement. That money buys not only votes, it buys rhetoric.
>>

Hare's op-ed is here:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0907/5912.html

[KurtNYC]

1. K&R

[redqueen]

2. Yup... they're not shy about it either...

what was the quote? Ram it through before anyone notices?

*sigh*

Meet the new boss...

[antigop]

3. Call Rep. Phil Hare's office -- thank him for his support and courage

http://hare.house.gov/zipform.html

Phone numbers at the bottom...

[kenfrequed]

4. Grr

Well at least there are a few principled freshmen in. I was afraid Rahm had rammed them all into his cookie cutter DLC friggin mold.

[Romulox]

5. It's about time SOMEBODY spoke up for working people...

:toast:

[Romulox]

6. "free trade", Charlie Rangel style:

"The Korean agreement gives automakers unfettered access to the U.S. market without requiring Seoul to dismantle barriers that have kept the Korean market virtually closed to U.S. products."

[cascadiance]

7. Perhaps we should send some donations his way!

Is there any bill number, etc. he might be working on to fight this? Perhaps if we had that, we could make the amount reflect that bill number to make sure that the message is being sent that we support his efforts here!

[frylock]

8. we can all thank ralph nader and his self-fulfilling prophecy

:sarcasm: