As expected, Obama backtracks on NAFTA

The corporate wing of the Democratic party hasn't lost any of its strength. If we can't even TALK about updating NAFTA then we are lost when it comes to agreements like GATT.

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration said on Monday that it had no plans to reopen negotiations on the North American Free Trade Agreement to revise its labor and environmental provisions, as then-Senator Barack Obama promised to do during his presidential campaign.

“The president has said we will look at all of our options, but I think they can be addressed without having to reopen the agreement,” said Ronald Kirk, the United States trade representative.

Mr. Kirk spoke in a conference call with reporters after returning from the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad over the weekend. He said President Obama conferred there with the leaders of Mexico and Canada — the other parties to the free trade agreement — and “they are all of the mind we should look for opportunities to strengthen Nafta.”

Though a formal review of the pact has yet to be completed, Mr. Kirk noted, both Mr. Obama and President Felipe Calderón of Mexico have said that “they don’t believe we have to reopen the agreement now.”

We've been betrayed yet again.

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sacks of shit

I'm sorry but this is just so obvious and I am getting very poed. They aren't interested in doing a damn thing that is what people voted for and what needs to be done. they are handing wall street tons of money, ignoring trade, outsourcing, manufacturing...

putting lobbyists into play which most assuredly want to outsource even more jobs...

I mean I am sorry but it feels like there was no administration change at all here.

Oh Well We Voted for Change

He is the President of the World, he will help every nation, India, China and Mexico before he helps the American Middle Class. What happened to the 3 million green jobs? Another 4 year wait and I campaigned for him.

Meanwhile in the Obama cheering section

I just took a beating at DKos for posting this article, expanding on it to show that Obama is pushing for a free trade agreement with Colombia, and declaring that this is a betrayal of labor union supporters.

With friends like this, who needs enemies?

Welcome to EP midtowng!

;) There is a reason why we are not partisan. You can say the emperor has no clothes, regardless of which emperor one is referring to and not get lynched!

Heh

I love Rob's "welcoming" you to EP.

Don't know about you, but I find less and less need to crosspost at DK. Everything except Sky-is-falling (but Obama will save us) or anti-GOP red meat falls like a rock. And analysis? who needs that?

Posting at DKos shouldn't be a problem

...as long as you don't beat on their god Obama in the process. Other Democrats are OK, but picking on his inner circle of advisors is almost as bad as picking on Obama himself. They're almost Republican in their reflexive, lock-step defense of the man. But cracks are starting to appear in the facade as his pandering to the politics of torture finds almost no support and fewer commenters willing to claim that this is just a head fake. They will eventually realize that Obama is neither populist nor progressive, but has been bought and paid for by Wall Street and the Defense Industry. As NDD states downthread, it's all about the money, and we don't have enough to make a difference.

But that doesn't mean you shouldn't post over there. They need to hear the message and you do a fantastic job of delivering that message...even if they're not listening right now. I always give you a rec, as long as I get over there in time to see your posts before they scroll off. But these days, I don't get over there very often. Spending too much time just trying to keep one step ahead of the banksters...

DKoz people are often not

DKoz people are often not objective in reasoning or debate. This forum is much more open to debate and different ideas.

Another thing I notice on Dkoz is the timing of a post. You will get attacked much more frequently in the morning the times before school/college classes start and the afternoon right after most classes end.

IMHO, I have no stats to back it but.....I think there are a lot of kids that post on the Dkoz. The debating tactic of kids is to name call and use pejorative language about those that disagree with them.

Disagree with the Dkoz kids and you will be called a Troll. I am in the belief that both Reps and Dems have done great harm to our economy. Many Dkoz would never, ever consider such an idea. To them, their party of choice can never, ever do anything wrong.

There are some on Dkoz that still put up with the extreme partisan thought......I gave up on expecting interesting debates.

DK & other sites

When you see an intelligent person on these other blogs who is focused on economics, invite them over to EP.

As far as DK goes, I don't know why it is so knee jerk, do not read hostile, but do believe many do not read the actual blog posts themselves. I think redstate can be similarly weird so let's be bi-partisan here on the bizarre rancor of some sites.

But it's a big wide blogosphere and there are many other political blogs as well as great economics blogs to read.

The key is to get other folks to spread their wings and start discovering other blogs.

Posting at DKos???

I'd never post there as they claim anything resembling the unvarnished truth corresponds to "conspiracy theory."

And would everybody please take note: whenever anyone admonishes you to write "your congress person or senator" they are either clueless or dishonest.

After all, does anyone really think their "congress person or senator" is going to pass your communication on to any of those 35,0000 plus lobbyists who actually run the US Congress? And does anyone really think any of those lobbyists give's a frozen rat's ass in Hell?

writing your reps & DK

There is no doubt the middle class needs to create some sort of PAC with huge funds in order to buy back Congress.

That said, some of these groups "writing Congress" actually do get somewhere, if just temporarily.

I'm thinking of "comprehensive" immigration reform. Literally they shut down the communication lies in Congress due to so many faxes, emails and phone calls. Of course Congress seemingly could care less what the people think so they are at it again.

As far as DK goes, many of us have posted extensively on DK, been in the "top recommended" slots and so forth. So, I wouldn't say "never post" at DK for many people find EP because of DK....more "take it all with a grain of salt", spread out and realize there are a hell of a lot of blogs out there and the DK "thought police" are well known at this point. The fact they are pissing off NDD and midtowng tells you something because both of them are top bloggers at DK. So in other words, none of us have been "banned" or "TRed" to some sort of crippled account etc.....

but my view, the reason for starting EP was there was no place to honestly, through the statistics, the facts, really examine economic, trade, etc. policy and results, regardless of how the facts "hit one's philosophy" and there also was no economic site anywhere which was a community site. I also didn't like the idea that only a "select few" people can get on the front page at most sites. That isn't very Democratic to me.

I also try to keep off all comments which are off topic and really watch for any sort of "attack mode" types who simply want to vent on others.

Plenty of exceptional people are writing, analyzing, watch dogging from the citizen peanut gallery at this point and that's us. So just tell others who you know are fact based, gravely concerned about EP and "spread your wings" to other blogs...DK is just one site.

I am glad you started EP

because you can give open dialog without being called a Troll. The posts are balanced to the point I have no idea of which way the politics lean. And that is good.

Amazing how the Obama Administration

keeps alienating its base support. Why is it that Democrats never understand this concept?

they don't care

as long as they always keep a real candidate from having a prayer's chance or having most of the gerrymandered districts in the house challenged.

I really feel 2006 was the best progress in terms of getting elected real candidates to represent their constituents, but not 2008.

The base doesn't have big $$$$$$

Money talks, ideology walks.

The downfall of the Dems was when they allowed themselves to be co-opted by corporate campaign money in the 60s and 70s, when they were fat, happy, and complacent in their Congressional majority.

One thing I point out to people is that 90% of the newspapers opposed FDR. He and the New Deal coalition were able to go around the newspapers by relying on unions and other organizations to get the word/vote out.

Big Money and Big Media will never really support leftish causes. Grass roots organizations must be marshalled instead.

He's not

He's not backtracking...realistically, just very few limited options. Think about it: Mexico (NAFTA) and its southern cousins (CAFTA) are basically hell holes. Cut them off completely, and what happens? Hence, Obama is trying to
convey that the U.S. cannot be a door mat, lest its ensuing unhealth plague the entire hemisphere. (And FYI, as a critical thinker I'm no Obama accolyte, but rather hold him to a high standard.)

Cut them off completely, and what happens?

We need to recall our troops from Iraq and station them in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas?

And then maybe finish what Nicholas Trist stopped- and just Annex Mexico.
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Executive compensation is inversely proportional to morality and ethics.

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Maximum jobs, not maximum profits.

He's a Globalist...

Yea, there are some out there suggestions in this movie...those should'nt frighten you, it's the other 50% that should worry you. This movie should really be called "The Government Deception."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw