ABC Digs Into Clinton Trade Hypocrisy - Clinton Campaign Responds With More Deception

On Monday, I wrote about Hillary Clinton airing an ad decrying the closure of a defense manufacturing factory that her husband, Bill Clinton, helped close by approving the sale of the company to a Chinese state-owned firm. Now, ABC News is running with the story, and uncovers some more ugly details. The Clinton campaign has responded not by fessing up, but by putting out more dishonest deceptions.

From Jake Tapper:

"A memo prepared for [Indiana Senator Evan] Bayh by the non-partisan Congressional Research Service earlier this year stated that the Clinton administration could have objected to the sale under CFIUS, but it did not...In 2000, also during Bill Clinton's presidency, Magnequench purchased from UGIMAG the factory in Valparaiso that manufactured the Neo magnets. President Clinton's administration took no steps to stop the purchases in 2000, either."

The sale was a pretty serious national security issue, not so much because the technology was sensitive, but because the sale means our military has to rely on foreign companies for critical weaponry. Here's Tapper:

The two Chinese companies were headed by the husbands of the first and second daughters of then-Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping. One of those daughters was at that time "vice minister of China's State Science and Technology Commission, whose responsibilities included acquiring military technologies by whatever means necessary," according to David Cay Johnston in Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Corporations Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (And Stick You With the Bill).

"Complaints about the sale of Magnequench were made to the U.S. government because of the military applications for the magnets," Johnston reports. "Still, the Clinton administration, an ardent proponent of globalization, approved the sale."

Around that time, Shingleton says, "there was talk about the national security issue and the loss of jobs because they were leaving. Some of the higher-wage jobs left immediately [in 2000]. I knew personally some people who were managers and who lost their jobs."

Not surprisingly, the Clinton campaign is compounding its deception with more deception as it tries to explain away this latest controversy. McClatchy today quotes Clinton spokesman Jonathan Swain claiming that "In 1995, when this group bought Magnequench, there were assurances made that production would stay in the United States." But as ABC recounts, the Congressional Research Service reports that the state-owned Chinese company that Clinton allowed to purchase Magnequench "promised to keep those Anderson, Ind., jobs in the U.S. only until 2005."

This is about as pristine an example of Clintonian deception and parsing as you are going to find. First comes the pander - an ad that conveys that signature Clinton bite-the-bottom-lip, feel-your-pain message of empathy and outrage. Then comes the revelation that the whole thing Clinton supposedly feels bad about was originally brought about by the Clinton administration, which she endlessly touts. And finally there is the lying - pretending that there were "assurances" that what happened wouldn't happen, when in fact those assurances were not what's being claimed.

With both Indiana and North Carolina being among the two worst-hit states by the Clinton-backed NAFTA/PNTR policies that this Magnequench controversy epitomizes, you would think this would make a perfect issue for Barack Obama to start talking about.

Join the book club for David Sirota's upcoming book, The Uprising, due out on 5/27.

Comments

[lvdragonlady]

[our military has to rely on foreign companies for critical weaponry] - It is a damn shame when politicians sell American and it military out to some foreign country, but to make a few bucks. All Americans should be up in arms behind this kind of thing. We do not just lose our jobs but we are putting our men and women at risk having to use foreign make items to defend themselves.
America, what kind of weapons would you want to buy, ones made in American or made by some foreign country??
What if our government pisses them off, all they have to do is change the specs on whatever they are making and it will not work when it is needed most..........outrage should not even come close to how we should feel..............
Shame on the American government for selling us out......................

[65plus]

Things are simpler than they seem.

Hillary simply loves Arizona Republicans. That's all there is to it.

She was a "Goldwater Girl."

And now she is working day and night to elect McCain, so she can run again in 2012.

It's simple. She is not complex, she is simple.

And we simply need to say: "No, thank you."

[LarksTongue]

Thank you. This is an issue that too many 'progressives' dismiss.

NAFTA is why I left the Democratic Party. The Clinton Machine pulled out all the stops to get it passed along with permanent Most Favored Nation trade status for China, and the 1996 Telecommunications Act (among other things).

Macro-economic progressives will parrot macro-economic arguments; complaining all the while about Nader or Dobbs and then, wonder why they can't win the white working class vote. I grew up in the tri-state area (MI, IN, OH) and can tell you that 'NAFTA' is still a much dirtier word than 'Bush.' Ok, that may be an exaggeration, but the point remains: anyone who wants to return the Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party to power would do well to pursue this issue. You might even pick up some Independents along the way.

The economic and environmental consequences of the Clinton era trade policies threaten to undo everything Progressives in this country have fought and died for over the last 100 years. It touches every issue from wages to food safety to national security. I would argue that the Clinton Administration's support for these policies is what originally divided the Party and drove support to Nader. It is certainly one of the main reasons I have supported him in the last few elections and will continue to support him should I be faced with another Clinton Administration.

This is Clinton's nightmare. Not sniper-fire in Bosnia, not Rev. Wright.

[JamesInDenver]

This China deal should be branded in capital letters across Clinton's forehead. The Clinton's simply cannot tell the truth.

[ntmessage]

Economy related smear attacks on Clinton never work. The reason is that everyone thought the Clinton economy was one of the best and most fair ever.

They just look at the other side and know Obama and McCain would be worse for them and America.

All this clever packaging of a conflated and mostly made up story just before the primary makes anyones BS meter perk up.

[RandyRP]

Yeah those pesky little thing called "facts" sure must bother you.

[k6007]

Yeah, and that lipstick on his collar? Cherry jam.

[Oldchef]

How is this a made up story? Sounds pretty straight forward. The Clinton economy was not that great for working people like me, wages stayed fairly steady, but other expenses, like health insurance went up exponentially. I guess if you were an investor you did OK, but ordinary working families just kept up at best. Also, I look at Obama and think he'll be better for the working people in America than Mrs. Clinton. McCain will be a disaster unless you're rich like his wife and friends; nothing there for working folks. Both he and Mrs. Clinton are too beholden to their lobbyist friends to be any help to us.

[syzito]

Hillary is exactly like her husband in that she will lie in order to get your vote.Her brand of politics is pure socialism that tries to control every part of life.If she wins you can kiss more of your personal freedoms goodby.

[wendelgee2]

Ooo...scary red baiting. Look out, the Reds are going to invade America and sleep with our wives!!

[bakossi]

continued

Fact: Clinton did nothing about energy, nothing about health care, nothing about the environment--basically all that progressives got out of an 8 year Democratic presidency under Clinton was the Family Medical Leave Act and the Earned Income Tax Credit. Wow. And in exchange we lost the House, the Senate, a majority of governorships, and a majority of state legislatures. And got President Bush.

[MSaldana]

Excuse me, but don't blame President Clinton for "losing the House, the Senate, a majority of governorships etc,etc.). The American people have no-one to blame but themselves for this. Your little screed makes me suspect that you are just about to graduate from Junior High School. Congratulations, @$$H01e !!!

-MS

[bfbenn]

Well, I would agree that the ultimate responsibility for the multiple messes we're in ARE the responsibility of the American people. That said, there can be no doubt that the actions of the administration DO have an impact on all of the various state elections.
What, the American people just got lucky with the decision to elect Clinton, and everything else was a big mistake?
Oh please...

[Oldchef]

On the contrary, bakossi's post was well thought out, reasoned and informative, full of facts, more than opinion, unlike your post.

[bakossi]

This is just a small example of the REAL "fairy tale" being told in this campaign, namely what a wonderful decade the 90s were thanks to Bill Clinton

Fact: Income inequality increased just as fast under Bill Clinton as it did under Ronald Reagan
Fact: Fewer than 5% of the jobs Clinton "created" went to the 50% of Americans without college degrees (most went to Asian techs on green cards in Silicon Valley)
Fact: Much of the Clinton economy turned out to be a speculative bubble aided by irrresponsible deregulation of the financial services industry (yes, that started under Clinton, not Bush, and it was a big part of how he achieved a [temporarily] balanced budget)
Fact: Reductions in poverty were mainly "achieved" by maintaining a poverty line solely defined by the cost of food as other expenses like health care, education, housing, and energy became more important parts of peoples' budgets. The poverty line *today* is $20,000 for a family of 4--anyone who can't reduce the number of people under that low of a bar isn't trying at all.
Fact: Much of our illegal immigrant problems stem from NAFTA, another signature Clinton "achievement," because the agreement was so poorly designed that it had the effect of destroying Mexico's family farms and native industry, leaving a lot of those people with nowhere to go but north.

continued

[Supermatter]

If the Clintons win this race, it's really going to say something about this country. If someone like Hillary can defeat someone like Obama, there is simply no point in voting, since the better person will always loose to the person willing to do and say anything.

Hope Obama hangs in there through all the bs.

[S1m0n]

David, it's you who's being dishonest.

Yes, Clinton approved the sale, with a provision that the plant had to remain in the US. So what? It's not the change of ownership that's the issue. The issue is the move to China. And that happened on Bush's watch; it was the Bush administration which allowed the move to happen, by failing to enforce the conditions the government had imposed under Clinton.

[WAstateliberal]

Wow, you didn't even read the article, did you? The provision was not that it would remain in the U.S. permanently. Read it again. And stop lying. I can't believe I actually used to take Clinton seriously. She is a lying freakshow. You don't have to be a part of it.

[MSaldana]

Well, that puts her one up. Nobody I know has EVER taken Barack Hussein Obama seriously!

-MS

[Mesaywar]

You seem so terribly proud of being so horribly misinformed.

[Obamamo]

You are kidding! Right? It must be very hard carrying water for HilLiar.

[ConnieB]

The Clinton provision was that the plant remain in the U.S. until 2005 after which it was free to move. I think they moved before 2005 but the point is the Clintons set it up so the move would happen after they left the White House.

[LeJax]

DIGG THIS - Spread the word...

The MSM is bored by actual issues that speak to how a candidate conducts themselves or how their experience reflects on their real qualifications to run the country effective (and honestly).

I recommend Digg, and whatever other notifier you use. Email to friends. The MSM may have added some information in this case, but you know they will let the story drop.

We are basically on our own with alternative means...

[TheRealMacDaddy]

Typical Hillary. Evade the issues where her husband has helped put people out of work by going on Fox and talking Wright.

I just wish people could open their eyes to the deception these two will go to to get their way.

[MSaldana]

Yeah, and Barack Hussein Obama is always truthful. Like how he went along with and accepted "pastor" wrong for 20 years, except for a FEW WEEKS OF PUBLIC EXPOSURE, after whiich he "saw the light." Yeah, he's real sincere...

-MS

[PhyloSeFiser]

What a joke. You've got no actual criticisms of Obama, so you attack his pastor. And you have no problem with Hillary lying every time she opens her mouth! Seriously, where's your judgement. Rev Wright is irrelevant to how Obama would lead this nation. Hillary's tenuous relationship with the truth tells us that we can't trust what she says she'll do. Her fundamental dishonesty should have much more weight on your decision then you are giving it.

By the way, has it occurred to you that Obama had some reservations about some of Wright's comments, but after weighing them against all of the good that church has done, he decided that he could overlook the man's shortcomings for the overall good?

I think Obama stuck with his pastor as long as he could. And as long as he kept everything inside the church, it would all be fine. But his few days in the national spotlight made it clear that Obama finally had to put his foot down. And he did. Hard. He showed real leadership yesterday. Meanwhile Hillary is showing herself to be a typical lying, pandering politician with no vision for anything other than her own glory.

Please wake up Hillraisers. She is not a good representative of women.

[aznurse]

Dear David. Please check into the Robocalls being conducted in NC and IN. I heard about it on
Nova M radio today and it is t ruly scandelous!!
I'm glad this story is getting out.

[tiredoflies]

Now will the author give us his take on obama's "me too" policy. Or does he just write anti-hillary prose?

[MadamBlu]

Obama's me too policy??? I really think you meant Hillary's me too policy. She's cried me too more often than I can count!

[Counterglow]

I could be wrong, but I think both of them like NAFTA just fine...regardless of what they claim. For one thing, Canada is spattering itself with toxic filth to provide the US with a reliable source of cheap oil. Where else are they going to find that kind of deal? Reopening NAFTA now that oil industry lies about how clean and safe the tar sands project would be are getting a bit too obvious even for FUX NEWS and CNN to ignore. Environmentalists on both sides of the border would love to use any renegotiation to shut it down for good before Alberta has to declare its farmers an endangered species.

[ann1]

I'd love for Michael Moore to do a documentary about the Clintons rise to power. What a zinger that would be!

[dumboldfarmer]

There probably already are documentaries on youtube.

[Mesaywar]

Wouldn't make much difference, he wouldn't put it out unless he was being paid.

[margoharris]

Check Out : Hillary: The Movie
Or the 12 part series: Bill & Hillary Clinton: Their Secret Lives
On YouTube

[woodbuck]

hey, might i suggest a book published in 1996. it is called Partners in Power, written by a brilliant author, Roger Morris. He is no right wing wacko, the book details where the Clintons came from and how they rose to power. also, watch the documentary, The War Room, the scenes with Stephanopous, will make you cringe.

[ConnieB]

Try watching the movie "Primary Colors," based on the book written by a Clinton insider, which they say is based on the Clintons starring John Travolta (as Bill). You can easily pick out all the Clinton era characters in addition to the Clintons, such as Stephanopoulous (sp?) and Vince Foster. It is now running on TV if you have "On Demand." I'm sure you can also rent it.

[bfbenn]

You know, I recently watched that for the first time, and I was struck by how accurate a depiction it really was. Bill Clinton was always more showman than leader, and his list of "accomplishments" is truly pathetic when viewed in retrospect.
I won't deny having voted for him, twice, but really - I expected so much more than he ever delivered.
Not my line, but very true - voting for the lesser of two evils is still voting for evil!