Obama to Represent the Uprising on Trade?

Rejecting the fake centrism of Washington and the true centrism outside the Beltway, Barack Obama yesterday tacked back to the progressive middle on trade, slamming John McCain for pushing a corporate-written trade deal with the murderous Colombian regime.

From CBS News:

This morning, the Obama campaign argued that McCain's trip highlights his support for Bush's economic polices. In an email to reporters, spokesman Tommy Vietor wrote, "Senator McCain's trip to Mexico and Colombia just underscores his insistence on continuing George Bush's failed economic policies that have left nearly 2.5 million more workers unemployed -- including unfair trade deals that have been written by lobbyists."

Vietor also noted a New York Times report which says that McCain advisor, Charlie Black, earned $1.8 million for lobbying on behalf of the leading oil and gas exporter in Colombia. "This is more of the Washington politics that has left American working families struggling to compete in a global economy by putting the lobbyists and special interests first," Vietor said.

A few weeks back I wrote a newspaper column about how the politicians supporting the Colombian trade deal have blood on their hands - there's no other way to put it. I also wrote a newspaper column about how the populist uprising roiling the country means trade could be the single most decisive issue in the election. That is, if Obama stops flirting with Wall Street and starts representing the uprising of working Americans who are sick and tired of unfair trade policies.

Let's hope this is the start of the latter.

This is an ongoing series from the national tour for THE UPRISING. You can order The Uprising at Amazon.com or through your local independent bookstore.

Comments

[hopeless277]

Give him a week. He'll come around to the GOP view. He had on everything else. Obama is a fraud.

[RadCenter]

There's nothing like a sweeping overgeneralization to kill rational discussion.

How about sticking to the specific topic of this post?

[repearwo]

First we need to decide what "unfair trade policies" are? It is a new world and with it comes the need for new ideas about trade. IT ahs to be a three point policy. First, we need to start moving back to production capitalism rather that Financial Capitalism. Second we need to embrace trade with the rest of the world, understanding that there will be disruption in the job market with old jibs moving out of the country and new jobs being created - this is not a new phenomena in the US. Policies for retraining and support for the working man in the transition is vital. Last as we trade with other countries we must use our influence to encourage and support laws within those countries that will protect their workers and all of our environment.

IT will not be easy, but trade is enevitable, our choices only lie in how we do it. Life for the rest of this century will be drastically different, if we are to survive we must re-evaluate old ideas and come up with those that work. IT is not the process, it the result that we need to focus on.

[MidwestBlue]

repearwo wrote:

"...we need to embrace trade with the rest of the world, understanding that there will be disruption in the job market with old jibs moving out of the country and new jobs being created..."

What do you think we've BEEN doing since Bush has been in office?
And why did the old jobs move out and where are the new jobs that are being created?
And retrain for what?

"Understanding there will be disruption in the job market.." I love that. Yeah, you go to the people signing up for unemployment benefits right now today and tell them that. They'd probably punch you in the face.

Who wrote this? Phil Gramm, is that you? If it's not, it sounds like someone with a nice, cushy, secure, five-to-six figure office job.

[RadCenter]

Amen.