She was for it before she was against it

[TitanTiger 20,472]

Clinton Tries to Surf Tide She Can’t Block

The Democratic frontrunner announced yesterday that she opposes the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the trade agreement with Asian countries that she played a major role in promoting when she was Secretary of State. Clinton’s announcement, which could make it more difficult for the Obama administration to get TPP get through Congress, is widely seen as an effort by Clinton to insulate herself against attacks from Bernie Sanders, who has long opposed the agreement, and distinguish herself from Vice President Joe Biden, who is considering a presidential run. More, via PBS:

Just days after the U.S. and 11 nations released a monumental trade deal that still faces a fight in Congress, Hillary Clinton says she does not support the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Speaking with Judy Woodruff Wednesday, the Democratic presidential candidate said that as of today, given what she knows of the deal, it does not meet her bar for creating jobs, raising wages for Americans and advancing national security.

Speaking at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, as part of a two-day swing through the leadoff caucus state, Clinton said that she’s worried “about currency manipulation not being part of the agreement” and that “pharmaceutical companies may have gotten more benefits and patients fewer.”“As of today, I am not in favor of what I have learned about it,” Clinton said, later adding, “I don’t believe it’s going to meet the high bar I have set.”

One of Hillary Clinton’s biggest problems, now as in 2008, is how far left the Democrats have moved since her husband’s time in office. The centerpiece accomplishments of the Clinton administration—forceful U.S. world leadership, welfare reform, fiscal balance, tough crime laws, the defense of heterosexual marriage, don’t ask don’t tell, close political links with Israel, and the end of the era of the big government—are now all despised as evil Republican ideas by a party that has repudiated much of its post WWII legacy.

Secretary Clinton has had to run to keep up, and nobody was happier to make her look old and conservative than then-Senator Obama during the 2008 primary campaign. Over and over he outflanked her from the left, with new and more evolved positions.

But now Secretary Clinton has found an issue where she can evolve faster than President Obama: trade. He is committed to the TPP, a deal which is deeply Clintonian. The TPP promotes free trade and it is an exercise in American leadership. It is also, despite some ugly crony flaws, an exercise in economic liberalization and pro-capitalist policy. But unfettered from office, Hillary can turn against a very Clintonian agreement she once supported, driving a wedge between Biden, should he run, and the unions and leftist groups whose importance in Democratic politics has grown.

This may not be the end of the story. American politicians excel at throwing chum to the base while running for office, without feeling in any way bound by their rhetoric when it comes to actual governing. A President Hillary Clinton could throw interest groups under the bus with the best of them, and few people in the U.S. understand the importance of TPP to U.S. Asia policy as well as she does. Her new opposition to the deal, then, is less a predictor of what she will do in office than an expression of the political calculations she and her campaign has made. The Democratic Party is running left, and presidential candidates need to run fast enough to stay at the head of the parade.

Whether the country as a whole is running this far left is another question. In 1972, the Democratic left triumphantly selected George McGovern and then lost 49 states, and that’s a historical parallel that bears watching here. Mrs. Clinton knows that history, too—and will try to keep the Democrats from jumping off the cliff even as she does what she thinks she must to position herself as a candidate the left can live with today.

http://www.the-ameri...she-cant-block/

[TitanTiger 20,472]

From Chuck Todd of Meet The Press:

Why Clinton's flip-flop on trade is so unbelievable

Yes, Hillary Clinton's new opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade accord cleans up something she needed to do before next week's first Democratic debate. And, yes, it puts pressure on Vice President Joe Biden getting into the race (because he'd be on the only major candidate in support of TPP). But make no mistake: This flip-flop isn't believable at all. For starters, there was the time as secretary of state when she said TPP "sets the gold standard in trade agreements." In her book, "Hard Choices" (which she sent out to all the GOP candidates), she called TPP "the signature economic pillar" of the Obama administration's strategy in Asia. And then there's the wiggle room she left for herself, as well as the fact that she hasn't even fully reviewed the trade accord because it's not public yet. "I'm continuing to learn about the details of the new Trans-Pacific Partnership, including looking hard at what's in there to crack down on currency manipulation, which kills American jobs, and to make sure we're not putting the interests of drug companies ahead of patients and consumers. But based on what I know so far, I can't support this agreement," she said in her statement yesterday. And because this opposition is so unbelievable, it feeds every negative stereotype about her -- despite the short-term political benefits.

Why Hillary flipped: to protect her left flank

So why did Clinton flip? It was all about protecting her left flank. As one of us wrote yesterday, Clinton's newfound opposition to TPP protects her against Bernie Sanders' challenge (especially before Tuesday's debate; it helps solidify her support with organized labor; and it makes Biden the only Democrat in favor of the accord (if he gets into the race). But we want to focus on the point about organized labor. As AFL-CIO chief Richard Trumka said on "Meet the Press" last month about Clinton and TPP: "I think if she doesn't take a position on TPP, then you can say she's looking for our vote. If she does take a position on TPP, then she's looking for our support. And the difference is, if you get my vote, I come out on Election Day and I pull the lever. If you've got my support, I get up at 7:00 in the morning, I stuffed 200 envelopes, I make seven calls, I go knock on a few doors, and I get my neighbors all excited about voting for her as well."

And why the reversal didn't do the Obama administration any favors

Here's a final point we want to make about Clinton's new opposition to TPP: It doesn't do the Obama administration any favors, that's for sure. Obama and his team face a situation where the entire Democratic '16 field (for now) opposes the TPP accord, which won't make it easier to twist Democratic arms to get congressional ratification. (In fact, it's the opposite of the situation around the Iran deal, where the party's '16 contenders and much of the base SUPPORTED the Iran deal.) This time, the Obama White House will have to get much of its support from Republicans -- just like it did in winning fast-track authority earlier this year. And as House Ways & Means Chairman Paul Ryan suggested on "MTP Daily" yesterday, House Republicans might have some concerns about the TPP accord. There's still plenty of time to go, but the Obama administration will start the ratification process on shaky ground.

[autigeremt 6,598]

Both parties have issues within their ranks....it would be funny if it wasn't so destructive.

[augolf1716 21,103]

[AURaptor 1,122]

Missing the rod Stewart reference

[cptau 169]

Reminds me of the end of the Terminator II movie where the advanced shape shifting android fell into the molten steel and kept tying to change shapes to survive. Did work.............