Populist Reform of the Democratic Party
In reply to the discussion: No apologies from me, I can't imagine a more vomit inducing nominee for the Democratic Party [View all]merrily
(45,251 posts)Last edited Sun Mar 1, 2015, 09:51 AM - Edit history (2)
Democratic Senators have stated that Clinton lobbied Democrats hard for it. And their assertions are backed up by documents.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/19/wall-street-deregulation-clinton-advisers-obama
Besides, in general, no law says a President can veto something, even if he thinks is veto proof. The Constitutional power of a President to override is not limited. No one can know how an attempt to override a veto will actually go until a veto actually occurs and an override vote is actually taken. People have changed votes in the face of a Presidential veto.
In the specific case of repeal of Glass Steagall, however, the fact is, Clinton supported it. Not only that, but he defended his support of repeal, even after the 2008 collapse.
And regardless of who "pushed" NAFTA, Clinton signed that, too. And either he supported that as well, or he lied to the American public about his support.
After much consideration and emotional discussion, the House of Representatives passed the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act on November 17, 1993, 234-200. The agreement's supporters included 132 Republicans and 102 Democrats. The bill passed the Senate on November 20, 1993, 61-38.[6] Senate supporters were 34 Republicans and 27 Democrats. Clinton signed it into law on December 8, 1993; the agreement went into effect on January 1, 1994.[7][8] Clinton, while signing the NAFTA bill, stated that "NAFTA means jobs. American jobs, and good-paying American jobs. If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't support this agreement."[9]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Free_Trade_Agreement#cite_note-5
And, of course, you did not comment on the tax increases by Reagan and Poppy, combined with ending "welfare as we know it." And despire all that, there was only a modest surplus by the time Clinton left office.
ETA: On White House support of repeal of Glass Steagall:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/wallstreet/weill/
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/19/wall-street-deregulation-clinton-advisers-obama
Obama hired/appointed many of the same people who pushed for repeal of Glass Steagall. (Under Obama, Sperling came up with the idea of the seqester, in case the Grand Bargain Committee failed in its mission. And, of course, many of the same people who pushed for repeal of Glass Steagall are now advising Hillary's campaign, including on the specific issue of income inequality.