(7/5/05, but still important tonight) Democrats Blew it on CAFTA Vote [View All]

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Published on Tuesday, July 5, 2005 by the Capital Times (Madison, Wisconsin)
Democrats Blew it on CAFTA Vote
by John Nichols

Organized labor is opposed to the Central American Free Trade Agreement.

Progressive farm groups are opposed to CAFTA.

Environmental groups are opposed to CAFTA.

Civil rights groups are opposed to CAFTA.

Human rights groups are opposed to CAFTA.

Virtually all of the organizations that are associated with what is loosely defined as the Democratic coalition are opposed to the trade deal that Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin says "will hurt American workers, hurt the workers of Central America and create instability in Central America that will force more immigration into the United States."

So, of course, Senate Democrats must have been united in opposition to the Bush administration's proposal to expand on the failed model of the North American Free Trade Agreement which has wreaked havoc with the economies of the U.S., Mexico and Canada to create a free trade zone that extends from the Panama Canal to the Arctic Circle.

Right?

Wrong.

When the Senate voted on CAFTA last week, a dozen Republicans abandoned the administration to vote "no." That meant that, if Democrats had been united in their opposition, the trade deal would have been easily defeated, and the president's plan to make it easier for multinational corporations to exploit workers, communities and the environment throughout the hemisphere would have been dealt a fatal blow.

more at:
http://www.commondreams.org/cgi-bin/print.cgi?file=/views05/0705-33.htm