Obama disrespects Senate Democrats

• Obama’s narcissistic contempt on display
• Bush never so condescending
• Fast track trade deal at issue

For the record, we generally supported free trade initiatives with friendly countries for the enhancement of peace and prosperity for all, however, the so-called Fast Track trade initiative, portrayed as essential to maintaining our trading influence with Pacific rim nations against trade hegemony of China, is not necessary to achieve any such end.  For us the issue is not about free trade, properly understood. The issue is the surrender of political power to the presidency, always suspect, but in the case of the exigent president, particularly worrisome as he pursues more and more power.

That the public is kept in the dark about the provisions and that the scrutiny of Congress and amendatory remedies are so incumbered, however much a past practice, is also objectionable.  But this trade bill is exponentially more troubling because the deal involves process changes to speed up “fast track” (bum’s rush) the scrutiny process.  But with all that said, the bill’s appropriateness and that it is promoted by Republicans or Democrats is not what this post is focused on.

We know, it’s disgusting

As the collection of links and excerpts point out, the main opposition in the Senate is not Republicans, it is Democrats.  Obama is telling Democrats to trust him.  Of course all the things liberals still want codified as to enforcement in the trade deal Obama will tend to inject by fiat, the power centered in him. Obama has essentially said that the bill’s liberal detractors have not read the bill. All reminiscent of Obamacare, but the exposure of Obama’s narcissistic contempt for his own party and other in-fighting is delicious.  From Dana Millbank writing at the Washington Post (bold our emphasis):

At the White House, press secretary Josh Earnest called Tuesday’s vote a “procedural snafu.” But Obama was undone by more than procedure. His would-be successor, Hillary Clinton, was not courageous enough to take a position on the trade legislation, but her silence gave Democrats more freedom to oppose it. And Democrats in Congress bristled at Obama’s disparagement of opponents of the trade bill as emotional, illogical and dishonest.

“The president is making some fairly nasty remarks about people on the other side, that they don’t understand we’re in the 21st century,” Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel laureate in economics, said at the Roosevelt Institute gathering, at the National Press Club. “Actually we do. I don’t think he understands.”

As it turned out today, Senate Democrats and Republicans did pass “Fast Track”  after yesterday’s Democrat filibuster. It appears the bargain involves giving Democrat opponents votes on bills labor unions want votes on (something McConnell offered in order to move Fast Track forward, thanks Mitch). The matter moves to the House where Democrat opposition and hopefully Republican opposition will kill the bill unless it is amended to insure more transparency and regular order for the balance of power.

More reading here and here.

R Mall

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