The year 2008 may enter history as the time when the Democratic Party lost its way on trade…
More from the Washington Post editorial board, who explain the personal and partisan gains Pelosi is attempting to reap by killing the long-standing “fast track” authority under which the U.S. negotiated the deal with Colombia. On the same topic, in his commentary on the hostage rescue by Columbia’s commandos, Michael Barone wrote
…House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s rejection of the Colombia free-trade agreement, by changing House rules in a way that may have destroyed the fast track procedure by which the United States has secured free-trade agreements for more than four decades, seems to me to be the one truly shameful act of this Congress. This rejection of an ally, the third largest country in Latin America, a nation that is threatened by authoritarian and terrorist opponents, and has nonetheless succeeded in strengthening human rights and stimulating economic growth, is as disgusting as anything I’ve seen Congress do. John McCain hailed Colombia’s action; Barack Obama, an opponent of the Colombia trade agreement, unblushingly chimed in a bit later. I wonder how he reconciles this with his message on the Colombia trade pact, summed up aptly in the title of a Washington Post editorial, “Drop Dead, Colombia.”
0 Responses to “Pelosi: Drop Dead, Columbia”