Fast Track is now coming up for a cloture vote in the Senate. A recap follows. And I'll try to give a paraphrased tracking of the position and votes, and ultimately which Democrats continued to abandon workers on behalf of big corporations.
FINAL VOTE UPDATED HERE. 60-37 approved. (McConnell says Corker would have voted YES but was detained)
DEMOCRATS WHO VOTED WITH BIG CORPORATIONS TO ABANDON WORKERS:
Michael Bennet (CO)
Maria Cantwell (WA)
Tom Carper (DE)
Chris Coons (DE)
Dianne Feinstein (CA)
Heidi Heitkamp (ND)
Bill Nelson (FL)
Tim Kaine (VA)
Claire McCaskill (MO)
Patty Murray (WA)
Jeanne Shaheen (NH)
Mark Warner (VA)
Ron Wyden (OR)
This means that tomorrow fast track will pass the Senate. We will see whether the TAA gets added.
Also want to add up top comments by Sherrod Brown and Bernie Sanders at the end of the debate:
Sherrod Brown: this is a celebration in corporate suites.
Bernie!!! This trade agreement was supported by virtually every big corporation, Wall Street, by the pharmaceutical industry. This agreement was opposed by every union. This will continue the policy of NAFTA,CAFTA. We need a policy that represents working people. It's a great day for the Big Money interests.
Recap:
In May, 13 Democratic Senators voted for cloture on the original fast track bill. Had four of these 13 Democratic Senators voted with the majority of the Democrats who voted against cloture, fast track would have failed in the Senate and it most likely would have died right there.
On the final passage of the Senate bill, Ben Cardin (MD) voted for passage, though he had voted no on the cloture vote.Then, the bill went to the House. And, as we know, essentially, it initially stopped there because the House voted overwhelmingly against the Trade Assistance Adjustment (which I call “burial insurance”).
The House, then, passed fast track as a separate piece of legislation, stripped of the TAA.
That requires that the bill go back to the Senate for a vote on fast track. The gamesmenship on this is simple. The president and the party he has united behind him–THE REPUBLICAN PARTY–want the Senate Democrats to vote first on fast track and, then vote on the TAA and, then, believe that the House–which rejected the TAA 126-302–will, then, pass the TAA bill.
McConnell is now bringing it up for a second reading and placing it on the calendar. Procedural stuff--reading in the House fast track bill passed.
McConnell: renewed momentum for America's workers blah blah...barriers preventing American workers blah blah...[all poll-tested crap]. Oh, China the menace...1.4 million jobs would be created [nonsense--JT]. Final passagefor TPA tomorrow, along with TAA. Boehner said today that he would take up TAA tomorrow as well. Trust, trust, work together...[gag]
The only thing noting is the timeline. McConnell says if cloture is invoked, fast track will come up for final vote tomorrow. And obviously if cloture is invoked, then, fast track will pass. C-SPAN note below screen is showing 11 a.m. vote on cloture (those times often slip depending on length of debate, particularly Leader comments)
Harry Reid: begins with Charleston murders. Confederate flag should be removed from public places, applauds Nikki Haley. Recounts other slaughters, Fort Hood, Newton, Tucson, Aurora, Navy Yard in D.C. [Harry seems a bit irritated, asks for order in the Senate twice in a few minutes--guessing there might be some last-minute arm-twisting on cloture? Or maybe McConnell is trying to get Ted Cruz to take off his Confederate flag T-Shirt].
Hatch: Senate has considered this once, House voted twice. The U.S. is negotiating trade agreements--if Senate fails to approve this vote, Congress and the people won't have a strong voice in the negotiations [that's bullshit, Orrin, but whatever...]. America leads the world, yeehaw, we rock, no? And especially better than the UK. Woohoo! Bi-partisan love-fest...oh, yeah American workers will love this. I don't like TAA but I realize that it's not always about me [he literally said that it isn't about him...gee, Orrin, that's nice of you]
Wyden: [why is that as soon as he opens his mouth I think of the annoying guy in college who was a suck-up frat boy?]. End of NAFTA model, We will be left behind. China!!! Stop race to bottom on labor and environmental rights [of course that's bullshit]. Free and open Internet preserved. We have to pass TAA [boy, this guy hits all the opposition points with heaps of dung]. [more American exceptionalism] Let's fight for American stuff...
10:35 a.m. Quorum call...presumably as the opposition organizes itself to speak.
According to some The Hill reporter--interviewed previously on CSPAN--there have been no announced vote changes among the Democratic Senators who previously voted for cloture.
Sherrod Brown: Opposes cloture. [he's a hero]. I'm incredulous at this trade non-debate. The speed at which majority leader shuts down debate. The secretness of this whole process. Fast track has been a rule book on how trade is presented, we've got the worse of both worlds. Member are casting their votes now when we have maximum leverage over negotiations on TPP, while we are still in the dark. Example: if small country wants to protect children from marketing of tobacco, big tobacco companies can go to court and no one will have resources to challenge. No matter which side you are on, it's clear our trade policy creates winners and losers. People will lose jobs--we are about to pass fast track, we are about to do that, but not protect workers. How shameful is that! It should be our moral responsibility to help workers, quotes Kennedy and others.
Note: I sense Sherrod might believe the battle is lost.
7:52 AM PT: More Sherrod: what a betrayal of workers if we make this decision today to cut off debate and not protect workers. Even if you believe if these trade deals are net job gainers, I don't believe that, but people lose their jobs.
7:54 AM PT: More Sherrod: [he's focusing a lot on the need to support the trade adjustment assistance]. Today, Leader McConnell is going to cut off debate even though it will cost people jobs, moral obligation to include TAA. And we can't send this to the president without TAA [IMHO, Sherrod's last gasp is to seed doubt that TAA will end up being approved]
7:57 AM PT: Sherrod: people know that NAFTA, CAFTA etc lost them jobs. They told us we would create jobs. Nope. We lost jobs. [He criticizes both parties presidents, Clinton and the Bushes]
8:00 AM PT: THE VOTE HAS BEGUN
8:12 AM PT: Shaheen just votes YES and then went over at patted Hatch on the back.
8:12 AM PT: Boxer voted NO
8:13 AM PT: Most of the Senators have not voted. Because this is the first vote of the day it's likely they are making their way to the floor.
8:16 AM PT: I'm guessing the vote will probably be very close to the previous vote on cloture in which 13 Democrats voted with Republicans. But, let' s see.
8:19 AM PT: So far, the following Democrats have voted YES:
Michael Bennet (CO)
Chris Coons (DE)
Bill Nelson (FL)
Claire McCaskill (MO)
Patty Murray (WA)
Jeanne Shaheen (NH)
Mark Warner (VA)
Ron Wyden (OR)
8:20 AM PT: Add Cantwell to the YESes
8:20 AM PT: And now Heitkamp
8:21 AM PT: Ted Cruz voted NO...
8:21 AM PT: Kaine is a YES, as before
8:23 AM PT: Essentially, assuming previous voting patterns, the president and big corporations only need one more Democrat to vote yes and they will get the 60 votes.
8:24 AM PT: Carper is a YES, as before (what the fuck is wrong with the water in Delaware???)
8:25 AM PT: I believe this is a done deal. Cloture vote will pass
8:25 AM PT: Difi votes YES (primary please!!!!)
8:26 AM PT: That's basically it. The vote is still continuing but cloture will be invoked and fast track will proceed and pass tomorrow.
8:33 AM PT: Cardin voted NO
8:33 AM PT: But it's over
8:36 AM PT: Sherrod Brown: this is a celebration in corporate suites
8:38 AM PT: Bernie!!! This trade agreement was supported by virtually every big corporations, Wall Street, by the pharmaceutical industry. This agreement was opposed by every union. This will continue the policy of NAFTA,CAFTA. We need a policy that represents working people. It's a great day for the Big Money interest.
8:50 AM PT: Manchin post debate: not one West Virginian thinks this trade approach is good.
8:59 AM PT: When Machin says, "I'm sure Wall St is happy today", man, that says it all