Haven't we seen this script before? Carefully choreographed yes votes, vote buying, fear mongering (even throwing terrorism in). Yes folks, it's time for the House to vote on another trade-related legislation. The vote will probably come Thursday and, as usual, it's too close to call. But as with the Medicare legislation in November 2003, expect DeLay and company to pull out all the stops, including holding the vote open for hours on end and engaging in blatant vote buying. I am not very confident, and predict it will probably pass by one vote. In the end, you can probably end up thanking someone like that POS Melissa Bean for the passage. Once again, the average worker will get the shaft, and the corporations, wall street and their lackeys in the media will have won.
Here's a sampling of the CAFTA news:
"President Bush will address House Republicans on Wednesday as part of the final drive to capture the votes of undecided lawmakers needed to pass the Central American Free Trade Agreement.
. . . .
"Trade creates jobs and lifts people out of poverty," House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., said at a news conference with Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez and representatives from pro-CAFTA Hispanic groups. "And there's nothing like a stable society to fight terrorism and strengthen democracy, freedom and rule of law.""
http://tinyurl.com/dp5ov
"Rep. Gil Gutknecht, the last remaining undecided Minnesota lawmaker on the proposed Central American Free Trade Agreement, is hinting he'll vote against the deal when it comes up in the House later this week.
Gutknecht has declined recent interview requests on the vote, but in a weekly letter to constituents last Friday, he wrote, "If I were to vote on CAFTA today, I would vote no.""
http://tinyurl.com/9gotk
"U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers now plans to back the Central American Free Trade Agreement, reversing his long-standing position that the agreement to eliminate tariffs for six Latin American countries would be bad for Alabama's economy.
Rogers, R-Anniston, said he lent the agreement his support only after U.S. and Latin American trade officials negotiated separate agreements that would protect local agricultural and textile industries from cheap materials made by China and other Asian countries."
http://tinyurl.com/c73nl
"After months of indecision, Republican Reps. Greg Walden of Oregon and Cathy McMorris of Washington said Tuesday they will vote in favor of the Central American Free Trade Agreement.
Walden, whose rural district covers 20 counties in central, southern and eastern Oregon, and McMorris, of Eastern Washington, said they concluded the agreement would foster long-term economic benefits for the Northwest, one of the nation's most trade-dependent regions.
Both lawmakers had been heavily pressured by both sides in recent weeks, including personal lobbying by President Bush, who met with them earlier this month as part of all-out pro-CAFTA push by the White House."
http://tinyurl.com/97kwu
"Rep. Melissa Bean, a freshman Democrat from Illinois, recently announced her support, bringing the number of Democrats who publicly support the pact to six.
"I am quite confident we will have the votes to pass CAFTA at the end of the day," Wenk said."
http://tinyurl.com/bvttu