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Rep. Alan Grayson: ‘88 seconds to Debate the TPP’?
(Featuring interviews with Rep. Alan Grayson and President of CWA Larry Cohen.)
Recently, I spoke with one members of Congress, Alan Grayson, who has taken the time to read the top-secret trade deal known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). There is nothing redeemable in the entire TPP, Grayson told me, saying, “It is something that should be totally put to death.”
The Obama administration continues to favor what is referred to as “fast track” legislation to authorize the TPP.
Fast track, Alan Grayson tells me, who allow each member of congress “88 seconds of debate per member” meaning that there would be no meaningful debate on this trade deal carved out by the lawyers of 50 or so of the most powerful corporations in the world.
You have probably heard the TPP called “NAFTA on steroids” and for good reason. The TPP is a trade deal to dismantle democracy; or a secret global deal that combines all of the worst elements of NAFTA and Citizens United, shoots them up with steroids, sprinkles in a speedball and codifies these principles into a trade agreement that is in fact much more than a trade agreement. The trade agreement is the Trojan horse to bore you and put you to sleep so that when you wake up a global corporate coup will be in place creating a parallel system of justice where three private attorneys would oversee a kangaroo court set up to defend corporate interests in so far as corporations could sue countries or states that take action (environmental regulation, consumer protection, you name it) that may harm the potential future profits of the corporation.
In other words, if the concept of corporate personhood puts you into a fit of rage, then take a moment to let the concept of Corporate Nationhood sink in.
Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla) does not think that we have to worry about Fast track legislation on the TPP being pushed through during this lame duck session of Congress, citing “people who agree with you for all the wrong reasons, and yet they still agree with you.” While Congressman Grayson states unequivocally that he is against fast track and the TPP “on the merits” there are many Republicans who oppose the TPP and Fast Track authority because they “hate President Obama.”
Strange bedfellows, according to Grayson, have created a situation where creating fast track authority for the TPP is unlikely.
Larry Cohen, President of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) acknowledges that the labor movement did not do enough to stop NAFTA over 20 years ago, but he is throwing his weight behind stopping fast track authority for the TPP. “There are a significant number of Democrats willing to support Obama on fast track,” said Cohen. “To them, we say: we will not support you going forward politically. We won’t be part of your fund raising base, but you are willing to have corporate America substitute for our support. Shame on you.”
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