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"Roosevelt in the Kansas City Star", 149 May 7, 1918 |
Posted on 07/27/2005 10:42:51 AM PDT by Happy2BMe
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush urged Republican hold outs on Wednesday to back a controversial free trade agreement with Central America, and party leaders predicted he would win but only after a tough fight for votes.
"The president reminded us that we come here not only to represent our district but to represent the nation," House of Representatives Majority Leader Tom DeLay told reporters after a Capitol Hill meeting between Bush and House Republicans, many of whom have opposed it on the grounds that it will hurt industries in their regions. "It will be a tough vote but we'll pass CAFTA tonight," the Texas Republican said. "We will honor our commitments to the south, we will protect our national security and will do it all with very few Democrats."
The long-awaited vote would end months of uncertainty about the fate of the U.S.-Central American Free Trade Agreement, or CAFTA, which lowers trade barriers between the United States, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic.
The White House has a harder time rounding up votes for CAFTA than for any other recent trade pact because of stiff opposition from many Republicans in textile and sugar-producing states who fear it will cause job losses.
In addition, most Democrats oppose CAFTA on the grounds that its labor provisions are not tough enough for a region with a poor record on workers' rights. The White House says the labor provisions are stronger than any previous trade agreement and consistent with guidelines Congress set in 2002.
Bush appealed to House Republicans to put aside any "parochial interests" they might have about CAFTA and look at the broader benefits of the pact to the United States and the six other countries, DeLay said.
"It is good for our national security in supporting these fledging democracies at our back door. It is good in our effort against illegal immigration. It is good for our economy," DeLay said.
DeLay said Republicans would gavel the CAFTA vote to a close "when we get 218," the number of votes needed for approval. Republican leaders have angered Democrats in the past by holding votes open until they finally pressure enough party members to vote the way the leadership wants.
CHINA TRADE VOTE
Several Republicans from the textile states of South Carolina, Alabama and Georgia are expected to support CAFTA after reaching a deal with Republican leaders and U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman to address specific concerns.
However, many Republicans from North Carolina -- which has experienced heavy textile job losses -- have remained opposed.
The Bush administration also has made promises aimed at reducing sugar industry opposition to the pact, but many Republicans from sugar-producing states such as Louisiana, Florida, Montana and Idaho continue to have concerns.
The vote on CAFTA will be proceeded by a vote on Republican bill aimed at addressing a number of trade issues with China. House leaders expect to pick up the support of some Republicans in industrial states like Pennsylvania with that bill.
Only six Democrats have publicly announced their support for CAFTA. Portman told Reuters he remained hopeful that many more would vote for it in the end, but declined to give any estimate.
Portman said he had just come from a meeting with three undecided Democrats and they had refused to tell him on they planned to vote on CAFTA.
I am in Delay's district and I called him to voice my negative opinion of this.
"Anyone care to start a CAFTA HALL OF SHAME webpage?"
Don't worry, they'll be getting around to controlling the net soon.
Re; Your tagline.
Bush could barely beat a talking treestump, and barely edged out a bona fide wartime traitor with no personality whatsoever.
Don't be celebrating your next win so soon.
It may be a long time coming.
I will never vote republican again.
I'm not so alone as you like to delude yourself into believing.
I guess we have wait for the outcome, it doesn't look too good.
I was talking to my brother last week and he is for the first time thinking of voting dem. Cafta and illegals have soured him on the republicans.
I met a gentleman in 1983 who had escaped Eastern Europe and now lived in Shepardstown. He's probably dead by now since he was quite elderly when I met him. So I have no problem identifying where he lived. I thought the man was a lunatic, very nice and cordial, but lunatic all the same. He told me fantastic stories about the coming US and world policies, the UN, Europe and Russia. He told me about the currancy changes, and one world progression.
Of course, I and those I worked with nodded and smiled and chuckled to each other when he would leave our office. He was paranoid to the point of filling in his telephone jacks with glue. We had to call a friend of his to contact him at times. He refused to enroll in Medicare and was cautious and suspicious beyond anything I had experienced.
Guess what, he was right. Everything he told us has come to pass and now I am trying to recall the rest.
We thought he was nuts because his tales were so far-fetched. He wasn't crazy.
Thanks for the info and timing!! I appreciate it.
IMO this is the best tactic to take. I will never again vote with a "lesser of two evils" mindset. The US Constitution gives power to the people via Congress, not the Presidency. If we are ever going to turn this country around, it will have to be done through the election of our Representatives, not through the election of one man or woman to the Office of the President.
E-mailed all three of my critters this mornin'. :-)
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"Roosevelt in the Kansas City Star", 149 May 7, 1918 |
I am absolutely sure that you have never voted for President Bush and you do not vote Republican, so stop the crap. Now regarding President Bush and the Republican great historical victory in 2004, it should and will be written in the annals of history how President Bush won re-election when the liberals and their media whores threw everything under the sun at him. Never before in history that a sitting President has been so savagely attacked by his political opponents in an election campaign, never before. But at the end President Bush was re-elected with the largest numbers of votes ever cast for a President in US history. Regarding my tagline “The left cannot win another national election ever again” I will stick with it and stick it in your face, and the face of liberals, trolls, bitter Buchananites losers and third party idiotic voters from now and until many years to come.
Quote:
"CAFTA? NO!!
FTAA? NO!!
Please remember that the senate elections of 2006 are right around the corner."
I called my father. As I type this, he is trying to get through to Rep. Crenshaw's office to voice his disapproval.
/jasper
You ain't the only one.
At the moment, my plan is to vote against every incumbant, regardless of party.
He can't, now that his telephone jacks are filled with glue.
And you think we want to hear what a non-American citizen has to say about our country why? To say nothing of your inability to vote in any American election because you are "NOT" an American.
First of all, cotton. Second, the government of these countries are going to start buying goods from the US. This in turn helps their economy, which makes their populace richer, so they can then buy our products.
Think of it this way, would you rather your dollars go to China, or to Central America? Do you remember when China was a backward country, similar to Central American countries today? Had we invested in Central America 30 years ago, instead of China, our economy woould be a lot better off.
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