TPA is effectively the cloture vote on TPP. Here what Cruz said about cloture votes in the past.
"“That’s the vote” said Cruz, who told the group he had finally gotten some sleep after his 21-hour all-night filibuster. Said Cruz: “Any Senator who votes yes (on Friday’s cloture vote) is voting to give Harry Reid the power” to fund Obamacare. “That vote is the fight. Vote no on cloture.”
Notice the "That vote is the fight" This is the exact same situation. Only on a much more important issue.
I want to agree with you but your analysis or rather your ‘fear’ in the analogy is missing some important elements.
McConnell’s duplicitous cloture votes were brought forward after he knew the requisite votes had been secured (or bought). The vote for TPP and all others like them are not known in advance.
Obama wants primarily two things: Climate Change power and backdoor amnesty.
Obama does not have enough time in office for Climate Change power which is essentially a takeover of the Oil and Gas Industry which is a bastion of conservatism.
BUT ...
Obama knows Hillary can take up the Climate Change banner and get it across the finish line IF ONLY she can get millions of illegals registered or to the polls to vote democrat or be voted democrat.
So Obama’s gambit boils down to backdoor amnesty in TPP, TIA, TTIP and others and all of these trade deals hinge on TPA. Without TPA they are non-starters.
But what did Ted Cruz do about it?
He took a cue from Senator Jeff Sessions and he filed an amendment to TPA to prohibit any later trade deal from violating existing US Immigration Law.
That amendment was folded in with another amendment and IT IS IN THE TPA BILL. It was S. Amdt 1384 to S. Amdt 1221. Look it up.
Now to those that say that Obama does not obey laws. Obama is lawless for sure and he greatly abuses his authority, that is true.
But on immigration, Obama is facing Judge Hanen and the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. He is stopped from expanding his Executive Amnesty. He cannot get his underlings to carry out his directives in the face of violating a federal court order. His underlings risk arrest by US Marshals dispatched by federal courts and incarceration in jails that federal judges have at their disposal.
So if Obama tries to skirt immigration law and proceed with backdoor amnesty, he needs to order his underlings to carry out his wishes and they are trembling to do that. For example, the DOJ lawyers who have been caught violating the federal injunction against Obama’s Executive Amnesty are now in fear of being disbarred and possibly incarcerated. Obama does not have the power to reverse a disbarment.
So the fight is over amnesty which translates to Hillary in the White House.
Senator Cruz’ amendment to TPA shuts the door on Hillary having backdoor amnesty to win the White House.
As for me I am not advocating passing TPA or defeating TPA. I do however want President Cruz to have TPA at his back and I would bet some serious grilled steak that Senator Jeff also wants President Cruz to have TPA at his back. Because in this sense this is not about ‘Obamatrade’, this is about ‘Cruztrade’.