Posted on 11/11/2015 12:26:56 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
During last night's Republican presidential debate, the Wall Street Journal's Gerard Baker made a critical mistake: He tried to pin Donald Trump down on policy specifics. In this case, it was about trade policy, a subject about which Trump evidently knows very little.
Baker asked the billionaire "which particular parts" of the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal he objected to. If he were familiar with the deal, Trump could have raised any of several issues. Instead, he continued with the same word salad about China that he has been issuing forth since long before the TPP had been negotiated and published.
"If you look at how China and India and almost everyone takes advantage of the Untied States - China in particular, because they are so good, it's the number one abuser of this country. If you look at the way they take advantage, it's through currency manipulation. It's not even discussed in the almost 6,000 page agreemen...If [TPP] is approved, it will just be more bad trade deals, more loss of jobs for our country. We are losing jobs like no one's ever lost jobs before. I want to bring jobs back into this country."
It took a clear-headed Rand Paul to bring some reality back into the conversation.
"Hey, Gerard?" Paul interjected. "We might want to point out that China's not part of this deal." The crowed roared with laughter as Trump shrunk before their eyes. (Never mind the fact that Trump had just accused India of currency manipulation - perhaps making him the first person to do so at least in the last decade.)...
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonexaminer.com ...
Trump was not confused. He said the TPP did not address currency manipulation. That was the China issue.. He also said that China could then come in through the back door. Rand Paul was the one confused.
I think you needed a /S in your comment. : )
Post #20 is directed to Trump Supporters.
Yes, and I just listen to it again. Trump is talking about trade for the whole region along with TPP. He wasn't exclusively confining his talk about TPP. The Washington Examiner doing a hit piece.
Currency manipulation?
You do understand that Currency manipulation is a democrat device used in tandem with human rights to bitch about China. Their currency is not manipulated (whatever that entails) it is pegged to the dollar as many other countries are.
However, because the US dollar has been steadily rising in value, it has damaged their economy and they have at times released the peg and let it float down a bit, but never much.
I am no fan of China. they literally stole tens of thousands of dollars from me. But currency manipulation is a fake liberal catchall complaint against them when you don’t have anything to say. China is doing many, many bad things. That complaint is not only 20 years old, but it’s essentially meaningless. It’s political theater.
I think if I recall correctly, he accused India of it too..I guess he’s the first American to do that.
Typical Walker supporter nonsense.
First, China can easily be added to the TPP, and there is NOTHING the U.S. can do about it. Which there is a good chance that will happening. So Trump bring up China made sense. Only dumba$ in the media did not understand this.
Second, the same B.S. stuff that is going on with China currency manipulation, the so called “free trade” (meaning China does not pay tariffs but we do) will go on with the TPP.
Third, the TPP is the worst Trade agreement to date. It was just released to the public (4 weeks after it was agreed to) and it basically a complete sell out of the U.S. on just about every level.
I strongly recommend you read what Senator Jeff Sessions said about it or even Mark Levin. Here are the links, and keep in mind only Trump, Cruz and Paul are all against it.
and
Tell ya' what;
Before throwing coins, wrap them up in something soft, like $5, $10, or $20 bills.
[line stolen from a street performer who used to wow 'em on Pier 39, San Francisco, early to mid 1980's]
She was just quoting the WE article in extenso. She's not saying Trump's a TPP ignoramus (which it is manifestly intended we all remain forever, if the bill's 6000 pages long and the originators sat on it until just a week ago or so).
So our FRiend is not sailing 2x4's at Trump's head, okay? The MSM MediaScum TM was the critic.
Actually, the author’s of this piece have their heads up their asses. They get it wrong.
“....On trade, Trump avoids specifics. When he discusses it, he starts talking about how the U.S. has trade deficits with some countries, especially China. (Trade deficits are not inherently bad, by the way, but they are often cited to make free trade sound bad to the uninformed.) He then launches into a standard spiel about currency manipulation. These are just convenient rhetorical vehicles for avoiding a serious discussion of the topic - the politician’s equivalent of what you said in class when you hadn’t read your assignment the night before....
Most importantly, if the U.S. fails to make some kind of agreement like the TPP, China will move into the same zone and dictate trade on its own terms instead. This would be a true disaster for U.S. diplomacy. It would signify that the U.S. has lost influence and prestige in every corner of the world under Obama, instead of just in most of the world.....”
I just don't think he's presidential material.
Governments don't operate or work at all like a for profit business, and businesses don't act as leader of the free world, or field the largest military on the planet.
They also don't owe 20 trillion bucks and have real debt including unfunded liabilities of nearly 135 trillion.
Businesses don't have a Constitution, don't have a justice system with vast numbers of judges who must be nominated, nor do they have a supreme court.
Building a wall on the Mexican border is not enough. Immigration as a issue is only one of many pressing issues that need immediate attention.
To do all this you need someone who understands the history, the law, the nuances of government as well as the politics and the people. They have to be far more then a strong leader. They don't have the luxury of a long learning curve. They have to hit the ground running.
They have to by necessity, understand why they do things in order to convince those who actually implement the policies.
We have none of that in Barrack Obama....
I am not going to DOUBLEDOWN on that societal error of judgment.
He forgot the sarcasm tag...lol
The Donald will hire a president who will hire people who know these things..
I know.
My goof!
: )
I tried to “fix” it.
But my sentiment about Trump support stands.
I almost made the same mistake, until I saw his tag line..
India has also playing devaluation games with their rupee this year.
I need to look at tag lines.
I submit that what you need is to study what Trump has said on the issues you bring up. He is not a novice and has written more than a few books in which he states clearly what has been going wrong with our Republic. He has real world experience albeit in the business world however that experience has more than prepared him for the brass knuckle world of political engagement. Thus far, he has handled himself pretty damn good as a first time candidate.
The American people are not in the mood to elect another ‘business as usual’ politician. The ‘learning curve’ argument doesn’t hold water. Trump has staked out positions which more than ensure that he WILL ‘hit the ground running’.
As that graphic that states so clearly (and needs no reposting), “when both political parties hate you, America loves you!” and that is what explains Trump’s consistent and persistent lead in the polls, the outpouring of support, the crowds that exceed those of all other candidates. He connects with We The People, which is why the odds are in favor of Trump becoming the 45th President of the United States.
LOL....that’s funny as heck, but as I see it, that is the way he plans to govern.
Kinda risky if ya ask me....but then all Trump supporters keep telling me I am ignorant or just plain stupid, sometimes worse..
Question: Do you support unions?
If so, here’s a Salon piece to cheer you up.
OK....I see that you believe that he wrote all that stuff..
The problem I have is that the writing, except for portions of his books, does not square with his public speaking and tonight’s debate performance.
I have read one of his books, long ago, and I have made a effort to see some of his public speaking. I have also read some of his position papers, but like I said his grasp of the minutia in the position papers is not on display in any of his speeches.
I find mostly one liners and platitudes.
The reason I am trying to learn as much as I can, is that in the event that Trump gets the nomination, I will once again be forced to make a pragmatic decision to vote for the party, or to use other options.
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