Obama hopes to enlist GOP in push for trade pact, despite Democratic resistance

[Jim Lane]

110. That's totally unrealistic

I mentioned just three NGOs, in the areas of labor, internet, and environment. Taking those examples: The full text is released, and the NGO starts reviewing it. One of the leaked chapters, for example, was more than 50 pages long, and some issues would be affected by more than one of the 29 chapters. The NGO circulates it to various experts, several of whom have to engage in careful analysis of existing statutes, regulations, case law, and industry practices to see what the actual effect would be. They don't all come to the same conclusion. It takes a while for the NGO's in a particular issue area to develop a good understanding of what would happen. A deal this complex almost certainly has some advantages and some disadvantages, which have to be weighed.

Once a comprehensive evaluation is ready, THEN they can start the process of educating and mobilizing the public. Meaningful public involvement would entail website analyses and posted comments, with a lot of back-and-forth discussion. Furthermore, even in this information age, there would also be some material in the Gutenberg media, and even some public meetings with speeches. Fast-tracking would effectively exclude everyone who doesn't immediately plunge into learning about this issue.

Of course, these limitations wouldn't apply to the big-business interests who've been at the table and involved in the drafting. They'd have a big head start in the battle for public opinion.

And what I still haven't heard is: What's the advantage? Why should such sweeping changes be rushed through under extraordinarily tight deadlines? The agreement has been in negotiation since March of 2010. No one has pointed to any sudden emergency that makes the normal legislative process unacceptable.

Pardon my cynicism, but I think the motivation for fast track is precisely that it creates such huge practical problems for the opponents. The administration and its corporate allies will be ready with their PR blitz, and they'll hope to railroad it through.

Even if, when you see the final agreement, you conclude that it does more good than harm, that's a separate issue from whether the fast-track rules should be imposed.