Trade war heating up among Democrats [View all]

[Surya Gayatri]

“The answer is not only no but hell no,” Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said when asked whether he backs pending legislation to smooth the path for President Obama to complete a major trade deal in the Asia-Pacific region. (James Lawler Duggan/Reuters)

Hillary Rodham Clinton and other top Democrats began feuding over President Obama’s trade initiative Tuesday as his bid for a major late-term win began tearing at the party’s unity and threatened to expose old divisions ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

The tensions broke into public view after Clinton hedged during her first remarks on whether she would support an Obama-backed trade package that is gaining traction in Congress but is opposed by some on the party’s politically potent liberal wing.

“Any trade deal has to produce jobs and raise wages and increase prosperity and protect our security,” Clinton said during a tour of a community college in Concord, N.H., that focuses on technical skills. “We have to do our part in making sure we have the capabilities and the skills to be competitive.”

Her remarks, which echoed a noncommittal statement from her presidential campaign late last week, placed her in an uncomfortable spot between the pro-business and pro-labor wings of the party. The trade issue is being closely watched by liberals who would prefer a more adamantly left-leaning candidate to carry the Democratic banner.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trade-war-heating-up-among-democrats/2015/04/21/65921dc6-e85f-11e4-aae1-d642717d8afa_story.html?hpid=z4