General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: HRC was critical of TPP before it was cool [View all]Jim Lane
(11,175 posts)If your comment is that Hillary has said different things at different times, then you're agreeing with my point (in #118) that your defense of Hillary is inconsistent with the OP's defense of Hillary. Of course, there's no requirement that you align your position with MaggieD's. I was merely noting that, in MaggieD's view, Hillary is now "critical of TPP", and has been since "before it was cool" (see the OP), and is in the " s)ame place she has been for over a decade" (see #45).
People defending Hillary's position can be mutually inconsistent precisely because Hillary has not been clear and forthright in her views. Her most recent statement on TPP is so bland and generic (for prosperity, against weakening national security) that it could be endorsed by Bernie Sanders, Ted Cruz, and everyone in between. She hasn't come close to saying anything like "I once hailed TPP as the gold standard but I now see that I was wrong."
As for fast track, I differ from many TPP/TPA opponents in not having a problem with the no-amendments rule. My problem with fast track is the "fast" part. Congress will have a huge mass of material dumped on it for review and analysis. There's no reason to set artificial time limits on the legislative process. U.S. participation in the negotiations was announced by the Bush Administration in 2008. The negotiators have missed multiple target dates for completion. These facts show that there's no screaming urgency that mandates a deadline for Congressional action. Fast track is especially unfair where the people on one side (TPP proponents in government and in industry) have had access to the negotiations and the drafts for months, while those on the other side have had to make do with leaks (pooh-poohed by many here, including you) and with the limited Congressional access (no copying, no note-taking, no sharing with staffers or with outside experts).
But, getting back to the subject of the OP, namely where does candidate Clinton stand: I would actually have more respect for her if she expressly adopted your point of view. I would disagree but at least I'd know where she stood. You (presumably) don't have staffers helping you to write DU posts, and you, all by your lonesome, managed to write, "I do not have a problem with Fast Track...." It's telling that Hillary Clinton can't even bring herself to say that much. With fast track, as with TPP, we don't know whether she agrees with Obama, on the one hand, or with O'Malley and Sanders, on the other hand.