Irony/idiocy alert: Will GOP attack Democrat for (pro-TPP) trade (votes)? [View all]

[pampango]

Will Republicans run campaign ads against Democrats who back fast-track trade authority? GOP operatives aren’t ruling it out, highlighting the tight spot many Democrats find themselves in as they come under pressure from President Obama to support his trade agenda.

The unusual political dynamic could spill into the 2016 campaign season, with Democrats who side with Obama facing a potential “double whammy” of campaign opposition. While Democrats who vote for the fast-track bill are nearly certain to take heat from liberal allies, particularly labor unions, Republicans could wage similar attacks despite the GOP’s general support for free trade.

Still, trade is a populist issue, and there remains the potential for Republican challengers in blue-collar districts to go after Democratic trade supporters, both for killing U.S. jobs and empowering a president that conservatives simply don’t trust.

But in some districts, trade could be a populist issue that resonates with independents, meaning it could also create an opportunity for Republicans to attack Democratic trade supporters in the general election.

http://thehill.com/policy/finance/trade/241296-will-gop-attack-dems-on-trade

The republican base opposes fast track and TPP but their establishment supports it. For a republican candidate to use a pro-fast track/TPP vote against a Democratic candidate he or she will probably have to use it against a republican establishment opponent first.

Their base often feel that their folks in congress sell them out and compromise with Democrats instead of standing firm and not compromising. On this issue, if their base was not so hateful, they might realize that many in the Democratic base oppose the same things and work might together this once.