Statements on NAFTA-Gate (Updated)
By NoQuarter on March 3, 2008 at 10:18 AM in Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, NAFTA
| UPDATES:
Here’s a new video, via a reader at TaylorMarsh.com, with a shake of editorial pepper. (And check out Taylor’s article … “The video above is an example of the trouble Obama could be heading into. Getting caught in double speak, when the truth doesn’t back you up.”) The original is from a Cleveland TV station. A pal of mine called Obama a “lying S.O.S.” (If the shoe fits …) |
(Original) BELOW: The statement of Machinist Union president Tom Buffenbarger and a oh-so-wry observation from Big Tent Democrat at TalkLeft on “Obama Nailed on Nafta-gate.” First, this statement from Hillary Clinton:
In a press availability this morning, Hillary Clinton made the following remarks regarding a memo that has surfaced confirming communication between Sen. Obama’s top economic advisor, Austan Goolsbee and the Canadian embassy about NAFTA.
I think that after days of denial, the Obama campaign was confronted with a memo of a meeting - it was my understanding - in which there was a discussion of NAFTA. And it raises questions about Senator Obama coming to Ohio and giving speeches about NAFTA and having his chief economic advisor tell the Canadian government that it was just political rhetoric.
I don’t think people should come to Ohio and tell the people of Ohio one thing and then have your campaign tell a foreign government something else behind closed doors. That’s the kind of difference between talk and action and that I’ve been pointing out in this campaign. I think the questions should be directed at Senator Obama.
I don’t think people should come to Ohio and you both give speeches that are very critical of NAFTA and you send out misleading and false information about my positions regarding NAFTA and then we find out that your chief economic advisor has gone to a foreign government and basically done the old wink-wink, don’t pay any attention this is just political rhetoric.
From Big Tent Democrat’s post at TalkLeft:
… This is a memo about a meeting that the Obama camp said never occurred, and if it did occur, the Obama camp said NAFTA was not discussed. Now it appears, the Obama camp accepts the meeting DID occur and NAFTA WAS discussed, but not in the way portrayed in the meeting. Riiiight. Thank Gawd for the Obama Rules. Hope they hold if he is the nominee. Imagine what the coverage would be like if this was a Clinton economic advisor.
I ran across this statement by Machinists Union president Tom Buffenbarger over the weekend. He issued it before last night’s revelations. However, his remarks — and his anger — are vindicated.
Obama Telegraphs Pro-NAFTA Position
Thu Feb 28, 11:17 AM ET
To: POLITICAL EDITORSContact: Rick Sloan, IAMAW, +1-301-967-4520 (office), +1-202-297-2941 (cell)
WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) is urging all union members to take a second look at Sen. Barack Obamas (D-IL) position on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), following news reports he assured Canadas ambassador to the U.S. that his opposition to NAFTA was just campaign rhetoric.
According to a report on CTV Television Network, a senior member of Sen. Barack Obamas (D-IL) campaign staff contacted Canadas ambassador to the U.S. earlier this month and warned him that the senator would be taking strong positions against the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), but that it was only campaign rhetoric and should not be taken seriously.
I am appalled but not surprised by this report, said IAM International President Tom Buffenbarger. Working families cannot trust a candidate who telegraphs his real position to a foreign government and then dissembles in a nationally televised debate.
The full CTV report is now posted on YouTube, and provides additional details, including a statement that an Obama campaign spokesperson confirmed that contact with the U.S. ambassador had been made during the past month.
NAFTA is an incendiary issue in Ohio, where tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs have been destroyed since NAFTA was signed into law. Voters in Ohio and Texas have been deluged with Obama campaign ads suggesting he would revisit the trade pact to negotiate new environment and labor standards.
Then IAM is among the nation’s largest trade unions, representing nearly 720,000 active and retired members in manufacturing, aerospace, shipbuilding, transportation and defense-related industries. For more information, visit www.goiam.org.
SOURCE International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
SEE my full story below, updated with a timeline of the Obama campaign’s denials: “Obama Nailed on Nafta-gate.”
Doesn’t matter, the media won’t nail him on it. So sad. He gets away with anything.
Yeah. John Roberts was on it on CNN’s American Morning. But CNN hasn’t touched it now for an hour.
I tried MSNBC — but Mika was whining about Gloria Steinem. Haven’t checked lately … i need to train one of my cats to channel surf for me while I write stories.
Meow?…Meow!
WaPo has a pretty good write up in their fact-checker. They give Obama 2 of 4 Pinocchios: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/2008/03/obama_parses_his_words.html
It’s simple. The Canadian leadership wants NAFTA in place, and wants Clinton or McCain to win, so they slam Obama.
Watch this VIDEO: NAFTA, McCain, Clinton and Change:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH6shHjrhAg
Sigh.
Foo, you’re about to step in another huge pile of shit.
Are you sure you want to do the Charleston, to the Obama swing?
Not a good idea.
Annasia is s doing damage control on the Obama NAFTAGATE links. Making excuses over that Celmon’s blog for the same thing.
Cee was there doing the same.
Bread crumbs or muddy feet?
Annasia, much as you might like to believe it, the Canadian government is not just making this up…it would do them far more harm than good. Sorry to burst your bubble, but O has been busted on this one…
Lucky for you, the media protects him at any and all costs. But you should open your eyes. Foreign governments aren’t just making this up to influence our elections. The memo has been produced, the meeting happened.
And speaking of meetings, and I apologize as this is off topic, but, Susan, I was reading Pundita’s column from yesterday, and theorizing, she mentions Howard Dean lining up behind Obama, despite knowing Obama was truly scandal plagued, and knowing the issue of Rezko could possibly torpedo his campaign. Pundita thought perhaps the other democratic party leaders thought they could count on Auchi’s lawyers to silence the press, at least until Obama was in the White House, those other democratic leader dumb shits apparently forgetting the Republicans have a horse in this race, too.
I think this is a very interesting angle, some incredibly naive and stupid moves on the part of the DNC, and Dean, if true, tacitly supporting a clearly sub par candidate, simply because of personal feelings toward, conflict with the Clintons, showcasing an inability to properly asses the situation, Dean betraying the progressives, and the country, by purposely working to elect a man with direct terrorist ties, to be blunt, because this is what it is, and no amount of denial and rationalization can make that fact go away.
This isn’t about democrats, and republicans, this is about the integrity of the American government.
They would normally use something called “diplomacy” . I know it is a long lost art. I m sure the Canadians would love to sell all that oil on the world market but a little thing called NAFTA prevents this.
.
Could you go into detail about this, a little more?
It’s really interesting.
NAFTA protects the US of import quantities of oil (2 million barrels a day)and natural gas (over 1 million cubic meters a day) from disrupted supply or tarrifs if there is any other disputes in the NAFTA agreement!
Canada holds the second largest oil deposits in the world and one of the largest natural gas deposits!
So you think Canada wants NAFTA, think again, China pays export duties for Oil from Canada triple what the US does!
Several weeks ago, when one of the pipelines into the US ruptured for natual gas, over 3 million homes were without heat, and their are 7 pi[pelines for natural gas into the US, if memory on that situation is correct!
Thanks Mel.
ChrisXP ;
go into the sins of the Kyoto Accord
please do
Short and sweet, two words: Tar sands.
Canada is sitting on one of the world’s largest deposits, but thanks to Kyoto, they can’t mine it. Despite over $100 a barrel incentive to do so.
And bio-fuels?
Nevermind, the Gore fans will be enraged…..
The bio-fuel solution is probably the most worst answer to the peak oil problem there is.
Yeah lets burn our food supplies so we can keep can driving those humongous motorized cod-pieces like the SUVs, pickups and those new V-8 powered muscle cars.
Not to mention this bio-fuel craze has sent grain skyward. Can you say $4 for a loaf of bread?
Idiot environmentalists.
If you aren’t aware of strides being made in ethanol from non human foodstocks I suggest you find out before you start complaining about use of foodstocks to produce ethanol. With the right support from government and citizens ethanol from celluosic feedstocks can take the pressure off oil and bring the price down. Of course it’s the last thing the oil companies want, don’t want to lose their $40 billion profits, you know. You aren’t a troll from Exxon, are you?
Ethanol produces less energy per calorie, which means more has to be produced to get EQUAL energy output to equal amounts of gasoline. That doesn’t even include the energy necessary to just produce it!
That’s just the energy output problem, there’s many other issues involved that make bio-fuels a waste of energy to even produce it.
SCAM 101.
I saw a show about the Tar sands. And they were showing the mining operations, Are they undera production cap because of Kyoto?
Oops, it wasn’t Kyoto (Kyoto was for another issue I’ve been reading), but the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.
http://www.junkscience.com/ByTheJunkman/20080228.html
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The Financial Times article reported on how section 526 of the energy bill prohibits the federal government from buying oil that was produced from Canadian tar sands — a reserve that holds about two-thirds the amount of recoverable oil as compared to reserves in Saudi Arabia.
Because it takes greenhouse gas-producing energy to extract oil from the tar sands, the article focused on the fact that the law could affect billions of dollars of trade in oil, particularly since the U.S. Department of Defense is the world’s largest single buyer of light refined petroleum.
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But my views about energy independence aren’t even regarding this, as nations can use whatever current energy source they want — but to get to the next technological age we need 10x amount to do so (and we better hurry, since if China gets it before we do, say good-bye to our superpower status). Currently alternative energy resources can’t produce 10x our current level (we only have 2x of what we need — why we have the black and brown outs), and it’ll take a radical idea like a Dyson sphere to achieve it.
We don’t need a Mars colony, we need that Dyson sphere and high capacity fuel cells that can store all the energy it can produce.
Then with the technological advancement, say goodbye to currency (like the greenback and gold) as you know it — as that energy will be the new monetical unit (think of it as credit card sized battery, that has an actual money value to it).
Ack, too much to say.
I can go into the sins of the Kyoto Accord, that handicaps Canada in providing us with even more oil.
McCain would kill Obama on this, as a metaphor for his utter inexperience in dealing with other countries, as well as the inability to trust him. “Senator Obama went to the Canadian government and told them that he supported NAFTA, and then went to the American people and said that he did not, just to get votes. My friends, I will never tell the American people one thing, and a foreign government another.” Do you want to hear variations of this for the next nine months? Independent of that, do you have confidence in Obama to navigate the perilous fields of international diplomacy; as compared to Hillary Clinton (with the help of BilL Clinton?).
Thereby eliminating any edge the democrats might have as the people’s party, taking away the one issue where the democrats and republicans ostensibly differ.
All we need to do now is send them to France, put them in a black Mercedes, hook them up with a rich Arab, hire paparazzi to hound them, and then finish them off with a violent car crash on the streets of Paris.
Oh, wait…
I want Hillary, since the government will get about 60 years of experience. Plus, the Clintons are known and have good connections worldwide — and discreet with diplomancy (something the O-Bomba staff clearly shows they’re not capable of — what a freaking embarassment. What world leader would want to deal with such ranked amateurs????).
Remember this folks, the only reason why NAFTA was even mentioned in this campaign is because Obama brought it up, thinking he could use NAFTA in a smear campaign against Hillary.
Obama brought NAFTA up. He used NAFTA as a smear attack on Hillary.
But while he was attacking Hillary over NAFTA, he was saying the opposite to Canada, behind everyone’s backs.
Then, when he was caught in his disingenuous attack, he lied and said it never happened.
Now that that lie has been caught, he has some more lies to tell.
Recap:
Obama brings NAFTA up in this campaign as a smear attack on his opponent.
Obama tells Canada the exact opposite of what he says in his public smear attack.
Obama lies about the meeting taking place.
Obama lies about the substance of the meeting.
Obama lies about what the memo says.
Obama is “change you can xerox” and the lying politics of the past.
My question is what prompted the meeting between Obama’s advisor and the Canadians? Anybody?
Teflon?
How can we make sure that this sticks? Why aren’t people taking these reports seriously? I don’t get it. How has Obama convinced people that he pees perfume, as Ann Richards would say?
It takes time.
Point is to make a list of negatives. They grow, and they’ll act like graffiti. Eventually the shiny paint job on the O-Bomba express, will become an eyesore.
What’s important here, is to not call it quits so quickly, but to let this damn slow process work it’s poison. This NAFTA-gate has only been out for less than a week, even.
But be warned: if the Dems are more interested in “unity”, just might as well give McCain the keys to the White House. As you eiher go full throttle for the White House, or park the campaign bus before entering Washington.
Sorry later wouldn’t matter, as folks don’t listen to the losers.
You should read Paul Krugman’s OpEd piece in today’s NYT : I think he is zero-ing into something real that’s happening within the Dems. Very interesting analysis.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/03/opinion/03krugman.html?hp
Personally, I feel the Democrat party has lost it’s soul. They get flaming mad, talk about ideas, but even with a new congress they do what????
Now, tell me what will a Dem president do, when a Dem congress won’t?
Dems have some serious soul searching to do. Not just smoking the crack pipe, but REALLY deciding the direction and hard floor planks to stick too (GOP has pro-life; pro-guns; pro-trade; pro-business; pro-military planks, for example — and consistently stick to them). It seems every 4 years the Dem party is hijacked by some new radical group, who’s so uncompromising they rather sink the party instead (this O-Bomba express, for example).
Whatever it is, the Democrat party isn’t operating from the outlook on winning. It’s operating on self-destruction.
Krugman has some good ideas, but he’s too partisan to see past the ills of the party itself, as he’s part of the disease — it’s not Bush that’s the problem, it’s a broken government itself, that ALLOWED him to have a free ride in the first place…AND STILL ALLOWED!!
Lost it’s soul? What on Earth does a Republican know about having a soul? The Dems have only been in for a little over a year and they don’t have enough of a majority to override your boy incurious George –but we’ll take care of that this fall. During the 12 years your Republican congress had in charge of both the Senate and the House they greatly increased the number of earmarks (pork) that went into every bill and spent like drunken businessmen in Las Vegas. And never mind the Dem’s ‘tax and spend’ philosophy, the Republican’s ‘borrow and spend’ out does the Dems –our grandchildren will be paying for Republican excesses and delusions of grandeur for many decades to come.
As far as NAFTA and this Canadian response is concerned, Canada currently has an ultra-conservative parliament and will never hesitate to join hand in hand with the Bush boy to keep these unfair trade policies going. So, I don’t really care what Canada has to say –they’re going to have to play ball eventually, whether they like it or not.
By the way, Bush is part of the problem –he lied to a bunch of seasoned politicians and the entire nation and got away with it. Oh well, he can still be prosecuted and impeached after he gets out of office. So, let’s wait until the Dems get their veto proof majority this fall and Nancy ‘work and play well with others’ Pelosi is unseated as well..
By the way, Krugman who?… Get with the program, nobody named Krugman has a chance of winning this time. We need to make sure the Republicans are kicked as far from office as we can get them and that means voting for someone who can beat the war-monger McCain, and Krugman, whoever he is, aint it.
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Lost it’s soul? What on Earth does a Republican know about having a soul?
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You tell me, as I’m not a Republican.
I just love partisans who think they can sideswipe, but slip on their own petard!
Pssst…I’m a moderate Traditional conservative. Been independent since day one.
Sorry Pamela - There are many here and elsewhere who WILL NOT vote for Obama - Period.
I have cancelled my Democracy bonds, written Howard Dean, and refuse to give a penny to the current insanity. I do not do bullying, particulary by very childish cult members who feel they are “entitled” to rule the roost.
Pamela; maybe you should read the article before you rage about ..(what are you raging about? read it twice but can’t figure it out)
Paul Krugman is one of the *very few* smart people that write in todays’s MSM including the
discredited NYT….
We are trying to understand and discuss ideas here; not “ideology”.
As for Obama as President: ? Well…. let me just say that a bad law/bill is worse than none at all.
And I know that you are not saying this but
I am tired of the Obama supporters threats that unless everyone votes for Obama we will be responsible for the next Supreme Justice appointee and Roe vs Wade being overturn.
But the truth of the matter is that *it is Congress’s responsibility* to vet and approve or disaprove whoever the Pres. nominates.
And since it is likely that Clinton supporters wil vote Dems. for Congress and that Dems. will have a majority then it will be on Congress’ shoulders.
All of the above comments are great. But if the media ain’t covering it what can we do???????
If this isn’t PROOF of a bias I don’t know what is? Does anyone think if Hillary had been caught in this snafu it would be a story they would cover.
Listen up MSM: The nails are in the coffin. Burial is taking place as I type. YOU NO LONGER EXIST in my life.
I wish I knew… It seems we all know the truth and keep telling it to each other but nothing happens out there where it could make a difference. I am angry, very frustrated… I feel like Don Quijote and the wind mills.
It’s on CNN today, every hour on the hour. Was also on McLaughlin group last night. It’s trickling in.
Also - FoxNews will often be the first to report this stuff.
If this had happened a week before tomorrow’s primaries I might have believed it would cause a second look at Obama, depending on the news coverage. But being just a day or so earlier and getting light coverage anyway will make it a nonissue tomorrow. The polls are trending towards Obama’s favor and if he wins,the screaming for Clinton to quit will be deafening. I guess I can hope that all the “undecideds” will turn towards Hillary at the last minute, a la New Hampshire, but it doesn’t look good.
Polls moving back in Hillary’s direction today.
Is this story getting any traction in the Ohio press?
This is all I could fine about whether it is being played in Ohio…It’s a second hand report saying it is but…I couldn’t find anything else…
http://www.observer.com/2008/wolfson-makes-it-naftagate
Sorry, I meant “could find”
Surreal article at CNN 15min. ago reporting Goolsbee said the Canadian Consulate in Chicago “min-interpreted” him. Is this hillarious or what?
The guy is a distingushed economist Prof. at U Chicago and expressed himself so badly in such a simple issue that the amateur canadaian diplomats mis-undertood him?
Is this the argument they came down to? At least they are not saying anymore there was “no contact”…
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/03/obama.nafta.ap/index.html?eref=rss_politics&iref=polticker
CNN has reported on this story every hour since 8 AM EST this morning until 2:30 PM EST. I have not heard the report again yet. We’ll have to see how the MSM reports on it this evening.
Under Latest News, two links now on CNN homepage going to NAFTA-gate.
Clinton hammers Obama on NAFTA
Obama camp downplays conversation with Canada
This was covered on the Newshour too (listening on NPR,) with a clip of Obama issuing some kind of denial or correction (he goes on for so long it’s hard to discern what he was saying) but he sounded pretty confident.
Environmentalists aren’t the ones wanting biofuels.
Industrialists are.
Biofuels use disproportionate amounts of water, take more energy to make than they provide, and are inefficient compared to fuel cell technology.
Mr. Murder,
They can also get rid of the useless eaters faster.
Now back the neocon engineered NAFTA bullshit:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/3/3/164641/2321/755/468076
Street Phophets and muddy feet.
I guess I was whistling past the grave yard when Sen. Obama said he would do so at the most recent debate…
Come on Cee…Who you jivin’ with that Kosmic Debris?
That link all about a CYA from Obama Koolaid manufacturers. Canada afraid of Obama? because of Rush? Canada is Canada and will always be Canada.
Oh well, at least it was funny.
Teak,
Anyone who has a different opinion is debris now?
I think you’ve been in the echo chamber too long.
If I had to play a hunch here I’d guess that U Chicago economics hotshot Professor Goolsbee has no small regard for himself and decided to strut a little insider/West Wing stuff for a pal at the Canadian consulate in Chicago, held forth about President Obama’s economic priorities and then offerred his take on candidate Obama’s debate pronouncements on NAFTA. Being utterly clueless on the way the world works (he is, after all an academic and a U of C one to boot), it never occurred to him that consulate boy would take careful notes, write it up and send it upstream. I mean, that’s his job and besides, he wants to show his bosses that he’s got the inside scoop on the incoming Obama administration. D.C. embassy here I come!
Boom! Word leaks of the conversation with the “senior Obama campaign economic advisor” (or something lik that) as it invariably does, and Team Obama goes full crisis because—gasp—his credibility has been challenged! About NAFTA, no less! With Ohio five days away! Oy.
And here’s where they make the rookie mistake that seems typical of this campaign. Rather than react carefully while they run down the ground balls and figure out what the hell happened (as the seasoned Clinton team did with the Obama Somalia photo), they issue an immediate flat denial because—gasp—Obama’s credibility has been challenged!
And then they have to retract, backtrack, obfuscate and explain away, all while looking either completely inept or deliberately misleading.
In my view neither of these conclusions (which are the only ones available) recommend the candidate for, oh, the presidency of the United States of America. Couldn’t happen to a bigger bunch of arrogant….well, choose your own noun to finish the sentence.
So good luck, Senator Clinton. And here’s my chant for the crowds tomorrow night: Keep Fighting!