Liberal Groups Upset With Obama For Rapping Climate Change Bill’s “Protectionism”
Liberal groups allied with the White House are fuming — mostly in private — about some comments President Obama made yesterday attacking a provision in the climate change bill that he called “protectionist.”
Obama yesterday took a whack at the part of the bill that slaps tariffs on some goods from countries that refuse limits on global warming emissions, which was inserted partly to win over Rust Belt lawmakers worried about industrial job losses. “I think we have to be very careful about sending any protectionist signals out there,” Obama said.
“It does make you wonder where Obama is getting his political and policy advice on trade from,” Lori Wallach, the head of the global trade division of Public Citizen, told me, in a rare show of public criticism from a group allied with the White House.
Wallach and other liberals say Obama politically erred by reflexively aligning himself with global free-trade and anti-regulation policies that are unpopular. “Why would President Obama think it’s a good idea politically to say that [free trade] should trump American jobs and trump dealing with the climate crisis?” Wallach asks.
They add that as a policy matter Obama has erred, too, because even the pro-global free trade World Trade Organization issued a report broadly supportive of regulatory efforts geared specifically to combat climate change.
Others note that Obama’s criticism could needlessly alienate unions. “Obama’s big problem with the bill is actually one of the few things that has kept labor on board with the energy transition, the idea that it would set our manufacturing sector back up to be able to compete,” fumes a top official at a major progressive organization.
Obama’s comments also drew criticism today from Paul Krugman, who argues that the provision in the bill Obama dismissed as “protectionist” is actually sound economic policy. Look for labor to take issue with Obama on this later today.
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President Obama also has to worry about this world recession also though and I think its not a secret that his comments were probably aimed at appeasing China who is holding all of our debt. Doesnt mean it won’t stay in the final version of the bill but he at least has to give the appearance that he is protecting China’s export interests.
Why did our country get envolved in borrowing money from China?
Uhmmmm because they had it and we needed it? Those wars won’t pay for themselve you know.
Because we needed it to pay for tax cuts for the rich?
We needed it to pay for the stimulus, omnibus bill, and the regular old gov’t budget. the deficit went from 400billion last year to about 1.85trillion this year. Quadruple! Ding!
We borrowed trillions from the Chinese to pay tax cuts to American millionaires and billionaires. Now we have to pay the interest on the debt till we are all dead. The genius of Republican economic theory!
That’s it Mike – you blame the repubs the repubs blame the dems – but the fact is the deficit has quadrupled since January. Cha-ching!
And – they’re not done yet. They’ve got a blank-check, a credit-card with no limit! Spend baby, Spend!
Bob, you probably didn’t follow the fact that Obama actually included the full cost of the war into the budget, unlike Bush. That is another few HUNDRED billion.
Bob,
Why do you think we are now spending all of this money? The previous administration left this administration with a horribly economy that had been rapped by years of war spending without pay, ridiculous tax cuts, and no advancement of any of the crucial issues, i.e. medicare-medicade, social security, prescription drug bill. These things are not being adequately funded, so in hopes of fixing them now, Republicans cry foul on this administration. What do you guys suppose we do instead? I never hear any ideas; just complaining to the current administration about what they are doing…No ideas equals bankrupt party.
Bob…perhaps it’t time to face the truth. The deficit did not skyrocket because of Obama. Finally the cost of war was put into the numbers. It was Bush’s economy that led to the need for stimulus spending, and when necessary, taxes will be raised on the rich to pay back.
oh no? the stimulus… 800billion – and now the VP says perhaps they “guessed” wrong. The spending since January is all on Obama, Reid & Pelosi. They own the this deficit.
You folks think I’m a bushie – I’m not. I just call them as I see them. This administration’s promise of hope & change went out the window the week after he was sworn in.
Bush’s handling of the economy was horrid. Obama’s handling is worse. The war was stupid. But Obama is continuing it – this plan to draw down and leave 50,000 troops is not ending the war.
Our government is a giant mess – the dems instantly became what they were railing against.
What should we have done? How reducing payroll taxes back in January and giving ordinary people some help? How about closing gitmo, how about handling the Chrysler & GM bk’s according to established bankruptcy law? How about cleaning house & not appointing people that are tax cheats? How about not signing bills laden with pork? How about Rangel, Dodd, Murtha, ad infinitum – how about posting the bills for all to see for 5 days before signing them (but maybe that was just campaign rhetoric).
They should be doing great things – maybe they will get health-care right, I hope so.
Here Mr. Bill. Study this well.
republican.national.debt.jpg (JPEG Image, 785×628 pixels) – Scaled (87%) Oh and that last run there on the right? The red one? That DOESN’T include the cost of the the Iraq War. All those billions were recklessly spent off the books. Big Government Republicans, Big Spending Republicans.
You guys are all idiots. This has to do with concepts outside your normal thought patterns. Patriotism, Honor, Integrety… All the politicians are corrupt to one degree or another. Bush made mistakes, and Obama is multiplying those mistakes by 10. Our taxes and costs will go way up to pay for all of this spending, and if you think its only the rich, think again and wake up. The cost of EVERYTHING will go up if the Climate Control Bill is passed by the Senate. Almost everyone uses gas and or oil or electricity, propane etc… Not just the rich.Grocers will have higher overhead so will have to raise prices. Farms will have higher costs for fuel, oil, etc, so they will have to raise prices. Anything that has to be shipped will cost more. Did Bush push “Cap-n-Trade”? No. Did anyone know the 47 million uninsured people in this country actually includes about 12 million illegal aliens. Its not one party or the other, they’re both messed up.
He has to piss of the “Left” sometimes to maintain his bonafides with the “Right.”