At Working Assets, David Sirota points to secret negotiations on trade between the Democratic party and Bushco, that prove the Dems are either utterly dim or totally compromised, one of the two:
DEAL MAKES SURE TO PREVENT UNIONS FROM HAVING SAME RIGHTS AS CORPORATIONS: Reuters reports that the deal includes “a provision that would only allow national governments” – not unions – “to file a labor complaint under the pact,” meaning Democrats complicit in the deal are effectively proposing that America rely on the Bush administration to make sure workers and the environment are protected. This provision in the deal creates a clear double standard that prioritizes corporate rights over worker rights. Specifically, the provision stands in contrast to provisions already in America’s current trade pacts that allow domestic and foreign corporations to file complaints against sovereign governments (including U.S. local, state and federal governments) when those governments pass environmental/consumer protection laws. These complaints have resulted in U.S. taxpayers alone being forced to pay roughly $1.8 billion in “damages” in international courts because of its own laws.
Actually the provisions don’t contrast at all; I expect the Democrats are perfectly aware that Bushco has declared that the US can’t be sued by anyone at all and so they’ree just accepting the status quo. Democrat multimillionaire corporatists no more want workers’ rights than the Republicans do.
Chimpy declared his government immune from prosecution in 2006:
Citing an “unpublished opinion of the [Attorney General’s] Office of Legal Counsel,” the Secretary of Labor’s Administrative Review Board has ruled federal employees may no longer pursue whistleblower claims under the Clean Water Act. The opinion invoked the ancient doctrine of sovereign immunity which is based on the old English legal maxim that “The King Can Do No Wrong.” It is an absolute defense to any legal action unless the “sovereign” consents to be sued.
The opinion and the ruling reverse nearly two decades of precedent.
Or maybe the Democrats didn’t know about that ( which makes them thick), but think it just fine and dandy either way that corporate might makes right.
REUTERS – BIG BUSINESS OVERJOYED: Reuters reports that most of the corporate lobbying community in Washington, D.C. is praising the deal.
DLC APPLAUDS DEAL AS FIRST STEP TO GIVING BUSH FAST TRACK: The Democratic Leadership Council – the corporate-funded group that has long supported NAFTA and other similar pacts – issued a statement praising the deal, and saying it is “good news” that the agreement is a step towards Democrats passing President Bush’s request for reauthorization of “fast track” trade authority.
SENATE DEM POLICY COMMITTEE PASSES OUT K STREET PRESS RELEASES: The U.S. Senate Democratic Policy Committee blasted out a triumphant email alert to Capitol Hill staff touting press releases praising the secret Democratic-Bush trade deal from the National Association of Manufacturers, the Financial Services Forum, Microsoft and the Emergency Committee on Trade – the corporate front group pushing this deal.
Either way, the workers lose. Meet the new bosses …
