NAFTA talk
What she is referring to is a quote Obama was using earlier in the campaign saying that she had called NAFTA a "boon" for the economy.
We checked this out ourselves and found that it was a Newsday reporter who used the word "boon" in describing Clinton's position on how NAFTA has impacted the economy. It was not a word she used in a direct quote.
Note that, tonight, Obama did not accuse her of calling it a "boon."
-- Howard Wilkinson
-- Howard Wilkinson
6 Comments:
at 9:28 PM, February 26, 2008 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 9:32 PM, February 26, 2008 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 9:17 AM, February 27, 2008 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 9:57 AM, February 27, 2008 
usefullidiot said...
-
-
at 9:51 PM, February 28, 2008 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 8:31 PM, February 29, 2008 
Anonymous said...
-
-
Post a Comment*Hillary Clinton Pretends She Never Praised NAFTA
Posted February 14, 2008 | 06:20 PM (EST)
-snip
The Huffington Post has followed along with a laugh-out-loud piece in which the chief architects of NAFTA (many who are now wealthy corporate lawyers and lobbyists) are now saying, no, no, Hillary Clinton was really opposed to it. These are the same people, of course, who are looking for jobs in the Hillary Clinton White House.
What a total joke, really. This campaign clearly thinks we are all just a bunch of fools.
Hillary Clinton has made statements unequivocally trumpeting NAFTA as the greatest thing since sliced bread. The Buffalo News reports that back in 1998, Clinton attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and thanked praised corporations for mounting "a very effective business effort in the U.S. on behalf of NAFTA." Yes, you read that right: She traveled to Davos to thank corporate interests for their campaign ramming NAFTA through Congress.
On November 1, 1996, United Press International reported that on a trip to Brownsville, Texas, Clinton "touted the president's support for the North American Free Trade Agreement, saying it would reap widespread benefits in the region."
The Associated Press followed up the next day noting that Hillary Clinton touted the fact that "the president would continue to support economic growth in South Texas through initiatives such as the North American Free Trade Agreement."
-snip
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-sirota/hillary-clinton-pretends-_b_86747.html
BLOOMBERG:
Clinton promoted her husband's trade agenda for years, and friends say that she's a free-trader at heart. ``The simple fact is, nations with free-market systems do better,'' she said in a 1997 speech to the Corporate Council on Africa. ``Look around the globe: Those nations which have lowered trade barriers are prospering more than those that have not.''
Praise for Nafta
At the 1998 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, she praised corporations for mounting ``a very effective business effort in the U.S. on behalf of Nafta.'' She added: ``It is certainly clear that we have not by any means finished the job that has begun.''
Clinton ``is committed to free trade and to the growing role of the international economy,'' said Steven Rattner, a Clinton fundraiser and co-founder of Quadrangle Group LLC, a New York buyout firm. ``She would absolutely do the right thing as president.''
There was little evidence of a protectionist tilt to Clinton's trade views during either her 2000 campaign or first years in the Senate. She stressed issues such as homeland security and children's health care, and wasn't a major voice in trade-policy debates.
-snip
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=atUKcP4eSEvY&refer=politics
In her memoir, Clinton wrote, "Senator Dole was genuinely interested in health care reform but wanted to run for president in 1996. He couldn't hand incumbent Bill Clinton any more legislative victories, particularly after Bill's successes on the budget, the Brady bill and NAFTA."
Yes, we are all expected to just forget that, so that Hillary Clinton's campaign can manufacture supposed "outrage" that anyone would say she supported NAFTA - all at a time her chief strategist, Mark Penn, simultaneously heads a firm that is right now pushing to expand NAFTA into South America.
FROM TIME:
SOME FACTS ON CLINTON’S SUPPORT FOR NAFTA:
2006/2008: Newsday Reviewed Clinton’s Statements, Concluded She Supported NAFTA. According to a Newsday issues rundown, “Clinton thinks NAFTA has been a boon to the economy.” Newsday wrote in 2008, the word “boon” was their “characterization of how we best understood her position on NAFTA, based on a review of past stories and her public statements.” [New York Newsday, 9/11/06; Newsday blog, 2/15/08]
2003: Hillary Clinton Expounded on Benefits of NAFTA, Calling it An Important Legislative Goal. “Creating a free trade zone in North America—the largest free trade zone in the world—would expand U.S. exports, create jobs and ensure that our economy was reaping the benefits, not the burdens, of globalization. Although unpopular with labor unions, expanding trade opportunities was an important administration goal. The question was whether the White House could focus its energies on two legislative campaigns at once [NAFTA and health care]. I argued that we could and that postponing health care would further weaken its chances.” [Living History, 182]
2003: Clinton Called NAFTA a “Victory” For President Clinton. In her memoir, published in 2003, Clinton wrote, “Senator Dole was genuinely interested in health care reform but wanted to run for President in 1996. He couldn’t hand incumbent Bill Clinton any more legislative victories, particularly after Bill’s successes on the budget, the Brady bill and NAFTA.” [Living History, p.231]
1996: Clinton Said “I Think Everybody Is In Favor Of Free And Fair Trade. I Think NAFTA Is Proving Its Worth.” A questioner pointed out that UNITE opposes the North American Free Trade Agreement, backed by the Clinton administration, on grounds it sends American jobs to Mexico. In March 1996, three years after President Clinton signed NAFTA into law, Hillary Clinton said, “I think everybody is in favor of free and fair trade. I think NAFTA is proving its worth,” she said, adding that if American workers can compete fairly, they can match any competition. “That’s what a free and fair trade agreement like NAFTA is all about,” she said. [AP, 3/6/96]
1996: Clinton “Vowed That Her Husband Would Continue To Support Economic Growth In South Texas Through Initiatives Such As The North American Free Trade Agreement.” AP wrote, “Mrs. Clinton vowed that her husband would continue to support economic growth in South Texas through initiatives such as the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Rio Grande Valley empowerment zone, which allows tax breaks to businesses that relocate to the border.” [AP, 11/2/96]
1996: Hillary Clinton “Touted” President Clinton’s Support for NAFTA, Saying it Would Reap Widespread Benefit. On a trip to Brownsville, Texas, Clinton “touted the president’s support for the North American Free Trade Agreement, saying it would reap widespread benefits in the region.” [United Press International, 11/1/96]
COMMENTATORS AGREE CLINTON HAS SUPPORTED NAFTA AND FREE TRADE
Sirota: “What A Total Joke” That Clinton Camp Tries to Argue She Did Not Support NAFTA, “Clinton Has Made Statements Unequivocally Trumpeting NAFTA.” In response to Barack Obama’s attack on NAFTA, the Hillary Clinton campaign has gone into meltdown mode…The Huffington Post has followed along with a laugh-out-loud piece in which the chief architects of NAFTA (many who are now wealthy corporate lawyers and lobbyists) are now saying, no, no, Hillary Clinton was really opposed to it. These are the same people, of course, who are looking for jobs in the Hillary Clinton White House. What a total joke, really. This campaign clearly thinks we are all just a bunch of fools. Hillary Clinton has made statements unequivocally trumpeting NAFTA as the greatest thing since sliced bread.“ [David Sirota, 2/14/08]
Bloomberg: Clinton “Praised” NAFTA, Friends Said She Was “A Free-Trader at Heart.” Bloomberg News reported, “Clinton promoted her husband’s trade agenda for years, and friends say that she’s a free-trader at heart. ‘The simple fact is, nations with free-market systems do better,” she said in a 1997 speech to the Corporate Council on Africa. ‘Look around the globe: Those nations which have lowered trade barriers are prospering more than those that have not.’ Praise for Nafta At the 1998 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, she praised corporations for mounting ‘a very effective business effort in the U.S. on behalf of NAFTA.” She added: ‘It is certainly clear that we have not by any means finished the job that has begun.’ Clinton ‘is committed to free trade and to the growing role of the international economy,’ said Steven Rattner, a Clinton fundraiser and co-founder of Quadrangle Group LLC, a New York buyout firm. ‘She would absolutely do the right thing as president.’ There was little evidence of a protectionist tilt to Clinton’s trade views during either her 2000 campaign or first years in the Senate. She stressed issues such as homeland security and children’s health care, and wasn’t a major voice in trade-policy debates. As she began to gear up for a White House run, Clinton became less of a free-trade booster and more skeptical about the payoff of globalization.” [Bloomberg News, 3/30/07]
Ø Clinton’s NAFTA Rhetoric Is Not Driven By Policy. Bloomberg News reported, “Clinton’s positioning on trade reflects the changing nature of the debate in the U.S., which increasingly focuses on concerns over outsourcing and the shift of jobs to other nations such as China and India rather than on the benefits of tariff reductions. It also — as with Republicans grappling over illegal immigration — demonstrates the extent to which grassroots sentiment can alter candidates’ platforms. A Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll conducted in January found 39 percent of Democrats believe free trade hurts the economy; only 18 percent say it is a benefit. Both parties agree that a backlash on trade helped Democrats in the 2006 elections. West Virginia Senator Jay Rockefeller, a Democrat, said U.S. workers have been ‘so decimated’ by unfettered competition that ‘I think the American people understand they will be hit by it.’ Clinton promoted her husband’s trade agenda for years, and friends say that she’s a free-trader at heart.” [Bloomberg News, 3/30/07]
SF Chronicle: “Add to this Democratic front-runner Sen. Hillary Clinton’s coolness to the idea. Her husband moved earth and sky to win passage of the NAFTA trade pact with Mexico and Canada in 1993. Now she favors periodic reviews to continue such deals, a “timeout” on new ones, and more federal officials to oversee complaints. It’s clearly a flip-flop favor to unions and industry sectors hit by layoffs and cheap imports and bid to outflank her rival, Sen. Barack Obama, who is more favorable to free trade.” [San Francisco Chronicle, 10/12/07]
BILL CLINTON CONTINUES TO ARGUE FOR NAFTA
JANUARY 2008: Bill Clinton Says “A Lot Of People Think NAFTA’s A Bigger Problem Than it Is.” During an event in Las Vegas, Clinton said “She [Hillary Clinton] believes that NAFTA, she believes that all our trade agreements should be reviewed in the first 90 to 120 days of taking office. She would have a total moratorium on all new trade deals until we conducted a review. And one of the things that we have to examine is the point I made earlier. That is, is the trade agreement basically fair, but we just don’t enforce it. A lot of people think that NAFTA’s a bigger problem than it is. Our problem with Mexico, our trade deficit with Mexico is mostly because we buy oil from them.” [Bill Clinton, 1/18/08]
-SNIP
http://thepage.time.com/saturday-obama-campaign-release/
I wish a reporter would ask senator Clinton if she will denounce her ties to the DLC (Democratic Leadership Council)? Hillary is shown on their website as a member of their leadership team. It's easy to research the DLC position on trade (which is pro free trade) on their website.
Have any of you Hillary supporters seen the photo of her and Bill with the same Tony Rezko that they are trying to link Obama with insultingly. Whats up with that Hillary, you and Bill looked a little cozy with the guy too. Sometimes we don't know everythng about who we are dealing with until its too late...hence George W. Bush's reign as president.
She can deny it all she wants...too may quotes are out there about her supporting NAFTA. But I guess since words don't mean anything, we should forget that she is now lying to the American People.
Wow!!! now both Dhimicrats are NATIONALISTS!!!!
GO FIGURE!!!!!!!!!
Obama’s Smear tactics flier found to be misleading and untrue. Clearly an act of desperation to win votes in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Source: Huffington Post
Did Hillary Clinton Really Support NAFTA?
Aides, Biographers Say No
February 14, 2008 01:13 PM
Read More: 2008 Campaign And NAFTA, Clinton Opposition, Clinton Opposition To NAFTA,
As the 2008 campaign shifts to economically hard-hit states like Ohio, so too do the topics of political debate. This week, Sen. Barack Obama's campaign has attacked Sen. Hillary Clinton on trade, arguing that she was once a supporter of the North American Free Trade Agreement that contributed to the loss hundreds of thousands of American jobs.
The attack is, most observers say, misleading. The "boon" line, a paraphrase lifted from a September 2006 Newsday article, has yet to be confirmed as an authentic quote. But, more importantly, the mailer misrepresents what former Clinton administration officials and biographers say was Hillary Clinton's long-held opposition to the legislation.
Entire article found here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/14/did-hillary-clinton-reall_n_86674.html
NATO talk:
equally mind blowing.
Obama admits he neglected his senate responsibilities.
During the Feb 19th debates in Ohio Senator Obama who also serves as Chair of the subcommittee that has oversight over NATO admitted he has not held one single substantive hearing to figure out what the U.S can do to have a stronger presence with Nato in Afghanistan.
Obama admitted it was true stating it was because his responsibilities as chair began at the same time he began running for President.
While young men and women are at great risk and being killed in Afghanistan Obama’s admission proves he is not remotely ready or qualified to run this country- regardless of how calm, cool, collected and presidential he looks.
The day after Senator Carl Levin (D-MI), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee noted that Senator Clinton has introduced more legislation to address the problems facing wounded service members than any other Senator, including The Dignified Treatment of Wounded Warriors Act (accomplished while running her presidential race).
* Our online blogs currently are hosted and operated by a third party, namely, Blogger.com. You are now leaving the Cincinnati.Com website and will be linked to Blogger.com's registration page. The Blogger.com site and its associated services are not controlled by Cincinnati.Com and different terms of use and privacy policy will apply to your use of the Blogger.com site and services.
By proceeding and/or registering with Blogger.com you agree and understand that Cincinnati.Com is not responsible for the Blogger.com site you are about to access or for any service you may use while on the Blogger.com site.
<< Home