And here from the political newsletter Hotline….note the Republicans who voted No.
CAFTA: I’ll Take That De-CAFTAnated
A “sharply divided” House early 7/28 “passed a hard-fought Central American trade agreement that had become one of the year’s biggest political fights.” The victory was “a huge one” for Pres. Bush and GOPers, “whose legislative agenda could have been jeopardized if it had become the first failed trade agreement in four decades.” After over two hours of debate, the House passed it 217-215, “generally beyond party lines.” The SEN “passed it last month by a vote of 54-45, and the House vote secures its success.”
Even after “intense lobbying” by the WH, it wasn’t “clear that CAFTA would pass.” Many members “had refused to commit either way. 27 GOPers “voted against it.” 15 Dems “voted for it.” The “day began with Bush making a rare appearance” on the Hill “to try to cajole” GOPers “to support CAFTA.” VP Cheney “stayed for the day and spoke to several of the undecided” GOPers (Kumar, St. Petersburg Times, 7/28).
“In the spirit of tying everything” to nat’l security and “the spread of democracy, Bush in his statement said the country has ‘a moral obligation and a vital national security interest in helping the democracies of Central America and the Dominican Republic succeed.'” Speaker Dennis Hastert said there’s “nothing like a stable society to fight terrorism and strengthen democracy.” Dems “call the deal a job killer” (NBC’s First Read, 7/28).
Even Bush’s Dog Was Whipping This Vote
Much of the GOP “whip effort focused on recalcitrant members from import-battered industrial” CDs, like Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH). Ney: “I’ve met everybody including the president’s new dog, everybody from the dog on up.” Prior to the CAFTA vote, “the House approved, 255-168, a package of measures aimed at prodding China to abide by trade rules,” which some Reps like Small Business chair/Rep. Donald Manzullo (R-IL) “said gave them the confidence to throw their support behind CAFTA” (Vaughan/Davis, CongressDaily, 7/28).
Some GOP members “balked at supporting the pact because it would allow for additional sugar imports from the Latin American member nations.” But the admin “appears to have few concessions to the sugar lobby. Commerce Secy Carlos Gutierrez: “We … frankly don’t believe that it is fair to hold up an agreement… for one industry that has a concern that we do not believe is grounded” (Bachelet, Miami Herald, 7/28).
Trading Faces
During the debate, “which lasted 2 1/2 hours, the bitterness” of the Dems’ opposition “shone through in condemnations such as that” by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH): “CAFTA is for multinational companies who want to make a profit by shutting plants in the United States and moving to places with cheap labor.” Dems and unions “fear” approval of the “this accord will signal that free-trade deals are possible with almost any country, no matter how low its wages or how inadequate its labor protections.” Min. Leader Nancy Pelosi “warned that the political consequences will come back to haunt Bush” (Blustein/Allen, Washington Post, 7/28).
Bet There’re Some Tired Eyes On The Hill Today
CAFTA, HR 3045, passed at 12:03 am on 7/28, 217 votes to 215. Below is a breakdown of those members that bucked the party line and a few members that have districts with high job-loss/ high blue-collar populations.
AYES Bean (D-IL 08); Cooper (D-TN 05); Cuellar (D-TX 28);Dicks (D-WA 06) ; Hinojosa (D-TX 15); Jefferson (D-LA 02); Matheson (D-UT 02); Meeks (D-NY 06);
Moore (D-KS 03) ; Moran (D-VA 08); Ortiz (D-TX 27); Skelton (D-MO 04); Snyder, (D-AK 02); Tanner (D-TN 08); Towns (D-NY 10)
NOES Boustany (R-LA 07); Capito (R-WV 02); Coble (R-NC 06); Cubin (R-WY AL); Foxx (R-NC 05); Garrett (R-NJ 05); Goode (R-VA 05); Gutknecht (R-MN 01); Hostettler (R-IN 08); Hunter (R-CA 52); Jindal (R-LA 01)
; Jones (R-NC 03); LoBiondo (R-NJ 02); Mack (R-FL 14); McCotter (R-MI 11); McHenry (R-NC 10); McHugh (R-NY 23); Miller (R-MI 10); Ney (R-OH 18); Norwood (R-GA 09); Otter (R-ID 01); Paul (R-TX 14); Rehberg (R-MT AL); Simmons (R-CT 02); Simpson (R-ID 02); Smith (R-NJ 04); Tancredo (R-CO 06)
UPDATE: As some of you eagle-eyes noticed, the above lists were off–my fault for taking this as is and pasting it without checking the NOEs. But, it should be right now.
That’s Some Seriously, Seriously Bad Luck (Or Is It Bad Spin?)
Though the recorded vote on CAFTA that can be found at thomas.loc.gov shows Rep. Charlie Taylor (R-NC 11) as “Not Voting” on CAFTA, his office claims otherwise. They say Taylor voted no, but due to a technical error, he was recorded into the system as “Not Voting.” His office is currently trying to fix the error and will release a statement later today, according his district office spokesperson Deborah Potter (Hotline reporting, 7/28).
Flippity-Flop-Flop-Flop-erooo!
From MSNBC.com 7/24, But Rep. Robin Hayes (R-NC 08), “whose district includes Cabarrus, Rowan and Catawba counties, will vote against CAFTA.” Hayes, in reference the the ’03 bankruptcy of Pillowtex, “which caused the largest layoff” in NC history: “When I drive through Kannapolis now, it’s a ghost town. A lot of people, rightfully so, think it’s because of flawed trade policy. There needs to be a clear-cut case that (CAFTA) is going to bring jobs and grow the economy. CAFTA does not make that case” (7/24).
As of 7/27 CongressDaily reports Hayes would be a “No” vote (CongressDaily, 7/27). “In the end a 40-minute delay in the vote was broken after” GOP leaders convinced Hayes of “to switch his vote to yes” (Drajem, Bloomberg, 7/28).
