Lame Duck TPP Push Hands Trump A Powerful Issue Against Clinton

You get the picture. It's coming.

Clinton Credibility Problem

Secretary Clinton has a credibility problem on trade. She said she opposes passage of TPP, but has a problem with people believing that she means it. It doesn't help that she has said that she will not lobby members of Congress to vote against it.

Clinton is also (unfairly) seen by many as sharing her husband Bill Clinton's political views, including his successful efforts to push the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which has become a shorthand term describing all of the "free trade" agreements and the damage they have done to American wages. By taking credit for the good things that occurred during the Bill Clinton administration, she is open to blame for the bad things, like NAFTA.

The comments when Truthout republished the CAF post, "Clinton Commits: No Trans-Pacific Partnership," reflect what is seen in any online discussion of Clinton's statement of opposition to TPP. Following is a small sample (of the printable comments):

"I DO NOT BELIEVE her. Obama said he would 'renegotiate NAFTA' and now he pushes TPP and [TTIP, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership], alias NAFTA on steroids. He said this to get elected and lied. She is no better but I am wiser.

"Another campaign promise waiting to be broken. How anyone can believe her at this point is beyond me.

"She was strongly against same-sex marriage before and then she said she was for same-sex marriage all the time. Just wait till she gets into the office, she will say she is always for TPP and free trade and lie right in your face. That's what Hillary is, a chameleon."

This leaves a huge opening for Trump. As President Obama pushes Congress to bring up and pass TPP in the post-election "lame-duck" session, Trump can say that Clinton, should she become the nominee, is "only saying" she is against it "to get votes." You can just hear him saying, "Look, her President is pushing hard for it and she isn't telling him not to."

President Obama is not doing Sec. Clinton, should she become the Democratic nominee -- or any other Democrats running for office -- any favors by continuing to push for passage of the TPP.

Democratic Convention Platform

One thing that Democrats can do to help Clinton in the election, should she become the nominee, is to pass a strong platform trade plank committing to opposition to TPP and similar "free trade' agreements, and demanding that Democrats do what they can to stop a vote on TPP from occurring after the election.

Such a platform plank can make it clear that "free trade," when used as a vehicle to move jobs and production out of the country and drive down American wages, is not something that the Democratic Party will tolerate. Instead the plank can call for a new approach to trade that brings labor, environmental, consumer, human rights, LGBT, health, democracy and other "stakeholder" groups to the negotiating table along with business interests, seeking an approach to trade that lifts stakeholders on all sides of trade borders.

Democrats need to persuade President Obama not to embarrass Clinton, and promise not to bring the TPP before Congress in the lame duck. If he doesn't pull back, Trump and "down-ballot" Republican candidates can rightly use the president's support of TPP as a hammer to pound Democrats.