[Nettime-bold] fast-track for Bush

[Brian Holmes <106271.223@compuserve.com>]

After years of resistance by Congress, the new conditions of
super-patriotism have given the American oligarchy the support they needed
for a bill that will finally allow the president to sign whatever trade
agreement looks juciest for the big corporations. A major victory for
executive democracy and the neoliberal agenda of the WTO.

Read it and weep at
<www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5609-2001Dec6.html> The essential
points here:

"Trade Bill Passes House by One Vote"

By the margin of a single vote, the House yesterday agreed to give the
president broader authority to forge international trade agreements, as GOP
leaders used a last-minute deal to overcome intense Democratic opposition
and deliver on one of President Bush's top legislative priorities.
In securing passage of trade promotion authority, also known as "fast
track," Bush achieved a goal that had eluded President Bill Clinton for
years. But the achievement came only after Republican leaders held off
gaveling the voting to a close so they could convince several of their own
members to cast a politically unpalatable vote....
Bush hailed the action, saying it "will give me the flexibility I need to
secure the greatest possible trade opportunities for America's farmers,
workers, families, and consumers." Earlier, House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert
(R-Ill.) warned his colleagues they could "support our president who is
fighting a courageous war on terrorism . . . or . . . undercut the
president at the worst possible time."...
The legislation would give the administration greater leeway just as the
World Trade Organization has embarked on a new round of talks aimed at
lowering barriers to commerce worldwide. The United States is also hoping
to extend its trade ties with Canada and Mexico to encompass most of Latin
America.

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