President Obama is likely to send the job-killing trade deal with S. Korea to Congress for approval sometime soon. Many Democrats will vote against it, so Obama is counting on Republican support. But an increasing number of Republicans are dubious about voting for the deal. Acording to Global Trade Watch, during the 2010 campaign,
...a record number of 75 Republicans adopted some fair trade messaging ... 43 of whom won their races. More than sixty races became "fair trade offs," where both the Democrat and Republican ran on fair trade themes. Only 37 candidates campaigned in favor of more North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)-style trade agreements - about half of these candidates lost ...There are 50-odd members of the Tea Party Caucus in the House of Representatives, and many rank-and-fileTea Partiers oppose this deal. They've put up a website explaining their opposition:
Opposition is gaining among grassroots activists who historically opposed NAFTA, those who are alarmed at the violation of U.S. sovereignty, and even among conservative/libertarian “free traders” who now admit that the NAFTA-style Korea trade deal is not a true free-trade agreement.Here's a video showing an unelected Tea Partier asking Tea Party members of Congress how they'll vote on the deal. Note that Rep. Steve King, an Iowa Republican, didn't say he'd vote against it.
Given that the union-busting billionaire Koch brothers fund the Tea Party, we're strongly doubting the Tea Party Caucus will join Democrats to kill the job-killing S. Korean trade bill. But time will tell.
