Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) came down hard on President Obama’s international trade deal in an interview published Tuesday, saying “not a goddamned thing” in the deal protected workers in Vietnam.
Near the end of the interview, CNBC’s John Harwood asked Sanders to respond to President Obama’s criticisms of lawmakers like Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), his chief critic from the left on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal.
“[President Obama] says it’s the most progressive one that’s ever been negotiated,” Harwood said.
“Yeah, like what?” Sanders shot back.
“The minimum wage in Vietnam is 56 cents an hour,” the senator continued. “Workers there cannot form independent unions. And if you protest government policy, you might end up in trouble. OK?”
“What does this trade agreement have to say about that? Not a goddamned thing,” Sanders said. “Not a bloody thing.”
It’s not the first shot Sanders has taken against the deal: the Vermont senator has been vocally opposed since last year, and recently published an op-ed titled “The TPP Must Be Defeated.”
The trade deal is a bad idea…like most of these trade deals, they aren’t actually about allowing companies in Chile or New Zealand better trade deals, but rather about allowing US corporations operating in those countries to import their products to the US from sources of incredibly cheap labor.
Let’s not forget allowing our big agricultural concerns to export our hormone-and-antibiotic-laden meats and genetically-modified-to-enable-carcinogenic-herbicide produce to countries who wouldn’t otherwise accept them. And of course to make sure we’ll never label our food with country of origin, dolphin-safe, GMO, or other pertinent information on which consumers may choose to make buying decisions.
Yep. Basically, this is about making sure that US Corporations get rich and turn the US into a Third World Country and the rest of the world into vassal states.
Refreshing clarity and frankness – expect nothing less from Sanders… No mealy-mouthed, calculated-to-appeal-to-all-positions posturing from Bernie, unlike other candidates seeking to attract voters this cycle… Americans might begin to like this sort of candor and passion, and if so, other candidates will have to decide if their highly contrived cautiousness can compete.
What can I say, I love Sen. Bernie Sanders, that’s all there is to it.