The great Thomas "Mustache" Friedman is perhaps best known for encouraging the invasion of Iraq (and subsequent resistance insurgency, civil war, thousands of American and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi deaths, eventually leading to the formation of ISIS – plus the trillions in costs) by saying, "What they [Muslims] needed to see was American boys and girls going house to house from Basra to Baghdad and basically saying 'Which part of this sentence don't you understand?' ... Well, Suck. On. This." He is also known among the blogger set for what Duncan Black coined as the six-month "Friedman Unit," because he claimed for years that the Iraq war would be "turning a corner" in another six months' time.
Friedman on Wednesday explained in The New York Times that critics of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) (and the "fast track" process in which Congress preapproves it before We the People get a chance to know what's in it) can suck on this, too. He wrote in On Trade: Obama Right, Critics Wrong,
...there has never been a more important time for the coalition of free-market democracies and democratizing states that are the core of the World of Order to come together and establish the best rules for global integration for the 21st century, including appropriate trade, labor and environmental standards. These agreements would both strengthen and more closely integrate the market-based, rule-of-law-based democratic and democratizing nations that form the backbone of the World of Order.
A coalition of "free-market democracies" like Vietnam and Brunei? The rules for a new "World of Order" in the 21st century negotiated in secret? Negotiated with only corporate representatives at the table? The rules for "democracy" must be preapproved by Congress with fast track before the public is allowed to see the agreement?
Friedman also writes that, "These trade agreements can help build trust, coordination and growth that tilt the balance in all these countries more toward global cooperation than 'hunkering down in protectionism or nationalism and letting others, or nobody, write the rules.'" Apparently to Friedman, trying to save American jobs, balance trade (the trade deficit was $505 billion last year) and stop the stagnation of wages and devastation of communities that has resulted from our corporate-dominated trade agreements is "hunkering down in protectionism or nationalism"?
Friedman writes that TPP is an "effort to expand trade on our terms." Whose terms? TPP is secret, negotiated by corporate representatives for the corporations they represent. With the fast track process We the People of the United States of America don't get to know what's in TPP until some time after Congress preapproves it, and even our Congress won't get to seriously debate or amend it after we do get to see it. So too bad if we don't like it. Suck. On. That.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership – an agreement negotiated entirely of, by and for corporate representatives who represent giant, multinational corporations that don't even pay us taxes anymore – is not an agreement on "our" terms. We the People will get nothing from a rigged process like that, no matter how much these so-called "American" corporate giants might profit from it. We won't get better pay, we won't get better schools or infrastructure, we will only get even more cutbacks in the things our government does to make our lives better. TPP with fast track is an agreement between the plutocrats of the various giant corporations involved, some perhaps calling themselves "American" and others not.
If Thomas Friedman of all people is claiming you are right and your critics are wrong you really, really, really, really, really, really, really ought to rethink your position.
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This post originally appeared at Campaign for America's Future (CAF) at their Blog for OurFuture. I am a Fellow with CAF. Sign up here for the CAF daily summary and/or for the Progress Breakfast.
