"The U.S. Signed the Trans-Pacific Partnership -- Now Let's Kill It!" begins the latest missive from Food and Water Watch, and they do, indeed, help you tell your Congressfolk to reject the Trans-Pacific "Partnership." As you recall, Sen. Portman (R-OH) came out against the TPP late last week, and his statement aligns with the stated consensus on Capitol Hill: that it would be a bad idea for Congress to vote on the TPP until after the Presidential elections. The fact that the Senate Majority Leader can actually say this out loud proves that our political class, at least, is sick, immoral, and decadent. But in a democracy, we can reverse that fact, long and difficult though that often seems. And that's why we have to press against this deal consistently in the months leading up to the election -- so that Congress doesn't use the lame-duck session to ram through a "free" trade deal that Americans do not want, a "deal" that will nullify our law-making ability and ship our jobs overseas while enriching the already opulent few.
Meanwhile, that New York Times report about President Obama considering ordering federal contractors to disclose political spending is now over two weeks old. Why the wait? We already know what Republicans will do -- they'll whine incessantly about "free speech" and move heaven and Earth to pass legislation repealing his order. But I can explain why they're wrong: money isn't speech, first off, and when corporations donate huge amounts of money to political candidates, they expect they'll be getting what they want from those candidates, whether they're stupid enough to ask for a specific quid pro quo or not. And when a corporation can swell up campaign coffers like that, they're drowning out your First Amendment right to redress grievances. Hence Common Cause helps you tell President Obama to issue an Executive Order mandating federal contractors to disclose their political spending. At the risk of piling on, this is your money they're spending to drown out your voice.
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