The Democratic Tea Party

[Torie]

David Brooks skillfully makes the case for the TPA. It's well worth reading.

[Antonio the Sixth]

lol

[Lief 🗽]

I hate to agree with David Brooks, but yes, the Democratic opposition to TPP is very embarrassing, and the fact that one of the party leaders (Nancy Pelosi (D-China)) helped organize it is even worse. Thank god I left that party long ago.

[Mehmentum]

Yeah, this is one of the few times that I've had a policy disagreement with the Democratic party.  I hope the deal goes through.

[Gass3268]

Pelosi really has been one of the best House leaders in a very long time.

[/]

David Brooks is a silly goose.

[Bandit3 the Worker]

If only the Democrats had a Tea Party.

Six whole years of the Republican Tea Party, and what's the Democrats' response?

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I hate to agree with David Brooks, but yes, the Democratic opposition to TPP is very embarrassing, and the fact that one of the party leaders (Nancy Pelosi (D-China)) helped organize it is even worse. Thank god I left that party long ago.

What are you now?

[All Along The Watchtower]

There is no Democratic Tea Party because the Democrats are not the Republicans.  The actual Tea Party have shown that they care more about fanatical purity than they do about governance - in fact, they are openly contemptuous about governance, along with expertise, tolerance, diversity, rationality,  empathy (for those not in the in-group), empiricism, and everything else that anyone even vaguely liberal or center-left in the US ostensibly cares about.  It's in the Tea Partiers' DNA - hell, it's in the DNA of Americans in general. Furthermore, they are driven by a fundamentalist, absolutist mindset that regards compromise as weakness and diversity of opinion as a bad thing.

The vulgar Right is antithetical to everything Democrats stand for. It would be insane and  foolish of the Democrats to attempt to emulate them.

[ElectionsGuy]

I hate to agree with David Brooks, but yes, the Democratic opposition to TPP is very embarrassing, and the fact that one of the party leaders (Nancy Pelosi (D-China)) helped organize it is even worse. Thank god I left that party long ago.

What are you now?

Obama Party

[Bandit3 the Worker]

There is no Democratic Tea Party because the Democrats are not the Republicans.  The actual Tea Party have shown that they care more about fanatical purity than they do about governance - in fact, they are openly contemptuous about governance, along with expertise, tolerance, diversity, rationality,  empathy (for those not in the in-group), empiricism, and everything else that anyone even vaguely liberal or center-left in the US ostensibly cares about.  It's in the Tea Partiers' DNA - hell, it's in the DNA of Americans in general. Furthermore, they are driven by a fundamentalist, absolutist mindset that regards compromise as weakness and diversity of opinion as a bad thing.

The vulgar Right is antithetical to everything Democrats stand for. It would be insane and  foolish of the Democrats to attempt to emulate them.

I'm not saying the Democrats should take Tea Party-like stances. I just think a Democratic Tea Party should use Tea Party-style techniques.

[DrScholl]

Until there are Democrats criticizing every single stance elected Democrats hold and demanding near total ideological purity, there is no Democratic Tea Party. This is about one issue and the Tea Party griped about a whole host of issues. Concerns about how trade will impact jobs are legitimate and I'm glad my member of Congress voted no.

[RINO Tom]

I hate to agree with David Brooks, but yes, the Democratic opposition to TPP is very embarrassing, and the fact that one of the party leaders (Nancy Pelosi (D-China)) helped organize it is even worse. Thank god I left that party long ago.

What are you now?

Obama Party

LOL, but seriously...

[Mister Mets]

If only the Democrats had a Tea Party.

Six whole years of the Republican Tea Party, and what's the Democrats' response?

It's hard to have an opposition party when your young promising leader is in the White House.

[CountryClassSF]

The progressives have it absolutely right on trade. I hope they don't back down.  This is the one issue where I'm completely with them.

[Rockefeller GOP]

The progressives have it absolutely right on trade. I hope they don't back down.  This is the one issue where I'm completely with them.

So you're a social conservative who hates elites and blames the business community's love of free trade for good ole American workers' problems?  Ever considered just being a reincarnation of a Southern Democrat and ruin their party instead?

[Mr. Smith]

If only the Democrats had a Tea Party.

Six whole years of the Republican Tea Party, and what's the Democrats' response?

It's hard to have an opposition party when your young promising leader is in the White House.

1977-1981 would like a word with you on that, and that guy was nowhere near as ridiculously conservative as Obama.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

The progressives have it absolutely right on trade. I hope they don't back down.  This is the one issue where I'm completely with them.

So you're a social conservative who hates elites and blames the business community's love of free trade for good ole American workers' problems?  Ever considered just being a reincarnation of a Southern Democrat and ruin their party instead?

Hey now, I'm pretty sure the old New England based GOP which you deeply treasure very much hearted tariffs.

This article is basically correct, although I'd say the intellectual property and patent stipulations as well as the retention of highly distortionary agrisubsidies could be a peril to the third world - especially their healthcare and agriculture sectors. Still highly disappointed that many Progs are ruling out multilateral free trade agreements in principle though. Very reactionary.

[Ban my account ffs!]

I hate to agree with David Brooks, but yes, the Democratic opposition to TPP is very embarrassing, and the fact that one of the party leaders (Nancy Pelosi (D-China)) helped organize it is even worse. Thank god I left that party long ago.

What are you now?

[Skill and Chance]

I used to be a very strong proponent of free trade, but I now find myself growing more suspicious of it by the day.  In short, free trade with autocratic regimes or that coexists with severe immigration restrictions is a self-contradiction.

[Rockefeller GOP]

The progressives have it absolutely right on trade. I hope they don't back down.  This is the one issue where I'm completely with them.

So you're a social conservative who hates elites and blames the business community's love of free trade for good ole American workers' problems?  Ever considered just being a reincarnation of a Southern Democrat and ruin their party instead?

Hey now, I'm pretty sure the old New England based GOP which you deeply treasure very much hearted tariffs.

This article is basically correct, although I'd say the intellectual property and patent stipulations as well as the retention of highly distortionary agrisubsidies could be a peril to the third world - especially their healthcare and agriculture sectors. Still highly disappointed that many Progs are ruling out multilateral free trade agreements in principle though. Very reactionary.

Different era.  I wouldn't expect you to or anything, but I explained my POV on how the tariff issues have changed since the early 20th century in some of my recent posts!

[Mister Mets]

If only the Democrats had a Tea Party.

Six whole years of the Republican Tea Party, and what's the Democrats' response?

It's hard to have an opposition party when your young promising leader is in the White House.

1977-1981 would like a word with you on that, and that guy was nowhere near as ridiculously conservative as Obama.

Carter was a bit older than Obama when he became President, and he seemed older too. When he became President, he was a grandfather who had been married for thirty years. In contrast, Obama had finished law school less than 18 years prior to becoming President, and his grandmother lived to see him become the party's nominee.

Carter was also immensely unpopular by the time the most famous Senator in the country, and the Governor of the largest state Democrats controlled decided to run against him. So he wasn't really promising at that point.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

The progressives have it absolutely right on trade. I hope they don't back down.  This is the one issue where I'm completely with them.

So you're a social conservative who hates elites and blames the business community's love of free trade for good ole American workers' problems?  Ever considered just being a reincarnation of a Southern Democrat and ruin their party instead?

Populism is hardly new to the Republican fold, my Northeastern friend. The GOP specifically structured their platform to create an alliance of the north that went beyond the immediate business of slavery as well. "Vote yourself a tariff! Vote yourself a farm!" as the saying went. Western independent farmers in a strange alliance with the Eastern business interests. It was an odd reversal of the Jacksonian Era in which Southern slaveocracy was allied with Western farmers against the monied New England. And, naturally, the Grand Old Party was no friend of immigrants. Teddy Roosevelt as well, regardless of what you think of his presidency, certainly portrayed himself as a man of the people. President Ronald Reagan himself signed off on tariffs against the Japanese automobile industry in 1985, though, admittedly, the rest of his record is favorable towards free trade. 

[Indy Texas]

The progressives have it absolutely right on trade. I hope they don't back down.  This is the one issue where I'm completely with them.

So you're a social conservative who hates elites and blames the business community's love of free trade for good ole American workers' problems?  Ever considered just being a reincarnation of a Southern Democrat and ruin their party instead?

Populism is hardly new to the Republican fold, my Northeastern friend. The GOP specifically structured their platform to create an alliance of the north that went beyond the immediate business of slavery as well. "Vote yourself a tariff! Vote yourself a farm!" as the saying went. Western independent farmers in a strange alliance with the Eastern business interests. It was an odd reversal of the Jacksonian Era in which Southern slaveocracy was allied with Western farmers against the monied New England. And, naturally, the Grand Old Party was no friend of immigrants. Teddy Roosevelt as well, regardless of what you think of his presidency, certainly portrayed himself as a man of the people. President Ronald Reagan himself signed off on tariffs against the Japanese automobile industry in 1985, though, admittedly, the rest of his record is favorable towards free trade. 

Also, we can't forget George W. Bush's shamefully self-serving steel tariffs.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

I hate to agree with David Brooks, but yes, the Democratic opposition to TPP is very embarrassing, and the fact that one of the party leaders (Nancy Pelosi (D-China)) helped organize it is even worse. Thank god I left that party long ago.

If you can't tell the difference between representing Chinese-Americans and China, then it's good you left.